Ragi porridge is an easy and simple recipe that comes as an optimum food for babies and working adults.
Ragi is one of the millet crops first cultivated in Karnataka, reportedly in the iron age. Thus, it is one of the staple food choices man consumes, alongside or as a substitute to rice or wheat. People also call this the finger millet due to its little shape and reddish-brown colour.
Various recipes that are prepared from the millet
Many South Indian delicacies provide a slot for recipes made from ragi. These delicacies are people’s choice and each one has its nativity from diverse regions. Ragi porridge, ragi dosa, ragi idli, ragi puttu are some of the notable dishes of the finger millet! To give a sweet fusion to your main ingredient, add ragi cake, ragi halwa, ragi laddoo and ragi semiya (a vermicelli sweet porridge with ragi) to your cookbook list!
Now, here are some recipes for ragi and other healthy substitutes!
Ragi murukku– A delicious South Indian savoury snack to munch on in your tea time!
Moong dal chilla– A crepe made from moong dal batter that makes a plate of nutritious breakfast!
Atta chilla– This tastes like paratha but another healthy meal to complete your day!
Sprout’s chilla– It is a mix of green sprouts into a batter and cooked as crispy round crepes. This chilla can be labelled as kids favourites.
Palak pakora– What if you want to give the boring yet healthy spinach leaves, a savoured twist. Try making a pakora from the palak leaves for your snacking time!
The diverse nutritional values that a single bowl of ragi porridge consists of!
A single serving of ragi porridge recipe consists of ginormous nutritional benefits. Thus, it is one of the most preferred meals for babies and toddlers. Also, due to the porridge’s soft and smooth texture with a tint of sweetness.
Firstly, ragi is a famous millet type that helps with weight reduction. Secondly, it is one of the easily digestible millets and highly recommended for diabetic patients. Thirdly, due to the abundance of antioxidants available, it slows down the ageing of the skin. It is good for our hair growth and the availability of a high amount of calcium results in the strengthening of the bones and teeth. Lactating mothers can have ragi in their diet list because it increases the production of milk.
Now, let us have a quick look at the making of the porridge.
How to make ragi porridge?
For the ragi porridge recipe, take 4 tablespoons of ragi (finger millet) powder in a pan. To that, add 2 cups of water. Mix them well or whisk them to avoid the formation of lumps. Take it to the stove and start heating the mix in medium flame. Stir them at equal intervals till they start thickening. At this stage, add 2 tablespoons of jaggery (palm sugar) and 1/3 tablespoon of cardamom powder (elachi powder). Give a nice stir to the porridge. When the ingredients blend, transfer the porridge to a bowl and garnish them with cashew nuts (or dry fruits if needed). Serve them hot!
Pro tips to make the recipe more delicious!
Firstly, as a healthy option, you can replace water with milk for baby food. That is an added value of taste along with the nutritional values.
You can also make savoured porridge with buttermilk and a little amount of cumin powder.
For garnishing, you can always choose dates and dry fruits like raisins. Not only they sweeten the porridge but also makes a great additive of health facts to a single cup. These also help in making the dish, kids and toddlers favourite easily!
Here is an altered recipe for preparing the ragi porridge. Instead of dry millets, let these millets sprout. Then take sprouted ones to grind them to a fine powder. Now use this powder and follow the above-mentioned way to prepare the dish!
The addition of water is always flexible based on the porridge’s consistency. If you need your porridge thin, you can add more water.
While preparing the recipe for toddlers, you can add blanch almond powder by grinding dry almonds.
Here’s the video of making ragi porridge
Have a look at the printable version of the recipe
