Proso Millet Mushroom Risotto

By: Shreya Baid Bothra
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2 Servings
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Risotto is a rice-based dish hailing from the northern parts of Italy, and can be traced back to the early 1800s. It is usually prepared with Arborio—a local short-grained, round rice variety that is high in starch. In this vegetarian recipe, featuring mushrooms and carrot, Arborio is substituted with proso millet, lending a creamy texture to the dish, almost mimicking the traditional rendition.

For the risotto:

Olive oil 2 tablespoons
Garlic cloves, minced 4
Onion, medium, finely chopped 1
Button mushrooms, finely chopped 8-9
Carrot, finely chopped ⅛ cup | 15 grams
Dried rosemary ¼ teaspoon
Chilli flakes ½ teaspoon
Salt to taste
White wine (optional) ⅕ cup | 50 ml
Proso millet, soaked overnight ½ cup
Fresh cream 1 tablespoon
Button mushrooms, sliced 8-9
Parmesan cheese, grated ⅕ cup | 20 grams
Butter ½ tablespoon
Parsley/Basil leaves, for garnish 2 teaspoons

For the vegetable stock:

Onion, including peels and ends 2
Carrot, including peels and ends 2
Celery, roughly chopped ¼ cup
Water 4 cups
Bay leaves 2
Black peppercorns, whole 6
Garlic cloves, crushed 2

What You Will Need

A pot with a lid, measuring cup and spoons, a frying pan, a pan with lid, a spatula, a ladle, cooking spoons, a chopping board, a knife, a strainer.

Instructions

1

Wash all the vegetables listed under the stock thoroughly.

2

Boil water in a pot, and place the washed vegetables in it along with the bay leaves, black peppercorns, and the crushed garlic.

3

Let the stock simmer for 30 minutes on low-to-medium heat. Strain and reserve the stock liquid. The quantity of the stock should be about 2½ cups after it is boiled and strained.

4

Place a pan on the stovetop. Leaving 1 teaspoon aside, pour in the rest of the olive oil into the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and chopped onions. Let the vegetables sweat for about 3 minutes.

5

Add the finely chopped mushrooms, finely chopped carrot, dried rosemary, and chilli flakes to the pan, and sauté for a minute. Add salt to taste.

 

6

At this stage you can deglaze the pan with white wine, if desired.

7

Add the soaked and strained proso millet to the pot, then pour in the strained stock.

 

8

Cover the pot and cook on a low-to-medium flame for approximately 25 minutes.

9

Cook the millets until most of the water is absorbed and the grains are cooked through—they should turn soft and slightly mushy. Stir in the fresh cream at this stage and turn off the flame.

 

10

In another pan, heat a teaspoon of olive oil, and sauté the sliced mushrooms on a high flame until they are browned evenly on both sides.

 

11

Ladle the risotto onto a serving bowl. Top it with the browned sliced mushrooms, parmesan, butter, and freshly chopped parsley or basil leaves.

Tips

  1. Soak the proso millet in water for a minimum of 6-8 hours.
  2. You can pressure-cook the millet in the stock to reduce the cooking time.

Variations

The risotto can also be made with chicken stock and minced chicken, or seafood stock and mixed seafood.

Shreya Baid Bothra was a Cooking Lab volunteer during Phase 1 of The Millet Revival Project, contributing several delicious recipes to our recipe bank.

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