Ragi pakora

Ragi is a healthy alternative to the regular cereals, but sometimes you want to attempt something other than the steamed stuff. I was pretty amused to find a recipe for deep fried ragi pakodas- seems almost a contradiction in terms- but they were absolutely amazing.

1 cup ragi flour

1/2 cups besan

12 large florets cauliflower

1 tsp pepper powder

2 sprig curry leaves

1 tbsp chopped cashew nuts

1 tsp sesame seeds

Salt to taste 

Oil for frying

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients well. Add water to make a partially loose batter (similar to idlis batter)

Cut the curry leaves into small pieces

Separate the florets into bite sized pieces

Add curry leaves, cashew nut and sesame seeds to the batter and mix  well. 

Heat the oil. Dip the florets in the batter and fry in the oil, turning around once so both sides are browned. 

Serve hot with a curd based dip. 

Ragi korakattai

I'm trying to mix up the cereals in our diet, and my new favourite is ragi flour. These steamed dumplings are similar to the savoury korakattai made with rice flour, and I absolutely love them because they can be rustled up in a jiffy and taste really good. 

I use only half the indicated quantity of jaggery, but this is the original recipe. 

1 cup ragi flour

1/2 cup grated coconut 

1/2 cup grated jaggery

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of salt

3 tbsp water

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients together (keeping aside 1 tbsp coconut), add water gradually to make a firm dough. 

Roll into lemon sized balls and press into an oval shape. 

Steam in a steaming plate or an idli maker for 10 minutes. 

Garnish with coconut and sugar before serving. 

Ragi utappam

I am experimenting with different kinds of grains these days, and ragi is top of the list, since it was always there on my list. Ragi and coconut makes an awesome combination, and this proves it yet again!

1 cup ragi flour
1/3 cup grated coconut
A pinch of salt
Oil for frying

Method:
Mix the coconut and ragi flour well, and add water slowly, with constant stirring to get a firm batter. It should not be to runny, and there should be no lumps. Add salt and mix well. Let it stand for half an hour (or more)
Heat the utappam pan, and pour in the batter. Add a touch of oil around the edges. Let it cook on a low flame, till the edges start to rise up. Flip over and cook the other side.
Serve with white butter.

Ragi idiyappan

The packers seem to have lost an entire carton of kitchen equipment, so I had to go shopping for things as basic as kadhais, tawas and pressure cookers. Since this is the first time I have gone utensil shopping since I started cooking seriously, I ended up picking up a whole lot of stuff I never possessed, but which I now feel I cannot do without. One of them was the sevai maker (which can double up as a chakli maker), which I had to try out at once. I could have started with the conventional seat, but thought of making a ragi sevai instead. I've adapted the recipe so it tastes like ragi puttu, and we all loved it.

2 cups ragi flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups water

Grated coconut to taste

1 or 2 bananas

Oil for greasing

Additional equipment- idli steamer, sevai maker

Method:

Roast the ragi flour till the raw smell goes. Add salt and mix well. 

Gradually add water, mixing and kneading throughout, till you get a consistency thicker than dosa batter but looser than roti dough*. Knead a bit more, till smooth. 

Grease the idli maker and the inside of the sevai maker with a bit of oil. 

Fill the sevai maker with the dough, and pipe it onto the idli moulds.

Cut the banana into slices and place around and above the piped dough. 

Steam for 15 minutes. 

Carefully demould the idyappams, garnish with coconut (you can mix some sugar with it), and steamed bananas and serve. 

You can also enjoy idyappams with butter and sugar. 

*- I am not mentioning quantities, because the recipes I said 2:3, but i required only 1:1

Ragi Milk

I know it is ridiculous, but ever since I bought ragi flour, ever meal seems to have become a ragi meal. This ragi milk is very popular in Karnataka, and though my mother has it often, I made it for the first time today. And we all loved it.

For 3 cups ragi milk:

1/4 cup ragi flour

1/2cup water

2 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar-cinnamon mix

Method:

Heat the water, add some water to the flour to make a paste. Add the paste to the water, and cook with constant stirring till the paste turns shiny. 

Blend milk, ragi paste and sugar in a mixer till smooth. Serve chilled. 

You can replace the cinnamon with cardamom powder. 

Savoury ragi drink

Ragi Ragas is my seemingly endless list of dishes requiring ragi!!!

1/4 cup ragi flour

1/2cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk 

Salt to taste

To temper:

1/2 tsp til oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

4-5 curry leaves

Method:

Heat the water, add some water to the flour to make a paste. Add the paste to the water, and cook with constant stirring till the paste turns shiny. 

Blend buttermilk, ragi paste and salt in a mixer till smooth. 

Heat the oil, and temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour over the ragi-buttermilk. 

Serve chilled. 

You can replace the cinnamon with cardamom powder. 

Ragi puttu

XI recently bought a packet of ragi flour, and have been sold on the cereal so much, I've been using it everywhere. This is a recipe I found online, and since it has two other ingredients that I love, I decided to try it out for lunch. Definitely something I will make again.

 1/2 cup ragi flour

A pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp jaggery, rated

2-3 tbsp grated coconut for garnish

1/2 tsp ghee

Method:

Take ragi flour and salt in a soft cotton cloth, fold it with the flour inside and steam for 10-12 minutes or until you get a nice aroma of steamed ragi flour.

Spread the steamed ragi, add 4 tbsp water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix well. There should be no lumps. 

Put the dough in a cloth, and steam for 10 minutes in an idli maker. 

Break it into a powder, add jaggery and coconut, mix well and serve. 

Ragi cookies

In Bangalore you have these Iyengar Bakeries, where you get a variety of baked goods. Of all the varieties on offer, one that I remember most fondly is the Ragi cookies, because that is the only place I have ever tasted them. So when I ended up with a packet of ragi flour, I had to attempt some cookies. The recipe is entirely mine, and had I been more careful with the oven, I would have got a much nicer batch.

1/2 cup ragi/ nachani flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar, powdered (I used a bit less)
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
Powder the sugar and keep aside.
Sieve the flour and baking powder a few times till well mixed.
Add the sugar, and sesame seeds and mix well.
Add the oil, and vanilla essence, and knead to a firm dough.
Grease a baking tray, and place balls of dough on it (I got 16 balls)
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees, and bake for 12- 15 minutes.

Nachani Ladoo

I was having lunch with a colleague and she told me about the various flours that are used in traditional Maharashtrian cooking. Ragi or nachani flour is apparently very high in calcium, and iron, and I was tempted to try out this simple recipe as soon as I heard about it. I loved it, but next time, I think I will go easy on the sesame seeds- it might just taste better without it.

1 cups ragi flour
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup peanuts
¼ cup coconut
1/4 cup jaggery
2 tbsp ghee

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the flour till you get a nice aroma of ragi. Set this aside to cool.
Dry roast peanuts, cool, remove the skin.
Dry roast sesame seeds, cool.
In a blender, powder together peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut.
Add the jaggery, and powder it well.
Add the flour and ghee, and mix well in the blender till the oil oozes from the mix.
Make balls while the mix is still warm. If needed add melted warm ghee and make balls.

Ragi dosa

I love the ragi dosas at Madras Cafe, and would actually made periodic pilgrimages to Matunga only so I could have it. Then decided I would try making it myself, and on the second or third attempt got it right.
The best thing about this is that you don't have to plan for it in advance. Just mix the flours, let it soak, and you are ready to start pouring!
 

1/2 cup Ragi flour/ Nachani ka atta
1/4 cup rice flour
1 onion chopped fine
1 green chilli chopped fine
1 tsp jeera powder
Salt to taste
Butter milk to make the batter - as much as needed

Mix ragi flour and rice flour. Add buttermilk and stir to make a batter with the consistency of dosa batter. Add onions, chilli and salt.
On a medium hot dosa pan, pour the batter and make dosas. Drizzle oil, and let it cook on both sides on a medium flame. 
Serve with plum chutney, because the flavours really compliment each other.

Tip- To get the dosa right, you have to ensure the temperature of the dosa pan is not too high. If it is, lower the temperature by sprinkling water.