This Samak Rice Upma is a perfect dish for Navratri fasting—it’s light, nutritious, easy to digest, and comforting!
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How To Make Falahari Upma
- Serving Suggestion
- My Tried and True Tips
- Samak Rice Upma Recipe
Navratri is a time for devotion, celebration, and observing fasts ( Vrat ). While fasting, it’s essential to eat meals that are both wholesome and compliant with the traditional farali (fasting-friendly) ingredients.
Samak rice is a type of millet, not a true rice grain, making it a popular choice for Hindu fasts. It is rich in fiber, protein, and minerals like Iron and Calcium, making it a healthier and more filling alternative to many other fasting foods.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Samak Rice or barnyard millet is the key ingredient for making this falahari upma. you can use it to make kheer also.
- Peanuts give a nice crunch to the upma
- Paneer makes the samak rice upma more filling and protein rich.
- Potato , peeled and cut it into small cubes.
- Ghee to roast all the ingredients for upma.
- Seasoning : Black Pepper Powder, Rock Salt (sendha namak), Cumin Seeds (jeera)
- Sliced Coconut is optional, but I like the taste of it in upma.
- Ginger, Green Chilli, Curry Leaves, Lemon Juice, Coriander Leaves
How To Make Falahari Upma
1. Preparation (The Crucial Step!)
- Place the Samak rice in a bowl, wash it 2-3 times until the water runs clear.
- Soak it in fresh water for 1 – 2 hours . This soaking time is key for soft, even cooking, and also this makes millet easy to digest.
- Dice the potato, paneer, and chop the chillies, ginger, and coriander leaves.
2. Tempering & Sautéing
- Heat Ghee in a pressure cooker.
- Add tempering ingredients (cumin, peanuts). Let them splutter.
- Add green chillies, ginger, potato, coconut, and curry leaves. Sauté for 20 – 30 seconds.
3. Cooking the Upma
- Drain the soaked Samak rice completely.
- Add the drained Samak rice, Sendha Namak (rock salt), paneer cubes, and black pepper powder to the pan. Mix gently and sauté for about a minute.
- Pour water. Seal the pressure cooker. Cook over low heat for one whistle.
4. Final Touches
- Turn off the heat. Let the steam release naturally from the pressure cooker.
- Fluff the upma using a fork. This allows the grains to fluff up beautifully.
- Add lemon juice, ghee (optional) and chopped coriander leaves.
Serving Suggestion
Serve your hot and delicious Samak Rice Upma with:
- Plain Curd for a cooling contrast.
- Vrat Wali Green Chutney: A fresh chutney made with coriander, mint, green chillies, and Sendha Namak .
- Coconut Chutney made without garlic.
- A simple pudina or lauki raita cooked with falahari ingredients.
My Tried and True Tips
- Water Ratio: The traditional ratio of Samak rice to water is 1:2. Use the higher amount for a softer, more khichdi -like consistency.
- Spice Check: Always confirm the ingredients permitted in your family’s Navratri fast. Some families avoid curry leaves, ginger, or even black pepper. Adjust accordingly.
- Oil Substitute: If you prefer, you can use coconut oil or groundnut oil instead of ghee.
- Instant Pot Method: For quick cooking, use an Instant Pot ! Sauté the ingredients, add the drained millet and water (use 2 cups water for 1 cup millet), close the lid, and cook on Pressure Cook (High) for 8 minutes , followed by a Natural Pressure Release (NPR) for 5 minutes. Then release the remaining pressure manually.
More Navratri Recipes for fasting
- Kutti Ki Puri
- Vrat Aloo Tikki
- Makhana Kheer
- Sabudana Kheer
- Sweet Potato Chaat
- Kaju Makhana Sabzi
Ingredients
- ▢ ½ Cup barnyard millet (samak rice)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ghee
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢ 1 inch ginger, sliced
- ▢ 1 green chilli, chopped
- ▢ 5 – 6 curry leaves
- ▢ 2 tablespoon peanuts
- ▢ 2 tablespoon coconut, sliced
- ▢ 1 small size potato, finely chopped
- ▢ ½ teaspoon rock salt
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
- ▢ 1 Cup water
- ▢ 50 gram paneer, cut into cubes
- ▢ handful of chopped coriander
Instructions
- Rinse and soak millet for 2 – 3 hours atleas.
- Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cumin, peanuts, curry leaves, ginger, chilli, and coconut. Fry for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Drain the soaked Samak rice completely. Add potato, and drained millet to the pressure cooker. Fry them for 30 – 40 seconds.
- Add water, salt, paneer cubes, and pepper. Mix nicely. Close the lid. Pressure cook for 1 whistle over low heat.
- Let steam release naturally. Fluff upma. Add coriander leaves, lemon juice, and ghee.
- Serve samak rice upma warm with sattvic chutney or plain curd.
Recipe Notes:
- The soaking time is key for soft, even cooking, and also this makes millet easy to digest.
- You can follow the same upma recipe for other types of millet or quinoa also.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
Samak Rice Upma Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- ½ Cup barnyard millet (samak rice)
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 inch ginger, sliced
- 1 green chilli, chopped
- 5 - 6 curry leaves
- 2 tablespoon peanuts
- 2 tablespoon coconut, sliced
- 1 small size potato, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon rock salt
- ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 Cup water
- 50 gram paneer, cut into cubes
- handful of chopped coriander
Instructions
- Rinse and soak millet for 2 - 3 hours atleas.
- Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cumin, peanuts, curry leaves, ginger, chilli, and coconut. Fry for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Drain the soaked Samak rice completely. Add potato, and drained millet to the pressure cooker. Fry them for 30 - 40 seconds.
- Add water, salt, paneer cubes, and pepper. Mix nicely. Close the lid. Pressure cook for 1 whistle over low heat.
- Let steam release naturally. Fluff upma. Add coriander leaves, lemon juice, and ghee.
- Serve samak rice upma warm with sattvic chutney or plain curd.
Video
Notes
- The soaking time is key for soft, even cooking, and also this makes millet easy to digest.
- You can follow the same upma recipe for other types of millet or quinoa also.
Nutrition
This phool makhana phirni is a low-carb twist to the classic phirni. Creamy to the core that too without rice.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
- About Foxnut (Makhana)
- Making Makhana Phirni
- Watch Makhana Phirni Video
- The Phirni Parfait
- How To Assemble Phirni Parfait
- FAQs Related To Makhana Phirni
- Kesar Makhana Phirni Recipe
About Foxnut (Makhana)
Foxnut, or the Phool Makhana, is the lotus seed. They are edible after processing and very high in nutrition. The foxnut is a low-carbohydrate substitute for rice in this phirni recipe.
The most common use of lotus seeds in the Indian kitchen is to munch them while observing religious fasting, as they are considered pure and unadulterated.
One can use foxnuts to prepare curry , caramel foxnuts , masala roasted foxnuts , kheer , or phirni. Makhana Phirni is a creamy Indian milk pudding with foxnuts or lotus seeds (makhana).
Making Makhana Phirni
Step 1) Start by lightly roasting the makhana in ghee for about 5 – 10 minutes or till they are crispy.
Step 2) Grind them in the mixer to a coarse powder.
Step 3) Meanwhile, boil milk in a thick-bottomed dish. Use full-fat milk to get the desired creaminess. The milk is flavored with nuts, spices, and saffron, sweetened with sugar, and left to simmer for a while.
Step 4) Later, the lotus seed powder is added and mixed, and left to simmer on a low flame for about 10 minutes. Once the phirni is ready, it must be kept in the fridge to get chilled.
Watch Makhana Phirni Video
The Phirni Parfait
Phiri Parfait is a more delicious and stylish way to serve classic makhana phirni.
The creamy phirni is topped with different layers, making it more tempting and delectable.
Different layers of the phirni parfait :
Since a parfait includes layering, you’ll need to assemble ingredients for each layer beforehand:
- Phirni layer – The lotus seeds milk pudding that we refrigerated earlier.
- Fresh Fruits – Use whatever fruits you like or are in season. I have used a mix of mango, apple, pomegranate, and strawberry. But make sure the fruit has a sweet taste and is not sour.
- Dried Fruits – You can use toasted nuts like cashew, almond, pistachios, walnuts (crushed into smaller pieces), and raisins. Even edible rose petals can also be used.
- Bread Croutons – Fry some dry bread in ghee till crisp as we do for shahi tukda . These ghee-fried bread croutons add crunch and a shahi tukda like character to the parfait.
How To Assemble Phirni Parfait
Prepare the makhana phirni and keep it in the fridge to chill.
Meanwhile, chop the fruits into bite-size pieces. Make sure to cut them just before assembling the parfait, as fruits might lose their freshness.
Deep-fry the bread croutons and transfer them to a plate lined with a kitchen towel. Slightly warm bread croutons served on top of chilled phirni are quite a decadent combination.
- Use transparent serving glasses/cups so one can see the layers of the dessert.
- Top the phirni with fruits, fried bread, croutons, and toasted nuts.
- Once the layering is done, serve phirni parfait immediately else, the fruits and the bread croutons lose their freshness.
It is a matter of personal choice. During the summer season, most of us like to enjoy phirni chilled, whereas, on a cold winter night, it is best served warm or at least at room temperature. But phirni parfait is always served chilled.
The best way to make thick and luscious firni is to use full-cream milk. Simmer the milk over low heat and add back the cream collected on the sides of the milk. The right proportion of milk and foxnuts powder will always get you thick restaurant-style phirni without using any cornflour.
More Indian Kheer Recipes
- Paneer Kheer
- Lauki Ki Kheer
- Vegan Badam Phirni
- Carrot Sabudana Kheer
- Sugar-free Apple Kheer
- Gobi (Cauliflower) Kheer
- Samavat Rice Kheer (Vrat Kheer)
more Indian kheer recipes for all festive celebrations.
Ingredients
For Makhana Phirni:
- ▢ 1 liter full-cream milk (full fat milk)
- ▢ 2 Cup lotus seeds (foxnuts/makhana)
- ▢ ½ teaspoon saffron (kesar)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- ▢ ½ Cup granulated white sugar or to taste
- ▢ 2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
- ▢ ¼ Cup almonds (badam)
- ▢ ¼ Cup pistachio
Ingredients for Phirni Parfait:
- ▢ 2 Cup diced fruits (peach, mango, apple)
- ▢ 2 tablespoon pomegranate pearls
- ▢ 1 tablespoon sliced pistachio/almonds
- ▢ 2 white bread slices
- ▢ ¼ Cup ghee (clarified butter)
Instructions
How To Make Kesar Makhana Phirni:
- Make a coarse powder of almonds and pistachio in the blender. Set aside until required.
- In pan heat ghee and roast foxnuts for 5 minutes. Pulse in a blender once to make a coarse powder. Keep aside
- Take milk in a heavy-bottomed pan, add the cardamom powder and saffron strands. Boil on low flame. Keep on stirring at regular intervals.
- Once the milk is reduced to half the original amount add the foxnut powder and dry fruits powder. Stir to combine nicely.
- Allow the milk to simmer until it thickens and stir at regular intervals. Add the sugar, simmer the phirni for 3 – 5 minutes or till sugar is dissolved and then turn off the heat.
- Allow the phirni to cool down completely. Keep it in the fridge until ready to serve.
How To Assemble Phirni Parfait:
- Dice the fruits into bite-size pieces. Slightly dry roast the nuts.
- Heat ghee in a pan and fry the bread croutons till crisp and golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
- Divide an equal portion of makhana phirni into the serving bowls/glasses. Add a layer of fruits, nuts and bread croutons.
- Serve makhana phirni parfait immediately.
Recipe Notes:
- It is best to use full fat milk for making creamy Indian desserts such as phirni.
- Stir the milk at regular intervals while simmering to avoid burning. Use a wooden spoon to stir the milk and phirni.
- Do not make a fine powder of dry fruit or foxnut. Keep it coarse in texture. One pulse in a food processor or blender is enough.
- Make sure to add sugar only after the phirni is nearly done.
- Phirni thickens in texture after cooling. Hence, adjust the consistency accordingly.
- Allow phirni to chill in the fridge for 4 – 5 hours or overnight before serving or assembling the parfait.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
