Foxtail Millet Ambali (Korralu / Thinai Ambali)
Of the five Siridhanya millets, foxtail is the easiest to get along with. The small golden grains (korralu in Telugu, navane in Kannada, thinai in Tamil) soften quickly and ferment into a clean, gently nutty gruel. Cook them down in plenty of water, leave the pot to sour overnight, and loosen it the next day with buttermilk and a little salt. Across the Deccan this is simply how foxtail gets eaten.
Prep Time
30 min soak + overnight ferment
Cook Time
20 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients
- Foxtail millet (korralu) — 1/2 cup (90 g)
- Water — 4 cups, plus extra to loosen
- Buttermilk (or thin curd) — 1 cup
- Salt — to taste (add at serving)
- Small onion, finely chopped — 1 (for serving)(optional)
- Curry leaves — 1 sprig (for serving)(optional)
- Green chili, finely chopped — 1 (for serving)(optional)
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the foxtail millet in two changes of water, soak for 30 minutes, then drain.
- 2
Add the millet to 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the grains are very soft and the gruel has thickened.
- 3
Let it cool to room temperature, then transfer to a clay pot or glass jar without adding any salt.
- 4
Cover loosely with a cloth and ferment overnight, 8 to 10 hours, until lightly sour.
- 5
The next day, lightly mash the grains, then whisk in the buttermilk and enough cold water to make it drinkable.
- 6
Season with salt and add the onion, curry leaves and green chili if using.
- 7
Serve cool, at room temperature. Reheating would undo the cultures that fermentation built up.
Tips
- •Cook the grains until they fall apart easily. A soft gruel ferments more evenly than firm, separate grains.
- •Traditional Siridhanya practice keeps to one millet at a time, so make foxtail ambali on its own rather than mixing grains.
- •A spoon of leftover fermented ambali stirred into the fresh batch helps it sour faster on a cool night.