Finger millet & coconut sweet pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups finger millet (ragi) flour
1 cup rice flour
1.5 cups grated coconut fresh or dried
Nuts – almonds, cashews, raisins
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 cup jaggery powder
2.5 cups of water
Ghee for cooking

Method:
Take ragi flour in a bowl. Add rice flour. Crush almonds and cashews. Add these, raisins, and cardamom powder.

Add freshly grated coconut.

Add jaggery powder.

Now add water and with a whisk, give it a good stir so that there are no lumps and the batter should have a dosa batter-like consistency. You may add a little more water if the batter seems thick. Cover and keep aside for 10-15 mins.

On a flat pan, apply ghee with a silicon brush. Take 2 ladles of batter and cook the pancake by covering it with a lid on a mid-high flame until brown on both sides. Similarly, cook the remaining pancakes.

Serve with honey and bananas on top and enjoy them as breakfast or as dessert!

Oil-free Finger millet (Ragi) Dosa

Finger millet (Ragi) is rich in calcium and many other important nutrients required for the body. Ragi is used for many preparations in South India. Ragi dosa made from scratch with ragi seeds is a super healthy dish that can be used for breakfast or meals.

Ingredients:

3 cups ragi seeds

1.5 cups whole urad dal (white lentil)

0.5 cup flattened rice (poha)

1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)

water to soak

salt to taste

Method: 

Wash ragi seeds and urad dal together. Add poha, methi seeds, and water and soak for 7-8 hours. Grind the mixture well till it becomes a smooth paste. You can use the same water in which it was soaked. Add more water if the mixture is thick. Transfer it to a deep dish where there is enough space to rise after fermenting.

Cover with a lid and leave it overnight for fermentation. The mixture rises to double the quantity after fermenting. Mix well with a spoon and add salt. Add water if the consistency is thick.

Heat a flat dosa pan or a smooth tawa on a high flame. Take some water in a small dish and a clean cloth. Put the flame to low. Apply water with the cloth to the entire pan. Take the ragi mixture with the help of a ladle and add 2 ladles to the pan. Quickly spread in clockwise motion such that the dosa is thin and even. Keep the flame high. Let it cook till the sides and center start getting brown. With the help of a wooden spatula, start taking out the dosa from the sides first and then from the center and flip. Let it cook for a few seconds on this side as well and transfer it to a plate.

Similarly, make more dosas.

The thin, crispy, oil-free, healthy, and tasty ragi dosa is ready to serve. Enjoy it hot with any chutney!

Finger millet nutritious powder

Just like we make whole wheat flour nutritious powder (also called panjiri), I made finger millet (ragi or nachani) flour panjiri with edible gum, dried coconuts, and dates. I haven’t added sugar or sweetener as chopped dates give the natural sweetness. But as per your taste, jaggery powder or sugar can be added. This is a very healthy powder that is rich in calcium and protein. Edible gum gives energy, good for colds and coughs, and strengthens the bones. Just 2 tsp a day is enough to provide the required nutrition.

Ingredients:

2 big cups of finger millet (ragi or nachani) flour

100gm edible gum

4 green cardamom

2 tbsp chopped dates

2 tsp flax seeds

2 tsp chia seeds

1 tbsp chopped dried coconuts

2 to 3 tbsp ghee

any other chopped dry fruits (optional)

sugar or jaggery powder (optional)

Method:

Fry edible gum in ghee in a pan till they are fluffy and golden in color. Switch off the gas and coarsely crush it.

Add ragi flour and saute on low flame till the aroma comes out.

Crush green cardamom into powder and add to the mixture.

Add flax seeds and chia seeds.

Add chopped dates and coconut. Switch off the flame.

Store in a glass container at room temperature. This can last for months but it’s best to consume within a month.