May 20 ‘ 2013 : am @ my moms place (Coorg /Kodagu) to attend my cousins wedding. A long three week break from work ! Hurray ! And i wanted to make use of every bit of this holiday by learning some easy healthy recipes for my toddler.The very first recipe she wanted to teach me was ‘Ragi Halwa’ /’Ragi Manni’ ( in konkani). This is a little different from ‘Ragi Porridge‘. Mom said that my granny used to make this often but she only recalled this when she visited a baby next door. This was the daily food given to the four month old infant. Neighbours called it ‘Organic formula for baby’ which kept the baby hale and healthy !
Gyan on the goodness
Ingredients
- 1 cup of ragi
- 3/4 cup of Jaggery
- 1/4 cup pure ghee
- 1 tspn of cardamom powder
- 1 cup coconut milk
This makes a big portion of halwa for the entire family. Try this measure for your first make , once your are comfortable making this , switch to smaller measure.
Method
- Soak Ragi overnight , this becomes almost double the quantity the next morning
- Wash throughly and drain out the water next morning ,Grind it with 1 cup of water until you get a smooth batter
- Sieve the batter using muslin cloth [This is to ensure that all the coarse mixture is left above and only the fine ragi milk is collected at the bottom so that it becomes easier for baby’s digestion]
- Take a thick bottom pan , add ragi milk + coconut milk + ghee + jaggery + cardamom powder. Bring this mixture to boil stirring continuously on a low flame until the liquid thickness
- Once it reaches the required consistency remove from the heat
- Grease a deep bottom plate and pour the mixture . Add cashews on top
- Once the mixture cools down, Cut into small pieces
