Today, I will share a diabetic-friendly homemade health mix or sathu maavu prepared with five ingredients. With the goodness of barley, green moong dal, whole wheat, boiled rice, and roasted gram dal, this kanchi maavu is sure to be a healthy and fiber-rich breakfast option.
Porridge/gruel, or kanchi or Kanji, is one of the quintessential family breakfast options. Be it salt ones like kambu koozh or sweet ones like ragi or oats porridge, we love it all. If you follow my weekly meal planners, you will know that my menu is incomplete without the sathu maavu kanji.
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What is sathu maavu
Sathu maavu is a Tamil word meaning nutritious flour. As the name indicates, it’s a homemade health mix powder, a nutritious blend of various grains, lentils, nuts, and spices. It is widely used in South Indian households as a healthy food supplement, especially for breakfast. People of all ages, including children, can consume this health mix.
The recipe I am sharing today is also perfect for elders and is diabetic-friendly.
Common ingredients in sathu maavu
The health mix is typically made by roasting and grinding different ingredients to create a fine powder. Mix and match these ingredients to make a healthy mix per your dietary specifications.
Cereals and Grains: We can use parboiled rice, wheat, finger millet, pearl millet, or other millet of your choice, as well as barley.
Pulses and Legumes: We can use green moong dal, whole urad dal, or roasted gram (pottukadalai).
Nuts and Seeds: When we make the health mix for kids, we can also add nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
Other Ingredients: To add flavor to the health mix, we can add cardamom.
Ingredients required for diabetic-friendly sathu maavu
For this health mix, I have used equal measures of barley, parboiled rice, wheat, roasted gram, and green moong dal.
This kanchi maavu has all the essential ingredients that provide the required vitamins and minerals along with the protein and the carbs. We all know that barley and green moong dal have a low GI and are nutritional powerhouses, making it perfect for elders.
PS – I got the recipe from my MIL, who in turn got this recipe from a recipe suggestion/tidbit on a novel.
Frequently asked questions
I highly recommend getting it ground in a flour mill or using a power home mill like wondermill or Nutrimill. But if you don’t have access to both, I recommend making the health mix in small batches and grinding in a mixer jar. Ensure you sieve the health mix and grind the coarse ones until smooth.
Yes, I do freeze them. I usually bring my homemade health mix from India and, I freeze the well-sealed packets till I use them. I keep the opened ones in an airtight container at room temperature and usually use them within three months.
I have shared a detailed video of another variation on my Youtube channel along with my MIL, where she shared all tips for roasting the ingredients, how long to roast them, cues to look for, etc. Also, I shared how to grind the ingredients at home using Wondermill. Please check the video in this link.
Watch me make sathu maavu
How to make sathu maavu
- Heat a kadai or heavy bottom pan, add the green gram dal, and dry roast over medium flame for three to four minutes or until you can smell the aroma. Remove it from the kadai and let it cool.
- Add the whole wheat and dry roast for three to four minutes or until they pop out. Remove it from the pan and let it cool.
- Next, add the boiled rice. Let it roast for three to four minutes or until the rice turns light brown. Once the rice turns brown, remove it from the kadai and let it cool.
- Now add the barley and dry for three to four minutes.
- Remove the barley and reduce the heat. Add the roasted gram dal and dry roast over low flame for one minute.
- Let all the ingredients cool and grind them all together. In India, we typically give it in a flour mill and get it ground. After grinding, do not close the lid. Let the mix cool for about one hour before storing it in an airtight container.
How to make sathu maavu kanji
- Take about 2 tbsp of kanchi powder and mix in 1 cup of water. Cook it over medium flame till it thickens.
- Let it cool.
- For Sweet Kanchi, add 2 cups of lukewarm milk and jaggery or sweetener of your choice and mix well without any lumps and enjoy warm or cold.
- For Savory Kanchi, add 2 cups of thin buttermilk, salt and mix well without any lumps and enjoy cold. Add 1 tbsp chopped onion, 1 tsp of cilantro, and ¼ tsp of ginger and curry leaves for added flavor.
Other ways to use the health mix
Smoothies: You can blend a tbsp into smoothies to boost protein and nutrients. You can check my homemade mango smoothie, where I would have added the sathu maavu.
Snacks: You can make quick snacks like sathu maavu urundai/laddu, protein-rich sweet snacks to curb your sweet tooth cravings and hunger pangs.
VVK Tips
- Do not roast all the ingredients together. You must roast them individually over medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Keep stirring the ingredients when roasting so that it’s evenly roasted.
- Do not roast the ingredients over high heat; do not leave them unattended for long.
Recipe Notes
- You can roast the ingredients in any order. You can double or triple the measure to make the health mix in bulk. Ensure you are roasting the ingredients in batches, and do not rush the roasting process.
- We prefer an equal measure of all the ingredients. But you can change it to your preference.
- For this kanchi, instead of regular rice, parboiled rice is highly recommended as its GI is low.
- If you prefer gluten-free kanchi, ignore wheat and increase the measure of other ingredients. Alternatively, you can use millets of your choice.
Homemade spice mixes
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📖 Recipe
Sathu Maavu | Homemade Health Mix
Ingredients
- 200 grams whole wheat
- 200 grams green moong dal
- 200 grams parboiled rice
- 200 grams roasted gram / pottukadalai
- 200 grams barley
Instructions
How to make sathu maavu
- Heat a kadai or heavy bottom pan, add the green gram dal, and dry roast over medium flame for three to four minutes or until you can smell the aroma. Remove it from the kadai and let it cool.
- Add the whole wheat and dry roast for three to four minutes or until they pop out. Remove it from the pan and let it cool.
- Next, add the boiled rice. Let it roast for three to four minutes or until the rice turns light brown. Once the rice turns brown, remove it from the kadai and let it cool.
- Now add the barley and dry for three to four minutes.
- Remove the barley and reduce the heat. Add the roasted gram dal and dry roast over low flame for one minute.
- Let all the ingredients cool and grind them all together. In India, we typically give it in a flour mill and get it ground. After grinding, do not close the lid. Let the mix cool for about one hour before storing it in an airtight container.
- How to make sathu maavu kanji
- Take about 2 tbsp of kanchi powder and mix in 1 cup of water. Cook it over medium flame till it thickens.
- Let it cool.
- For Sweet Kanchi, add 2 cups of lukewarm milk and jaggery or sweetener of your choice and mix well without any lumps and enjoy warm or cold.
- For Savory Kanchi, add 2 cups of thin buttermilk, salt and mix well without any lumps and enjoy cold. Add 1 tbsp chopped onion, 1 tsp of cilantro, and ¼ tsp of ginger and curry leaves for added flavor.
Video
Notes
- Do not roast all the ingredients together. You must roast them individually over medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Keep stirring the ingredients when roasting so that it’s evenly roasted.
- Do not roast the ingredients over high heat; do not leave them unattended for long.
- You can roast the ingredients in any order. You can double or triple the measure to make the health mix in bulk. Ensure you are roasting the ingredients in batches, and do not rush the roasting process.
- We prefer an equal measure of all the ingredients. But you can change it to your preference.
- For this kanchi, instead of regular rice, parboiled rice is highly recommended as its GI is low.
- If you prefer gluten-free kanchi, ignore wheat and increase the measure of other ingredients. Alternatively, you can use millets of your choice.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Update Notes: Earlier posted in 2017, now updated with recipe card, FAQ section.
Have you made health mix powder in flour mill/ wonder mill here in USA? Does it grind into fine powder? What appliance do you recommend for grinding into fine powder. Could you please tell me.
Yes, I have made it in wondermill and I have posted it on YT. It comes out fine, no issues.
Thanks for the receipe .this.looks easy..can it be used teenagers. Can I avoid barley.or instead of it can I use any other ingredient.pls suggest which one to use
Sure you can use ragi or any other millet too.
I would stock a lot of this powder to use little by little. Looks amazing!
Thanks :-) It really comes in handy for smoothies and shakes.
This Kanji Mavoo sunds interesting and most healthy…
Thanks Anlet. :-)