Foxtail Millet with Honey - Thaenum Thinai Maavum

I hope Vinayaka Chathurthi was a very enjoyable celebration to all. I could not take my eyes off all the lovely posts and pics from my fellow bloggers right from sweet kozhukattais to sundal to payasam to pidi kozhukattais...

Just by looking at all the recipes I literally felt like I have tasted all of them ... Thanks to all bloggers, it was a wonderful visual feast for the past 2 weeks..:)

Now, we have showered the elder brother Lord Vinayagar with all the love, flowers, prasadhams, slogams etc. Now it is time to turn our attention to the younger brother , Lord Murugan.

When we look at the family chemistry  of Lord Sivan and Parvathi, it is a typical household of working parents and two kids where the first born is always the patient sharing type and the second born is much more playful and naughty. I am the first born in my family with two younger sisters and there comes a stage where parents and other elders tell the first born to be nice, to always share and to take care of the younger siblings.

This is something that is not always possible and cannot be done with a smile or wholeheartedly all the time as the first born is will also be a child of a different age when the second one arrives but looking at the bigger picture, your life has a new meaning with the arrival of a new sibling.

The same is with Vinayagar and Murugar ... Vinayagar was the more stable one with so much love and patience whereas Murugar was playful, sharp tongued and short tempered. He even had a fight with his own father and off he went to stay on a hill top [Palani Hills].

There is also a mythical story of Ganesha helping out his younger brother in his love quest with Valli [who is one of the wives of Lord Murugar]...;)

Ofcourse, there comes the prasadhams - Panchamirtham and Thaenum Thinai Maavum. Panchamirtham - means "Food for the God made out of five items mixed together" and Thaenum Thinai Maavum - means "Foxtail Millet with Honey".

The first one is made with specific ingredients especially available from the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu and is something like a fruit jam.

The second one is a simple mix of millet flour and honey. Foxtail millet as we all know is one of the most healthiest grains but sadly disappearing from our lives. When mixed with honey, ghee with or without dried fruit and nuts makes a lovely healthy sweet treat.

When certain items are offered as prasadhams to God, it is an indirect way designed by our ancestors to tell us the value of the ingredients offered.

Coming to the recipe, this mix of millet and honey can be consumed in the powder form or made into tiny laddoos. The laddoos resemble Rava Laddoos. This is offered as prasadham in Palani Murugar Temple.

For the recipe:
Thinai : 100 gms.
Clear runny honey: 5-6 tbsp.
Cardamom powder: 1/4 tsp.
Cashews [chopped]: 5-6.
Raisins [chopped]: 2 tbsp.
Ghee: 2 tbsp.

1.Place a non stick pan on medium flame. Roast the grains along with the ghee for a good 6-8 minutes. Initially the ghee would make grains stick together but after 5 minutes the grains will seperate and a wonderful aroma arises.
2.Transfer the grains onto a plate and let it cool. After the grains cooled completely, grind it to a powder.
3.Take this powder in a bowl. Add the honey, cardamom powder, chopped cashews and raisins.
4.Mix well and make them into small laddoos.

Store in air tight containers and keep in a cool dry place. You can also serve the sweet powder mix as it is without making them into laddoos.

Note: If you prefer a smooth powder, sieve the ground grains and grind the grainy part again. I have made the laddoos with a grainy powder which gives the feel of rava laddoo.The amount of sweetness in just enough to cover the earthy slightly bitter taste of the grains.

You can increase the amount of honey as per your preference [about 2 tbsp more than the given amount] but be careful not to add to much of honey as you would end with a sticky mass.

Some don't prefer the taste of honey. Please feel free to substitute powdered palm sugar [panang-kalkandu] or even powdered rocky candy. If you don't have any of the above sweetening agents, use powdered sugar to sweeten the mix.

All you need to do is add 2-3 tbsp of ghee to make laddoos [if you want to make laddoos] or else just mix the grain powder and sugar along with the chopped cashews and raisins and serve in the powder form.

Thinai is said to increase the body temperature, so be aware of the amount of grains consumed. Moderation is advised or if in doubt please get the nutritional advise from your doctor.

Sending this to Jagruthi's Know Your Sweetness - Honey guest hosted by Shama Nagarajan

Enjoy ....

Scribbled by Reva.