Ambali/Fermented Porridge using Sridhanya Millets

Renowned Scientist Dr. Khadar Vali has done a deep research in food grains and has classified them as below:

Types of Grains:

1. Negative grains– Those grains which cause many kinds of diseases are categorized as negative grains. They include wheat and rice because of very low fiber content (1.2g & 0.2g per 100g of grains respectively). These have a very high carbohydrate to fiber ratio of 63.5 & 395 respectively.
2. Neutral Grains/ Neutral Millets– Those grains which neither cause any new disease nor cure the existing ones are categorized as neutral grains. These are large grained millets such as jowar, bajra, ragi, proso etc. These contain 1.2g to 3.6g of fibre content for each 100g of grains. The carbohydrate to fiber ratio varies from 20 to 56 in these neutral millets.
3. Positive Grains/Positive Millets–  These are those grains which help to cure many health disorders. They contain high fiber content varying from 8g to 12.5g per 100g of grains. These are small grained millets. Their carbohydrate to fiber ratio varies from 5.5 to 7.6. Dr. Khadar named these millets as Siri Dhanyalu.

Link to buy these positive millets: https://amzn.to/3tURchy

Positive Millets	Common Hindi name	Health issues cured by them
Foxtail(yellowish in colour)	Kangni or Kakum	Nervous system disorders, parkinson’s, epilepsy
Barnyard(creamish in colour)	Sanwa or Samvat rice	For liver, kidney, endocrine gland health
Kodo(reddish pink in colour)	Kodon or Kodra	Anaemia, diabetes, weak immunity, constipation, insomnia
Little{creamish in colour)	Kutki or Moraiyyo	Uterus, PCOD, male female infertility
Browntop(greenish in colour)	Green Kangni or Little Kangni	Digestive system, arthiritis, hypertension, thyroid, eyes, obesity

Why choose Sridhanya Millets

• They have low carbohydrate to fiber ratio ranging from 5.5 to 7.6(below 10) and foods containing low carbohydrate to fiber ratio have shown high medicinal values.
• They have fiber and carbohydrates arranged in alternate layers throughout and thus release glucose very slowly as is required by our body.
• They need very less amount of water and are completely pest free crop. Thus they are environment friendly too!

Few tips on consuming positive millets

• Consume one type of millet in a single day. Never mix different kinds of millets in a single meal.
• Various kinds of millets are suited for those having different health disorders. Dr Khadar has elaborately mentioned the sequence of consuming these millets on weekly basis as per the health disorders in his texts available on his website (www.sirijeevan.org) By default, you may consume each kind of millet for 2 days, thereby repeating your cycle after 10 days. Let’s say you start with foxtail millet, then consume foxtail for first 2 days, after that barnyard for 3rd & 4th day, then kodo for 5th & 6th days, little for 7th & 8th days & finally browntop for 9th & 10th days.
• Soaking these millets for atleast 6-8 hours is a must so as to soften the innermost layer of the grains, thereby making them easy to cook and digest.
• Always consume unpolished millets as they contain lignans(the outermost covering of the millet grains) having higher capacity to absorb free electrons.
• These positive millets contain water soluble minerals & vitamins, so always use the water used in soaking these millets while cooking them. Do not throw away the soaking water.
• These positive millets can be consumed in either rava form or grain form or in the form of flour.
• In order to prepare homemade flour out of these positive grains, firstly soak them for 6-8 hours, then dry them out in sun completely & finally grind them to fine powder.

What is Ambali or Fermented Ganji or Fermented porridge

We are creating microbial imbalance in our intestines due to the intake of many antibiotics consumed directly or indirectly. In the absence of these healthy microbes in our gut, we end up with low imunity & low ability to absorb & synthesize many micro & macro nutrients in our body. So we should consume more and more natural foods rich in probiotics and fibres like raw fruits, raw vegetables, fermented foods, curd, ambali etc.

Ambali is basically a fermented porridge prepared using any one of the 5 sridhanya or positive millets. Ambali is a rich source of Vit B12(generally found in animal based foods like meat, fish, milk and milk products etc.) and is a very good immunity booster. So for vegan diet followers, ambali is a great source of Vit B12. Overnight soaked millets are firstly boiled in 7 to 10 times quantity of water by volume and then cooked millets are fermented preferably in earthen pot covered with cotton cloth for a good microbial growth for 4-6 hours in summers & 12-15 hours in winters. In case you do not have earthen pot, you may ferment your porridge in the same vessel in which the porridge was prepared.

Ideally, the fermentation time is same as the time required to curdle milk in your area during that particular season.

Do not heat the ambali after fermentation as it will kill the healthy bacteria developed. You may rather warm it up by double boiling method in which you put your ambali bowl over a bigger vessel containing boiling hot water for few minutes or by adding lukewarm water.

Do not add milk/curd/buttermilk before fermentation as lactobacilli alone will dominate, thereby not allowing any other good bacteria to grow. You may add curd/buttermilk just before consuming your ambali.

Do not add salt while cooking or fermenting your porridge as it hampers the healthy microbial growth. You may add salt just prior to consuming ypur ambali.

You may consume ambali with any vegetable/dal/sambhar/curd/homemade pickle. Just keep in mind that your veggies or dal should be at room temperature.

You may store your ambali upto 20 hours at room temperature and after that refrigerate it. Once you refrigerate your ambali, it no longer remains fermented. It can then be consumed as normal porridge without any benefits of fermentation.

For those having serious health issues, consuming ambali for all the 3 meals for aleast 6-9 weeks will help in speedy recovery. For others, consuming it twice or thrice a week will boost immunity, provide a good dose of Vit B12 & establishes essential microbial balance in gut.           

A short video of the recipe of ambali: https://youtu.be/cokKayjbPBs           

Ingredients for Ambali (for 3 adults)

• Any one of the 5 positive millets – 1/2 cup (I took kodo millet)
• Water – 3.5 cups (includes water required for soaking)

Method:

• Dry roast your millet lightly which enhances the flavor of your millets. This step is optional. I generally avoid this step.
• Then wash and rinse it twice only so as to avoid washing away the water soluble minerals & vitamins present in its outer layers.
• Now soak it in 1/2 cup of water for 6-8 hours.
• After that boil the soaked millets using 1/2 cup soaking water plus 3 more cups of plain water on low flame for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes of cooking, switch off the flame. Your millet porridge is ready. Let it cool down to room temperature.
• Now either cover the same vessel with a cotton cloth or transfer the cooled down porridge in an earthen pot having micro pores thereby allowing a good microbial growth, cover it with a cotton cloth and let the porridge ferment for 4-6 hours in summers and 12-15 hours in winters.
• Your ambali or fermented porridge is ready.
• Consume it without heating it up with any vegetable/dal/sambhar/curd/pickle of your choice. The vegetbale/dal/sambhar added to the ambali should be at room temperature too to avoid killing of the healthy microbes developed during fermentation process.

Some more knowledge about ambali & some of its recipes : https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:641a23e9-4581-3288-ac08-f20fe8166d07

PĀKA SIRI – Millet CookbookDownload

‘Cooking for our loved ones with lots of love!’