Nutty Millet Stir Fry with Red Chilli Sauce

Grains are my new best friends.  I know, I know, it sounds crazy right?  But, they are so awesome.  Only problem is they don’t talk, so I can’t talk to them…I mean that would be ridiculous…Imagine talking to grains, I would need to then answer for them so the conversation is not so one-sided, and then I probably, if heard, would quickly be put in a straight jacket and taken…you know where.  So lets just keep it simple, and just accept these wonderful grains as they are and not expect change :-).

So, to do a Stir Fry is pretty easy as we all know, but this one has toasted almonds in it which is quite cool. Also, instead of the usual rice, it has millet and a killer chilli sauce! Isn’t that cool?  Not…whatever :-). When I first did this meal I used quinoa…of course, haha, I am soooo predictable, but then thought I best change it up a bit and give the other grains a chance in my kitchen :-). I have also done this same stir fry with my favourite roasted chickpeas, instead of the toasted almonds, and it is equally as delicious. So…….anyway, just chop a load of veggies, quickly stir fry them and just before serving, mix in the cooked millet. Meal done. This, with the chilli sauce is dynamite :-). Oh, don’t think about cooking the millet with the actual stir fry, you will regret it, trust me…it just becomes ‘mush’.

Nutty Millet Stir Fry with Red Chilli Sauce

Preparation: 10 minutes  (time will increase if Millet is uncooked and Almonds are not toasted)

Cooking time:  7 minutes

Total time:  17 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

2 1/2 Tablespoons of Red Chilli Soy Sauce

2 1/2 Tablespoons of honey

Zest and juice of one large lemon

For the Stir-Fry:

2/3 cups (100 grams / 3.5 ounces) sliced white onion

7/8 cups (155 grams  / 5.4 ounces) sliced yellow pepper

2 cups (200 grams / 7.1 ounces) sliced red/purple cabbage

4 cups (200 grams  / 7.1 ounces) chopped carrot

1 cup (150 grams  /5.3 ounces) snap peas, roughly chopped

a little olive oil for frying

200 grams (1 cup /7 ounces) cooked millet

100 grams (3/4 cup / 3.7 ounces) dry toasted almonds (plus more if you want)

Instructions:

For the sauce:  Mix the soy, honey and zest together in a small pot.  Add about half of the lemon juice and taste.  If you feel it needs a bit more of a tarty taste, then add the rest.  I generally end up using juice from a whole lemon. Set aside to be heated up just before serving.

On medium heat, add the oil in either a large frying pan or wok. Once heated add the carrots first and give them a head start for a couple seconds, (as they are the hardest raw vegetable) then add the onion, pepper, snap peas and lastly the red/purple cabbage. Stir continuously just for a few minutes until just lightly cooked, but still crunchy.

Add the cooked millet, stir around well and let it nestle around nicely among the veggies. (Now this is the time to multi-task, while you are stirring around the millet, heat up the sauce 🙂

Serve hot and add the dry toasted almonds separately.  I prefer to do this to extend the crunch factor.

Enjoy 🙂

NB*  Please note, that I use a metric scale for all my measurements.

• To dry toast the almonds:  On medium heat, place a frying pan, add the almonds and stir continuously.  Almonds toast quite quickly, so don’t leave them unattended, or they will burn.
• To cook millet:  Cook as per packet instructions.