Instructions

Step 1

First, crank your oven up to 350°F — you want it fully hot before those millet cakes go in. While it heats, grab a large baking sheet and line it with parchment paper, pressing it flat so there are no crinkles where your cakes might spread unevenly. Give the paper a light coating of oil or cooking spray if you're worried about sticking; the millet mixture can be a little clingy when it's raw.

Step 2

Grab a medium saucepan and add your millet, 2 cups of water, and half a teaspoon of salt. Set it over medium heat and bring everything to a gentle simmer — you'll see small bubbles forming around the edges. Once it's simmering, drop the heat to low, slap a lid on top, and let it cook undisturbed for 15 to 20 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the grains look plump and tender and no liquid remains pooling at the bottom. Kill the heat, keep that lid on, and give the millet 10 minutes to steam and finish absorbing everything. Then fluff it with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl to cool slightly before we move on to the veggies.

Step 3

Grab your largest nonstick skillet — a 12-inch one gives you plenty of room to work with — and warm 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat until it shimmers and moves easily across the pan, about 2 minutes. Toss in the shallot and let it soften, stirring now and then, until it turns translucent and smells sweet, roughly 3 minutes. Add the spinach and carrots all at once; the spinach will look like way too much at first, but give it a stir and it'll collapse down in about 2 minutes. Once the spinach has wilted and the carrots have softened slightly, sprinkle in the garlic, curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook for another 30 seconds until your kitchen fills with that warm, fragrant curry aroma. Scrape the whole mixture into the bowl with your cooked millet and set the skillet aside — you'll need it again in a bit.

Step 4

Now it's time to bring everything together. Crack your egg into a small bowl and whisk it lightly with a fork, then pour in the yogurt and chopped cilantro. If you're going vegan, stir together your ground flax and almond milk in a little ramekin and let it sit for a minute to gel. Pour your wet ingredients into the millet mixture and fold gently with a spatula until you don't see any dry pockets left — the batter should look thick and spoonable, not runny. Grab your ⅓ cup measuring cup and scoop up a generous portion of the mixture. Turn it out onto your prepared baking sheet and use the bottom of the cup or your hands to press it into a round cake about ½ inch thick — roughly 3 inches across. Don't worry about making them perfect; rustic is charming here. Keep scooping and shaping until you've used all the mixture, spacing the cakes about an inch apart on the sheet. Slide the whole tray into the fridge and let the cakes chill until they feel firm to the touch, about 30 minutes for the egg version. The vegan flax cakes set a bit faster, so check them at 15 minutes — you want them to hold their shape when you lift one.

Step 5

Drizzle a generous tablespoon of olive oil over each cake, letting it pool slightly in the centers. Slide the pan onto the middle rack of your 400°F oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through if your oven has hot spots. You'll know they're ready when the edges turn deep golden and crispy, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with no wet batter clinging to it.

Golden Millet Cakes with Carrots & Spinach | Easy Veggie Patties

Millet Cakes with Carrots & Spinach