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Sprouted Jowar Lassi (Jeera or Sweet)
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Sprouted Jowar Lassi (Jeera or Sweet)

Jowar (sorghum)ModernNorth IndiaDrinkFlour (atta)VegetarianContains dairy

Soak overnight · Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min · Servings not given in the source

Make

Ingredients

  • whole jowar (sorghum grain) — 50 g (sprouted, dried and ground; only 5 g of this flour goes into one batch)
  • milk — 100 ml
  • curd — 2 ml (as a starter)
  • sugar (as desired, for sweet lassi)
  • cumin powder (jeera) (as desired, for jeera lassi)
  • salt (as desired, for jeera lassi)

Method

  1. Soak the jowar overnight, then rinse it well.
  2. Wrap the wet grains loosely in a damp cloth and leave them at room temperature for 2 days to sprout.
  3. Unwrap the sprouted grains, dry them in the sun for 2 days, then grind them to a powder.
  4. Roast the sprouted jowar flour in a dry pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until it no longer smells raw.
  5. Bring the milk to the boil in a heavy pan over medium heat, stir in 5 g of the roasted flour and keep it hot for 10 minutes, then take it off the heat.
  6. Add the curd as a starter and leave overnight to set, then refrigerate the new curd.
  7. For jeera lassi, whisk in cumin powder and salt for 5 to 10 minutes until there are no lumps, strain and chill. For sweet lassi, whisk in sugar the same way and chill. Serve cold.

Tips

  • General practice: let the milk cool until just warm before adding the curd starter; very hot milk will not set.
  • General practice: only 5 g of the flour goes into one batch; keep the rest in a dry, airtight jar.

Fresh atta: grind small, use soon

  • Millets keep for months as whole grain; flour is best ground as it is needed, because it turns rancid. (FAO, Sorghum and millets in human nutrition (1995))
  • Bajra changes fastest: its grain stores for months, but its milled flour has a very short shelf life. (ICAR-IIMR scientists, Food Chemistry Advances (2023) (DOI 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100190))
  • In an Indian study, untreated bajra flour stayed within the quality limit only about 2 days at room temperature. (ICAR-IARI, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2016))
  • Ragi flour keeps better than foxtail, barnyard or bajra flour (it carries less fat). (Planta (2024), review)
  • Keep atta closed and cool: bajra flour kept best in polythene and worst in gunny sacks; grains should be dry and in airtight containers. (Chaudhary & Kapoor, J Sci Food Agric (1984); ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines (2024) (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.2740351113))
  • Going off shows first as smell and taste — sour, musty or dusty, then bitter. (Lai & Varriano-Marston, Cereal Chemistry (1980))

So: buy the grain, grind a week’s worth at a time — less for bajra in summer.

Recipe from ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Millet Recipes (2021), PDF p. 39 (printed p. 37), written in our own words.