Ragi Ladoo / Finger Millet Ladoo

Ragi or Finger Millet is one of the most nutritious and healthy cereals. Ragi ladoos are delicious sweet balls made using ragi flour, ghee, and a sweetener. Yes you heard it right. Made with just 3 ingredients, these gluten-free ragi ladoos are tasty and very easy to make. I have used jaggery as a sweetener here and added cashew nut bits and mildly favored the ladoos with cardamom powder, but the addition of nuts and flavorant is purely optional. Ragi ladoo serves as a healthy tasty snack for kids and adults alike. These ladoos can also be made on special occasions or offered as naivedhyam to the deity on festivals.

Finger Millet is a nutritious cereal which resembles Mustard seeds in appearance. It is called as Ragi in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada, Nachani in Marathi, Kodra in Himachal Pradesh and Mandia in Oriya. Ragi is a super grain and has been a part of Indian staple diet, especially in Southern Karnataka where it is eaten as a wholesome meal. Ragi is rich in calcium, protein, vitamin, fiber, and carbohydrate.

Health Benefits of Ragi: Source

• Strengthens Bones: Ragi is a rich source of calcium. In fact, it is considered as one of the best non-dairy sources of calcium. Calcium is an essential mineral required for keeping our bones and teeth healthy and strong.
• Prevents Obesity: Ragi is rich in dietary fiber. This keeps you the feeling of fullness and prevents from overeating.
• Battles Anaemia: Ragi is an excellent source of iron. It is considered as great food for anaemic patients and individuals with low Hemoglobin levels.
• Manages Diabetes: Ragi is a low glycemic index food and helps in keeping the blood sugar levels stable. So diabetic patients are advised to incorporate ragi in their regular diet.
• Improves Digestion: The dietary fiber in ragi aids in smooth bowel movements, helps in proper digestion of food and prevents constipation.
• Good for Lactating Mothers: The presence of amino acids, calcium and iron in ragi enhances the milk production in lactating mothers. 

 We Maharashtrians eat roasted nachnicha (ragi) papad in our daily meals. Nachanicha Satva , a porridge made from sprouted ragi was the first solid food i gave to my son at the age of 6 months at his Annaprashan . He enjoyed ragi porridge up to 2 years of age as breakfast. Thereafter he enjoys this nutritious grain in the form of idli, milkshake, crackers, cakes, and cookies. This ragi ladoo is one of his favourite after-school snack. I have used plain ragi flour in this recipe. You may use sprouted ragi flour as well. The ragi flour is roasted in ghee until aromatic and then jaggery powder is added to it. The mixture is roasted well and flavored with cardamom powder. I have added fried cashew nuts as well. Lastly remaining ghee is added and small balls are rolled out using greased palms. If the ragi flour is fine and the jaggery used is sticky, then rolling the ragi ladoos is a breeze. But if your ragi flour is grainy and the mixture does not bind well, you may add the mix to grinder jar and pulse it so that binding ladoos become easy. You may also sprinkle 1-2 teaspoon of milk to the mixture and mix it well and then try to roll it. Soft and deliciously addictive ragi ladoos are ready to serve! So let's get started. 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 1 dozen 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup Ragi flour
• 1/2 cup jaggery powder
• 3-4 tablespoon ghee
• 2 tablespoon chopped cashew nuts (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder (optional)

Method:

1. In a pan heat 1 tablespoon ghee and add cashew nut bits to it. Fry until they turn golden brown. Remove the fried cashews and keep aside until use.

 2. Now add 1 more tablespoon ghee to the same pan and add ragi flour to it. Roast the ragi flour in ghee on low flame until it becomes aromatic and there is no raw smell coming. If not making for naivedhyam, you may taste the flour. It should taste crunchy and have no raw taste. This will take around 7 minutes on low flame.

3. Now add grated or powdered jaggery and give a good mix. Keep cooking the mixture until the jaggery powder blends well with the flour. If you feel the jaggery is not blending properly with the flour, you may transfer this mixture to a grinder jar and pulse 2-3 times to get the well-blended ladoo mixture.

4. Now add remaining 1 tablespoon ghee, fried cashew bits, and cardamom powder. Mix everything well and put off the flame. Once the mix is cool enough to handle, take 2 tablespoon mixture in your palms and roll it into a ladoo. If the mix still appears dry, sprinkle few drops of milk and then bind the ladoos.

5. Keep the ragi ladoos in an airtight container. The ladoos remain good for about a week to 10 days at room temperature. Serve the delicious ragi ladoos at breakfast with milk or pack them in kids snack box. 

Recipe Notes:

• Addition of nuts and flavorant in these ladoos is purely optional. They taste good without it as well. 
• You may increase the amount of jaggery powder if you like the ladoos to be sweeter.
• You can serve these ladoos to toddlers. Just replace the cashew bits with dry fruit powder to avoid choking hazards.
• The recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.
• You may use plain or sprouted ragi flour to make these ladoos.
• If your ragi flour is grainy and the ladoo mixture does not bind well, you may add the mix to a grinder jar and pulse it so that binding ladoos become easy.
•  You may also sprinkle 1-2 teaspoon of milk to the mixture and mix it well and then try to roll it.
• Keep the ragi ladoos in an airtight container. The ladoos remain good for about a week to 10 days at room temperature.

Sending this Ragi Ladoo recipe to the #199th #FoodieMondayBlogHop, where the theme for this week is #RagiTales. This time the theme was chosen by me taking into consideration the health benefits of this super grain and to create awareness among our readers to include healthy ragi into our regular diet. Do check out my fellow bloggers' post as well for more recipes using Ragi.

                                   

If you like this recipe and ever try it, do share your feedback with us in the comment section below.

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For more ragi recipes from this blog, do check out the following links.

• Eggless Ragi Banana Chocolate Bundt Cake

                              

• Healthy Gingerbread Cookies with Ragi Flour

                              

• Ragi Chocolate Milk Shake

                              

• Baked Finger Millet Crackers