Millet Meal Polenta Patties

Pearl millet ground up to a coarse meal is something I keep handy. It works great as a substitute for rice meal in some of the Indian dishes. This time, equal parts millet meal and corn meal came together with a dollop of ground lentils to make this polenta.

In case this is sounding complicated, the recipe is very close to Arisi Upma Kozhakattai, only, instead of 2 cups of rice idlee rava as called for in that recipe, I substituted 1 cup millet meal, plus 1 cup corn meal.

Once the thick porridge-like Upma/Polenta is made, roll into a log and pack it in foil, refrigerate it till it sets. I left it in the fridge the previous night, then cooked it for dinner the following evening.

Simply slice up this log when ready, pan cook both sides till brown and the insides are warm. Dust the slices with some chickpea flour before pan-frying to get the extra crispness and brownness, if preferred.

Saute some onions, peppers, tomatoes, and any other favorite veggies. Serve these Millet Meal Polenta Patties topped with the veggies, some feta, plus chopped kale, chopped celery leaves, and chopped spring onions.

Since some yellow pear tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, kale, and spring onions are still alive in my home garden, now in mid-Autumn, I went with these, but, any combination of veggies would work just as well.

Pan-fried Polenta Cakes with Tomato Sauce

Polenta loaf or log is a convenient prepare-ahead item and it keeps in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. To serve, simply cut some 2 cm slices from the loaf or log and pan fry in olive oil till both sides are crispy and the inside is warm. Garnish with sauteed onions and serve with favorite sauce.

To make polenta log or loaf: Cook the polenta in a rice cooker. 1 cup fine cornmeal with 1.5 to 2 cups water or stock. Some olive oil, Italian herbs, salt as needed. Combine it all in the rice cooker and cook in the regular cycle. When done in the rice cooker, allow to cool a bit. Stir in some more olive oil and pack it into a loaf pan or make a log using aluminum foil. Store in the fridge till it hardens and is ready to be cooked.

Sometimes I like to prepare this tomato sauce when tomatoes are in season and home-can them and store in the pantry so it is handy.

Ingredients
For the tomato sauce:
8-10 sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), soaked in hot water
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 12oz home-canned stewed tomatoes (store-bought is good too)
1 celery stalk, diced finely
8-10 cloves of garlic minced
½ sweet onion, diced
4 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder (adjust to taste)
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar (adjust to taste)
4 Tbsp dried oregano leaves
4 Tbsp dried marjoram leaves
½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup red wine
salt to taste
water as needed
2 Tbsp olive oil

Preparation

heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan, add the garlic, onion, celery, basil, parsley, dry herbs/spices and a pinch of salt; sauté till aromatic

transfer the above into a blender or food processor, add all the tomatoes - sun dried, stewed and the paste, blend into a thick sauce adding some water as needed

heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan, add the blended sauce, brown sugar, adjust salt to taste, add water as needed, and simmer for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat; then add the wine and simmer some more till flavors meld and the sauce feels rich and thick

Serve warm with baked polenta, or pan-fried polenta cakes, spaghetti or any favorite pasta.