Ragi: Indian Super Food Grain

Ragi or finger millet is one of the most nutritious among the millet family. This gluten free grain is a great choice for those who cant have gluten food. Ragi, a staple of South India, has find its ways to different parts of world and people are now increasingly including it in their daily diets. Simply because of its amazing health benefits. Also for the farmers its an ideal choice as it involves low production cost and can be cultivated in less water which means not much worry about the pests rotting away the crop, giving it a high perishability.

ragi grainss — Ragi Grains
*Image by shutterstock*

Ragi being quite rich in Calcium, becomes an ideal choice for all age groups: toddlers, kids, elders. Its really important for maintaining the bone health specially in kids. Its a fibre-rich food so it gives the full feeling and he nce helps in weight-loss. Being rich in amino acids, it helps in muscle repairs, and is quite good source of proteins. It helps gain the good fat and controls the cholesterol. An important point to be noted here is that it is quite a good source of carbohydrates, so people who are diabetic need to have it in portion control. Though it helps maintaining the sugar levels, since its good in starch content, people with diabetes can have them with other grains or pulses.

**Ragi Ladoo**
***Image by Dreams time***

**South Indian food ragi dosa with chutney**
**Image by istock**

There are several recipes that can be made using Ragi flour (Ragi Flour is obtained by grinding the grains into powder, similar to Wheat Flour). Using Ragi, porridge, Dosa, Roti, Stuffed Roti, Ladoos, Cheela, Cake, Cookies, Pudding ,... The list is quite long. Its not easy to make recipes using this grain like in wheat flour but results are great for the hard work. Those who like to eat wheat can mix both the flours (more of wheat than the ragi flour) to include it in daily diet without much of the special effort). This way the cooking wont be burdened and you would be able to have the nutrition in meals itself.

I shall be posting the recipes for Ragi healthy food soon on the blog.

Till then, take care stay at home, be safe and be healthy.