Small grain, soft finish
Samai is noticeably smaller than the other millets, and it cooks faster because of it. The texture ends up soft and a little creamy — closer to a fine rice than to the firm, separate grain you get from thinai or varagu.
That softness makes it the natural choice for pongal, kheer and anything you want comforting rather than structured. It's also the easiest of the four to feed to children and older family members.
What unpolished means
Polishing scrapes the bran off the grain to make it whiter, faster to cook and longer-lasting. The fibre goes with it.
Ours isn't polished — which is why the grain is an uneven pale gold rather than uniform white, and why a soak still helps even though it cooks quickly.
Why customers choose ALAI
- Unpolished, bran intact. No polishing to whiten the grain.
- Cleaned and hand-sorted. Destoned and sieved before packing — it matters more with a grain this fine.
- Sourced from Tamil Nadu growers. Samai grown where it's always been grown.
- Packed in small lots. Unpolished grain keeps best fresh.
- No additives, no polish, no colour. Just the grain.
How to cook it
Samai is the most forgiving of the four, but it's also the easiest to overcook into mush. Watch the water.
Rinse and soak. Rinse twice — gently, it's a fine grain and washes away easily through a coarse sieve. Soak 20 minutes.
Pressure cooker — 1 cup samai to 2 cups water, 2 whistles, natural release.
Open pot — 1 cup to 2.5 cups water, simmer 12–15 minutes, rest covered 5 minutes, fluff.
For pongal — 1 cup to 3 cups water with the dal. Samai pongal is the standout preparation for this grain.
For upma — dry roast 2 minutes first, then 1 cup to 2.5 cups hot water.
For kheer or payasam — 1 cup to 4 cups milk, simmered slowly. It thickens on its own without any rice flour.
For idli or dosai — swap samai for the rice in your usual batter at the same ratio to urad dal. It gives a softer idli than thinai does.
What to make with it
Samai pongal · Samai payasam · Samai upma · Curd samai · Lemon samai · Samai idli and dosai · Samai kozhukattai · Samai adai · Samai porridge for children
Product details
| Brand | ALAI |
| Grain | Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) |
| Also known as | Samai, samai arisi, kutki, sama, save |
| Processing | Dehusked, unpolished, machine-cleaned |
| Ingredients | 100% little millet. Nothing added. |
| Available in | 500 g / 1 kg |
| Packaging | Food-grade sealed pouch |
| Shelf life | 12 months from packing |
| Storage | Airtight container in a cool, dry place |
| FSSAI Lic. No. | 22426306000092 |
A note on colour and shelf life
Unpolished samai is pale gold and varies between batches — that's the bran. The bran carries natural oils, so unpolished grain keeps for less time than polished. Six months in an airtight jar is realistic. Decant a 5 kg pack into smaller jars rather than opening one repeatedly.
