Gluten-Free Cooking: Indian Desserts You Can Make With Millets

In recent years, there’s been a surge of interest in gluten-free cooking, especially among people who have gluten sensitivities or simply want to shift to a healthier lifestyle. You must have already tried the popular millet dishes like millet pulao, millet poha, samak rice, bajra dosa, ragi idli, and so on.

But have you tried Indian desserts that can be made with millet? Replacing the traditional flour and rice with millet, you can make some of the best desserts. Froma rich serving of halwa to the creamy kheer and payasam, read on to explore the top Indian desserts made with millets that you cannot miss.

Ragi Halwa

Halwa is a beloved North Indian dessert. Being a highly versatile dessert, it can be made with a wide range of ingredients, including flours like wheat, suji, besan, and vegetables like carrot, beetroot, bottled gourd, and much more. For a gluten-free halwa, you can make it with finger millet, aka ragi. With just ragi flour, jaggery, ghee, and lots of chopped dry fruits and nuts, you can roast the mixture to get a fragrant serving of ragi halwa.

Samak Ke Chawal Phirni

Samak ke chawal, also known as barnyard millet is one of the go-to ingredients that is used while fasting. With a texture similar to rice, you can make gluten-free phirni. All you need to do is soak the millet and then grind it into a coarse paste. Then, simmer the paste in milk till it thickens. With sugar or jaggery, sweeten the phirni and stir in saffron, cardamom, and dry fruits and nuts. Let it cool, refrigerate for a couple of hours and then serve it chilled.

Bajra Kheer

While the traditional kheer is made with rice, you can give the Indian dessert a gluten-free twist with bajra. To make the millet-based dessert, you can soak bajra and then cook it in milk till the grains are soft. Next, add sugar and simmer till you get the desired consistency. Finally, you can garnish it with chopped nuts like almonds, pistachios, and cashews before serving.

Jowar Ladoo

You can make a millet ladoo, with jowar, also known as sorghum. Starting by roasting jowar with some ghee, you can add powdered sugar or jaggery as per your preference. Add in cardamom and a few of your favourite nuts. Then, shape the mixture into balls and your gluten-free dessert will be ready to savour.

Thinai Payasam

Payasam, the beloved South Indian dessert can also be made with foxtail millet, which is also known as Thinai. Similar to the process of making the traditional payasam, you can start by soaking the millet and then cooking it in coconut milk and jaggery syrup. Once you get a creamy pudding-like consistency, you can flavour it with cardamom and nuts like raisins, cashew nuts, and almonds.