Wednesday 28 January 2015

Sprouted Ragi Flour (Sprouted Finger-Millet Flour)

Sprouted Ragi Flour (Sprouted Finger-Millet Flour)

Sprouted Ragi Flour



1.       Wash the desired quantity of ragi or finger-millets thoroughly until the water runs clean.
2.       Soak them in water overnight for a duration ranging from 8 - 12 hours. (if the climate is warmer, then the time required would be shorter)
3.       Rinse the ragi or finger-millets thoroughly at least 2 times a day and make sure to drain out as much water as possible from the millets every time you rinse them.
4.       Place all the ragi or finger-millets in a piece of cotton cloth and tie them tightly and let them remain for 8-9 hours. (warmer the climate, shorter is the time required)
5.       Small sprouts will start appearing on the tips of the ragi or finger millets. These sprouts grow big with time.
6.       Spread the whole quantity of ragi or finger-millets on a cloth and let it dry or you can even fry them mildly without oil (zero oil) to get millets dried.

The sprouted ragi or sprouted finger-millets are ready for use. You can grind / mixer the desired quantity of millets as and when required for your daily usage or cooking.

Thalipeeth (Multi-Grain Indian Bread)

Thalipeeth, a multi-grain Indian bread. 
Thalipeeth is a very healthy nutritional breakfast that is considered to be good for heart. It is made up of minimum three different types of grains and consumes less oil.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup bajra millet flour or corn meal
  • 1 cut rice flour
  • 2 cups wheat flour
  • 1 cup gram flour
  • 250 gm fresh leaves like methi (fenugreek) or spinach (finely chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 2-3 onion
  • 5-6 green chillies
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed powder
  • A pinch of asafoetida
  • 1 table spoon coconut powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoon coriander leaves (chopped)
  • Oil for frying
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Thalipeeth

Cooking Directions:

  1. Mix all the above mentioned quantities of flours in a dry pan and roast the flour mixture for about 2 to 3 minutes and then cool it.
  2. Now add 2 tablespoons of oil, dry spices, grated coconut, salt, sugar and fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves and mix well. Adding lukewarm water slowly to the mixture, knead the mixture into a dough. Cover the dough and leave it idle for 15 minutes.
  3. Take a small ball of dough and pat it into a flat-rounded chapati like shape. 
  4. Place the flat-rounded chapati like thalipeeth on a hot oil greased griddle (tawa).
  5. If interested, press some onion rings and green chillies on to the top of the thalipeeth.
  6. Add drops of oil to the edges of the thalipeeth.
  7. Cover the thalipeeth with a plate and leave it on a low flame to be cooked for a minute. 
  8. Apply drops of oil on the upper side of the thalipeeth and turn it over. 
  9. Repeat the steps 6, 7 & 8 until the thalipeeth turns golden brown on both sides.
The healthy and tasty Thalipeeth is ready. Place little butter on it before serving. It can be served hot with raitha or green chutney. Sauce is also a good option.

Monday 19 January 2015

Ragi Porridge or Finger-Millet Porridge

Ragi or Finger Millets:

The millets falls under the category of cereal crops or grains widely cultivated worldwide for food and dried hay. Finger Millet or Ragi do fall under the same category.
In India Finger Millets or Ragi are also called as ragi (in Kannada, Telugu and Hindi), Taidalu (in Telangana region), Mandia (Oriya), Kodra (Himachal Pradesh),  Ariyam(Tamil) and so on.

Ragi or Finger Millet
Finger-Millet or Ragi

Nutritional Values of Ragi / Finger Millets: 

Research on finger-millets or ragi have proven that they have excellent amounts of Iron, Calcium, complex protein,Vitamin B (B6), Phosphorus, Magnesium and Potassium.
These millets are considered to be a very good nutritious diet supplement for babies or infants from the age of 5+ months in the form of a porridge.
Pediatricians today are more towards recommending finger-millet or ragi based food for infants because of its high nutritional values, high in iron and calcium.


Ragi Porridge or Finger-Millet Porridge

Ingredients:
Cooking Directions:
  1. Boil 150ml (3/4 cup) of water
  2. Mix 2 tea spoons of sprouted ragi powder in 50ml (1/4 cup) of cold water separately. This is done to avoid formation of lumps that develops if the powder is added directly to the boiling water.
  3. Add the above prepared ragi solution to the boiling water and stir it simultaneously. (Make sure to keep the flame low through out)
  4. Keep stirring the porridge slowly until it gets closer so as to match the porridge consistency.
  5. Take the porridge into a baby bowl and feed the infant subsiding the heat.

Variations or Alterations:

If needed, we can add jaggery to the porridge as per taste. Never use sugar for Ragi Porridge, as it causes cold to the infants.
Butter or ghee can also be added as per taste, if needed.


NOTE: Never use Ragi flour or powder available in market for infants. Better prepare Ragi flour at home. It is a very simple process.