Millet flake travel mix

Eating well while travelling can be either a match made in heaven or a nightmare, depending on where you’re going and how you’re getting there! This is my little travel mix, inspired by my stay at Vana Ayurvedic Retreat when I combined dried fruits and cinnamon with ragi flakes (a type of dark millet found in Asia) in a jar for my flight home. For the absolute lightest meal I added hot water, allowed it to sit and enjoyed the malty simplicity and all-important dose of spices.

Ragi flakes are not easy to source in the UK but you can usually find regular millet flakes in health-food shops and online – either in crunchy breakfast cereal form or the even more cost-effective rolled millet flakes (think porridge-oats style). Be sure to toast the raw, rolled millet flakes first so that they are easier to digest.

This is a great mix to make ahead, ready for a quick breakfast or your travels. It lasts without the need for a fridge, and if you make it using roasted rolled millet flakes it’s pretty compact. It might seem strange eating cereal without milk, but once the hot water has softened the flakes, you’ll end up with a sweetly spiced porridge.

Serves 4–5

120g crunchy millet flakes (or rolled millet flakes)

1 tbsp fennel seeds

4 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

50g goji berries, raisins or other dried berries

30g desiccated coconut

seeds of 5 cardamom pods, ground

1 tbsp ground ginger (omit if you’re feeling Pitta)

2 tbsp ground coriander

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

3 heaped tbsp chia seeds

3 heaped tbsp whole flaxseeds

1 tbsp jaggery, chopped

1 If you’re using rolled millet flakes, toast them. Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan 150°C/gas mark 3). Spread the flakes on a baking tray, in a 5mm-thick layer. Toast for 5 minutes. Alternatively, toast in a dry frying pan over a low-medium heat, stirring continuously for 1–2 minutes until golden. Add the ghee, stir to coat and allow to cool. Forgo this step if the millet flakes are crunchy, and simply melt the ghee.

2 Toast the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan until fragrant and set aside. Leave to cool and then grind in a pestle and mortar. Transfer to a mixing bowl with the millet flakes and ghee.

3 Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well. Transfer to a glass jar or stainless-steel container with a tightly fitting lid and store somewhere cool. To serve, shake the mix and pour 25g (1 cup) into a bowl or large mug. Pour over 120ml (½ cup) of boiling water, cover and leave for a few minutes, then enjoy.

FEELING
VATA

Be sure to add some ghee and jaggery – if you’re eating it at home you can add at the table.

FEELING
KAPHA

Skip the ghee. There’s no need to wait for the cereal to soften – enjoy it crunchy and chewy!

TIP

•

Also try rolled oats or crunchy millet, rice and oat flakes from health-food shops. These may be sweetened, though, so watch the jaggery.