Samak Rice Pulao is a simple, healthy and tasty pulao made during Hindu fasting days like Navratri and Ekadashi. Also known as samak/sama/samvat/samo/bhagar and Barnyard Millet in English, this is a popular ingredient used in dishes that are made during the religious fasting days in India.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sama ke chawal (or vrat ke chawal or samvat rice or samak rice or barnyard millet)
  • water (as required, for soaking)
  • 1 inch ginger (- peeled and roughly chopped)
  • 1 green chilli (- roughly chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons peanuts
  • 2 tablespoon ghee (or oil)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½ inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 to 3 cloves
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 3 to 4 black peppercorns
  • 8 to 10 curry leaves
  • 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (- chopped)
  • 2 potatoes (- medium-sized, peeled and cubed)
  • 2.5 to 3 cups water (or add as needed)
  • rock salt ((edible and food grade) as required (sendha namak))
  • 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (- chopped)
  • 8 to 10 cashews
  • 8 to 10 almonds (- sliced)
  • lemon juice (or lemon wedges, as required)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse the samak rice or barnyard millet a couple of times in water like the way we rinse rice.
  2. Soak in enough water for 20 to 30 minutes.
  3. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain all the water and set the soaked barnyard millet aside.
  4. Dry roast the peanuts on a pan or in the oven till they become crunchy.
  5. Coarsely powder them in a mortar-pestle or in a dry grinder.
  6. Crush the ginger and green chilli to a paste in a mortar-pestle. You can crush to a semi-fine or a fine paste.

Make Samak Rice Pulao

  1. Heat oil or ghee in a 3 litre pressure cooker. Keep the heat to low or medium-low.
  2. Add all the whole spices - cumin, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and black peppercorns.
  3. Fry till the oil become fragrant and the cumin crackles.
  4. Add the crushed ginger-green chilli paste and sauté for half a minute on a low heat.
  5. Add the cubed potatoes, curry leaves, coriander leaves and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes on a low heat.
  6. Now add the peanuts powder and stir to combine. Keep heat to a low.
  7. Add the samak rice to the sautéed mixture. Mix and stir very well.
  8. Add water and salt as required. Pressure cook on medium heat for 4 to 5 whistles or till the water is absorbed and the millet grains are cooked.
  9. When the pulao is cooking, you can dry roast the chopped cashews and almonds.
  10. When serving the Samak Rice Pulao, garnish with the the roasted nuts and coriander leaves.
  11. When serving also sprinkle some lemon juice in the pulao. You can also keep some lemon wedges by the side of the samvat pulao while serving.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.