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After a long summer vacation kids are getting back to school. School life is tiring and we all have gone through it. It’s through these growing years that children need good nutrition and what if this nutrition can be made tasty and interesting with newer recipes time and again.

Here are a few healthy recipes that can be made with Ragi

1. Ragi Porridge

Ingredients

• Ragi Flour 30gms
• Water 200ml
• Salt/ Jaggery
• Milk 3 tbsps/ Buttermilk 50ml
• Ghee 1 tsp

Procedure:

• Take a pan and fill in the pan with water and allow it to boil.
• Once the water starts boiling add jaggery or salt depending on the type of porridge. Then add ragi slowly while stirring in the water and prevent lumps formation.
• Stir continuously till ragi is cooked for 5 minutes.
• Once ragi is cooked add milk or buttermilk and turn off the heat.
• Serve ragi hot with ghee and topped with nuts like almonds or walnuts.

Notes:

• Ragi porridge is a simple yet healthy recipe that an infant can start their food with ragi apart from rice which is used as their first food.
• Ragi is gluten free, hence it is given to people having gluten intolerance too.
• It is less allergic unlike oats and thus, can be used as a universal food.
• People who don’t take milk can substitute ragi for good calcium in their diet.
• As we know ragi is a millet that is rich in calcium and iron. It also has good B complex vitamins.
• It can be had as a breakfast option or mid morning snack too.
• Can be used in weight loss diets too.

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 5 mins

Serving size: 1 No.

2. Apple and Ragi Halwa

Ingredients:

• Apple 1 no.
• Ragi 3tbsps
• Ghee 1 tsp
• Water little
• Cinnamon powder a pinch
• Jaggery 2 tsps

Procedure

• Soak apple in salt water to wash off the pesticides on the skin for few minutes.
• Grind the apple with skin or without skin and keep aside.
• Take a pan, add water and jaggery and allow it to boil.
• Once the water starts boiling add ragi flour and stir continuously and mix together to remove lumps.
• Once ragi is cooked, add ghee and grounded apple paste to the ragi and mix well.
• Stir it together for few seconds and switch off the heat.
• Make sure we are not cooking apple too much.
• Serve hot or refrigerate it for half an hour and serve with Grated nuts.

Notes:

• Ragi is used for its good iron and calcium content. It’s as filling as our routine cereals we take.
• Its best used for kids as ragi helps in bone formation and healthy teeth too.
• It’s easily cooked and mixed with various ingredients to make it healthier as we mixed apple that is rich in soluble fiber and also Vitamin C and made the recipe more nutritious.
• Best for breakfast option and evening snack once the kids come back from school , this recipe can be served to replenish their nutrition.

Preparation time: 2 mins

Cooking time: 7 mins

Serving Size: 1 no.

3. Ragi Idli

Ingredients:

• Idli Rice/ or idli rawa -1 cup
• Ragi flour/finger millet flour -2 cups
• Whole Urad dal (whole/without skin) – 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds -1/2 tsp
• Salt as needed

Procedure:

• Wash and soak urad dal + fenugreek seeds for 4 hours. Wash and soak rice separately for 4-5 hours or we get lidi rawa separately which can be soaked and added directly to urad dal after grounded.
• Grind urad dal adding water little at a time until smooth and fluffy. Remove and keep it in a vessel.
• Grind rice adding water from time to time to a slightly coarse batter.
• Now add the urad dal batter, ragi flour and salt to the rice batter and grind everything together until well mixed. The consistency of the batter should be similar to idli batter (neither too thick nor too thin).
• Remove from the wet grinder and mix it well with your hands. Leave it to ferment overnight or for 7-8 hours. Use a big vessel to prevent it from over flowing as it will double while fermenting. Our Ragi Idli batter is ready.

Method

• Heat water in an idli vessel or steamer. Mix the fermented ragi idli batter well and pour a ladle of batter into the idli molds and place it inside the steamer or idli cooker.
• Steam cook for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the idli comes out clean. Once done sprinkle water and remove from the mold after 2-3 minutes.
• Serve hot with sambar or chutney of your choice.

Notes:

• Ragi idli is a steamed recipe and it will gain lot of nutritional value.
• Best had for breakfast options. It is also a good tiffin option for school or evening snack once the child returns from school
• Easily digestible and has good probiotic bacteria as it is fermented.
• Calcium rich with less fat.

Preparation Time: 30mins

Cooking time : 20 mins

Serving size: 4 no.s

4. Ragi coconut cookies

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup desiccated coconut / dried coconut
• ¾ cup ragi flour / finger millet flour (can use even ragi puttu podi for the best crust)
• ½ cup wheat flour or plain flour/ maida (if possible use unbleached flour)
• 150 grams unsalted butter
• 150 grams jaggery
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 to 2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 small egg

Procedure:

• Take butter and jaggery in a bowl and beat them together till light and fluffy.
• Once it is done add egg and beat it in a blender. Also add vanilla extract and mix well
• Now add coconut, wheat flour and maida. Blend them continuously.
• Once a moist dough is formed, sprinkle honey all over evenly and mix it.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C for at least 15 mins.
• Make balls and flatten them slightly on the baking sheet.
• Bake the balls till done. It may take around 10 mins.
• Make these in batches till the entire dough is finished.
• Cool the ragi biscuits on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container and use up within 2 weeks.

Notes:

• These biscuits are very healthy and has good energy.
• Can be used as an interval snacks for the kids instead of regular biscuits as these contain ragi which has calcium and iron.
• As they contain wheat flour too fiber is also well incorporated in the recipe.
• Kids like cookies and tend to go out and buy them. Instead these can be prepared at home with good sanitation and hygiene.
• Overall, nutritious and kids love biscuits as their snacks, Hence, a well nutritious and filling recipe.

Preparation Time: 1hr

Cooking time: 10mins

Serving size: 4 no.s of biscuits.

5. MULTI GRAIN DOSA

Ingredients:  1:4 ratios

• 1 cup Urad dal (soak separately)
• 1 cup of each jowar , ragi, bajra, brown rice ( anyother millet combination) (soak all together)
• 2 tsp methi seeds
• Salt

Preparation:

• Soak
• Grind all together and make a batter.
• Leave it to ferment.
• Add salt just before cooking
• Make dosa on the pan and serve hot.

Notes:

• Because of the colour of ragi, dosa is modified to be mixed with different grains and made acceptable to the eyes. As it is said, we eat first with our eyes.
• We can mix only ragi and dal and rice and make dosas. But, making a multi grain dosa will also give various nutrients that each ingredients have.
• Kids usually get bored with regular breakfast options hence, such innovative and different ingredients should be used to get various nutrients.

6. Ragi and Nuts laddoo

Ingredients:

• Ragi 3 tbsps
• Almonds 4 nos.
• Walnuts 4 no.s
• Coconut 1.5 cup
• Elaichi 4 no.s
• Jaggery 1 cup
• Sesame seeds 2 tbps

Procedure:

• Roast ragi flour in 1 tbsp. ghee till it turns aromatic.
• Dry roast almonds, walnuts and set aside
• Lightly roast coconut and sesame seeds. Cool them.
• Grate jaggery and set aside.
• Now blend dry ingredients together or separately i.e., almonds, walnuts, coconuts, sesame seeds and elaichi
• Now add Ragi flour in the blender and jaggery and blend well.
• Let the oil in the nuts and other ingredients ooze out and mix well in the blender.
• Make balls while the mix is still warm. If needed add melted warm ghee and make balls.
• Ragi and nuts laddoo are ready to eat.

Notes:

• As it is laddoo kids like to carry them in their wrist while studying or playing and eat.
• They can be stored for weeks.
• Most of the kids feel stressed up during their exams and tend to loose hair.
• As ragi and nuts contain iron it will help them gain lustrous hair.
• Also nuts contains good fats which will help the kids to have a good memory.

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Serving size: 5 no.s of laddoos

7. Ragi Banana Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purporse flour
• 1/2 cup finger miller flour (ragi flour)
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs or Flaxmeal Egg Replacer
• 1-1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 cup milk or almond milk (vegan)
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup of mashed bananas

Directions for Ragi Banana Chocolate Cake Recipe

• To begin making the Chocolate Banana Finger Millet Cake Recipe, first get all the ingredients ready.
• Next, preheat the oven to 180 C and grease and flour a large loaf pan or a spring foam pan or a bunt pan
• Sift the flours, cocoa powder, along with baking powder and salt. Keep aside. I like to double sift the flours as it incorporates a good amount of air.
• In a large bowl add in the oil, sugar, eggs (Flaxmeal Egg Replacer), vanilla essence and milk. Beat together all the ingredients until combined.
• Gradually beat in the flour mixture and finally the bananas. Beat until all the ingredients are well combined.
• Pour the cake batter into the greased pan, place it into the oven to bake for about 35 to 45 minutes until a tester when inserted inside comes out clean.
• Once the chocolate banana cake is baked, allow it to cool for a little bit before you can cut into slices.
• Serve the Healthy Finger Millet Banana Chocolate Cake along with tea or coffee or even as a healthy snack for the kids.

Note:

• Cakes are delicious, and healthy if ingredients are planned well.
• We buy cakes from outside to celebrate birthdays, anniversarys etc. Cakes are a token of celebration.
• When prepared at home, we can plan healthy nutrients and prevent bacterial contamination and prepare hygienically.
• As kids love cake delicacies, they can get good nutrients like calcium, iron, good calories too from ragi and as we are adding banana it had good antioxidants like zinc and gives us energy too.

Preparation time: 1 hr

Cooking time: 40 mins

Serving size: Half a kg cake

Let’s make healthy combinations for the kids and make them happy and stay healthy.