I love Raagi malt, particularly on cold rainy days like today. It’s May, still so cold here. It is like this since last week. I am waiting for the Sun to shine again.
Raagi (Finger millet, Raagi, Kelvaragu, Muthari, nachni) is a Sanskrit word, and the grain is a type of millet cultivated from ancient times in India. Proved to be rich in protein, calcium, iron and further it is gluten free. At our home in India, ragi grains are roasted first and then milled to fine powder. We prepare a rejenevating drink called ragi malt or ragi ganji with this freshly milled fragrant ragi powder.
Ragi flour, milk and water boiled together and sweetened with sugar or jaggery is ragi malt - popular as poor man’s or farmers health drink because of ready availability, low prices for the grain and nutritious, filling quality. If it is good for a farmer and to an ancient Sanskrit speaking person, then it must be good for me too, so I often prepare this drink in place of coffee and tea.
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Raagi flour is available at Indian grocery shops. I brought mine from India. Freshly milled and needless to say so much better than the store bought flour. Back home, my mother and mother-in-law, both prepare this drink daily. It’s a routine for them, nothing fancy or special like for us here. And they always flavor the drink with cardamom.
Recipe:
for two cups
1 tablespoon of ragi flour
1 glass of water or milk
2 tsp of sugar or powdered jaggery
1/2 tsp of powdered cardamom
Preparation:
First take the ragi flour in a cup. Add half glass water slowly. Combine to smooth, lump free paste. This is essential. Do not add the flour directly to boiling water, it will clump into lumps.
In a vessel, take one glass of water or milk. Preparing this drink with milk alone is too rich for me so I usually add few drops of milk to water.
Heat till the water reaches boiling stage. Then add the dissolved ragi flour solution slowly to the boiling water (milk), continuously stirring with a spoon. This will prevent the formation of lumps. If you add the flour mix to water before the boiling stage, the flour will separate and it won’t be suitable to drinking. You have to throw it away, so wait for water (milk) to start boiling, then add the flour mix. This step is very important in preparing the good raagi malt.
Add sugar or jaggery per your taste and pinch of cardamom (Elachi) powder. Reduce the heat to medium level, and simmer the ragi malt for 5 minutes, stirring in-between. Turn off the heat.
Let it cool to warm, and then pour into a glass or cup.
When the body needs a break from caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea, Ragi Malt is the perfect warm beverage.
