Instant Ragi Dosa

Ragi Dosa 

RAGI or finger millet widely grown in Karnataka, is also the staple cereal in the villages of the State. High in fibre and nutrients and a rich source of calcium, it is a versatile cereal that is used to make dosas, rotis, mudde, breakfast porridge and idlis. Bakeries have started supplying ragi bread in a big way which, alongside wholewheat bread, is preferred by diabetics to the white bread made from refined flour.

My mother-in-law used to make a drink called ragi malt, which was a watered down version of the ragi porridge that we all gulped down as a mid-morning beverage, if it can be called that. It sustained us in the gap between breakfast and lunch time and more importantly, stalled the temptation to indulge in unhealthy snacking in between. She also made ragi dosas for breakfast, following no particular recipe or proportion...just a mix of wheat and ragi flours. At times she simply added some ragi flour to leftover rice dosa batter to make ragi dosas or to regular wholewheat flour to make ragi-fortified rotis! Sometimes she added chopped onion, green chillies and green coriander leaves for added flavour and a hint of pungency. She always bought whole ragi grain, got it washed and thoroughly sun-dried before sending it to be powdered at the local mill. Just as she did with wheat that was cleaned and sun-dried before milling.

I found ragi porridge the perfect weaning food over Cerelac when I started my babies on semi-solids.   

My friend Geetanjali, who keeps experimenting with healthy food options had recently made delicious ragi laddoos and also light as air cookies from ragi.   

Ragi items with their dull brown colour don't look one bit appetizing...but I just think of the health quotient and try to include this cereal more often in our diet. Here I have adapted a ragi dosa recipe from an old newspaper clipping, that I often make for breakfast. The original recipe calls for soaking the ragi grains overnight and grinding them the next morning. But the most convenient option is to use readymade ragi powder that is available in all supermarkets and wholesale grain stores. 

What you need:

1 cup ragi flour

1/4 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup black gram dal (urad)

1/4 cup green gram dal (moong)

1/4 cup Bengal gram dal (channa)

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds (methi)

A little cooking oil to smear on griddle 
Salt to taste

Soak the three dals and the fenugreek overnight. Grind fine. Add the ragi and wheat flours and salt to taste. Add sufficient water to make a batter of medium consistency, like a rice dosa batter. You should be able to spread the dosa easily on a griddle. If too thick add more water. Leave aside for half an hour.  Spread a ladleful of the batter and fry as for dosas on a heated, greased griddle.
Serve with a chutney of your choice - coconut or onion or red chilli chutney.

PS:  Half a cup of beaten curd may also be added to the batter.

Pink Lady

Pink Lady (pic by June Carvalho)

A lovely, smooth cocktail for gin lovers with citrus flavours for the added pizzaz....grenadine for that hint of sweetness and the appetizing pink. Serve in stylish cocktail glasses and watch your friends go pink and cheerful with this one....cheers to the happy hours!

What you need:

40 ml Bombay Sapphire or any other gin 
20 ml Cointreau 
15 ml Lemon juice 
10 ml Grenadine
Ice cubes

Shake up all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Don't forget to wear a smile as you're doing it... strain into a chilled, sugar-frosted cocktail glass and serve.

• To chill a cocktail glass, fill it half way up with ice cubes and top with water. Discard water and ice before straining the drink into the glass.
• To frost the glass, rub the rim with a wedge of lemon dipped in grenadine and invert onto a plate of sugar to coat the rim.