Navratri food doesn’t have to fried and oily! Here is a healthy,low fat tikki recipe which is a made in a few drops of oil. These pan fried tikkis/cutlets made of Sama ke chawal/Barnyard millets are so filling as they are high in fiber and a great source of iron and zinc.Moms looking to include millets in their kids diet, this is such a yum option for snack and lunch boxes.

For those not familiar, this millet is not a grain but a gluten free seed that looks like semolina and mimics rice in flavor. So if you are looking for rice alternatives this is a good option and used widely to make pulao, khichdi, kheer during fasting, when most people refrain from eating rice,lentils and any kind of grains.It goes by different names, the most popular being Sama ke Chawal. Other names are Samo, Moraiyo, Samak. Sanwa, Samvat and Barnyard Millet in English.

If you don’t like millets, you can replace the sama with quinoa which is also a seed. And if you are not fasting, just use rice,a great way to use up leftover rice! For this recipe, we want soft,mushy texture as we want it to mix well with the potatoes. I made 1 cup of samo which yielded 4 cups of cooked samo. I had some left over which I used up as a side to Vrat ki pakore wali Kadhi. The quantity of potatoes and cooked samo/millet should be equal.

If you are looking for some healthy recipes to try out this Navratri, then do check out this Collection of 20 Healthy Navratri Recipes.

Some other recipes to try out during navratri are-

Here is a compilation of Navratri Parshad-Halwa,Poori and Chana as made at my home for the last 30 years. Halwa recipe is from my mom and Puri and Kala chana recipe are from my mother in law.

Sabudana Vada-Tips and Tricks for Crunchy Vadas

Instant Pot Black Chickpeas-Sookha Kala Chana/Navratri parshad

Moving on to the recipe,shared the video link below-If you like this video and would like to keep seeing similar content from me, please like,comment,share and subscribe to Aanchal’s Food, Fitness, Beauty and More.

Here is the written recipe followed by the step by step pictorial one-

Healthy Sama ke Chawal ki Tikki/ Moraiyo Cutlets

Aanchal Gupta

Navratri food doesnt have to fried and oily!Here is a healthy,low fat Sama/barnyard millet recipe which is a made in a few drops of oil.These pan fried tikkis/cutlets are so filling as they are high in fiber and a great source of iron and zinc. Moms looking to include millets in their kids diet, this is such a yum option for snack and lunch boxes. Can be eaten during fasting. If you are not a fan of millets, replace the Sama ke chawal with rice and follow the same recipe.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings -18 tikkis

Ingredients

For Sama ke Chawal/Samak/Barnyard Millet

1 cup Sama/Barnyard Millet/Samo/Samak ke Chawal yields 4 cups cooked millets
2 tbsp ghee/oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
3 cups water
salt as per taste I used 1 1/2 tsp

For Tikkis

2 1/2 cups boiled grated potatoes(I used 4 med-large red potatoes)
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp minced green chilies or as per preference
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander/dhania patta
salt as per taste I used 1 1/4 tsp
Few pieces of whole cashew optional
2-4 tbsp oil for drizzling on tava/griddle

Instructions

For Sama/Barnyard Millet

Turn on Instant Pot to Saute and add oil/ghee
Add cumin seeds/jeera and let it crackle
Add the samo/barnyard millet and stir for a few minutes
Add salt and water,Press Cancel on Instant Pot and set to ‘Sealing’
Choose Pressure Cook option and set for 4 minutes
Quick Release the pressure(Be careful as steam can burn)
Yields 4 cups of soft,mushy,overcooked millets(We need this texture to blend with the potatoes)
Transfer 2 1/2 cups cooked millets into a large bowl and cool completely

For tikkis

To the cooled sama/millets, add 2 1/2 cups boiled,grated potatoes
Add ginger,green chilies,salt,lemon juice,cilantro and mix well
Dough will be sticky, take some water in a bowl and wet your hands and shape the dough into tikkis/cakes and press a cashew on top
Heat the electric griddle to 350-360 F or if using a pan/tava, heat on medium-high
Drizzle a few tsp of oil on the hot griddle
Put the tikkis on the hot griddle,flipping as needed to crisp and brown both sides. Put oil as needed to crisp.
Serve hot with Green chutney

Notes

I have made Sama/moraiyo in Instant Pot, you can make in a regular pot or pressure cooker. To make firm rice like texture in a pot,follow recipe for samo pulao on the blog.For softer samo, as needed for this recipe, increase the water and cook time. For cooking in regular pressure cooker,give one whistle. I have used my electric griddle, you can use any tava/pan. I have used very little oil, for a crisper tikki, you can add some more oil.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Here is the step by step pictorial recipe-

Turn on Instant Pot to Saute and add oil/ghee
Add cumin seeds/jeera and let it crackle
Add the samo/barnyard millet and stir for a few minutes
Add salt and water,Press Cancel on Instant Pot and set to ‘Sealing’

Choose Pressure Cook option and set for 4 minutes

Quick Release the pressure(Be careful as steam can burn)
Yields 4 cups of soft,mushy,overcooked millets(We need this texture to blend with the potatoes)

Transfer 2 1/2 cups cooked millets into a large bowl and cool completely

Grate boiled potatoesTo the cooled sama/millets, add 2 1/2 cups boiled,grated potatoes
Add ginger,green chilies,salt,lemon juice,cilantro and mix wellDough will be sticky, take some water in a bowl and wet your hands and shape the dough into tikkis/cakes and press a cashew on top

Heat the electric griddle to 350-360 F or if using a pan/tava, heat on medium-high
Drizzle a few tsp of oil on the hot griddle
Put the tikkis on the hot griddle,flipping as needed to crisp and brown both sides. Put oil as needed to crisp.