Its local names include “Ragi” in Kannada, Hindi and Telugu, “Nachni” in Marathi, “Madua” in Bengali and “Kezhvaragu” in Tamil.
The common English name of Ragi is finger millet, owing to the appearance of the head of the grain comprising five spikes and thus, resembling the five fingers attached to the palm of the hand.
The once well-known cereal is however totally absent in most people’s diets today. the crop was probably introduced 4000 years ago, and has been found in archeological excavations in the Harappan Civilization.
Have it as a ragi mudde ( ragi balls) , ragi malt, in ragi dosa, used in baking cookies, ragi ladoo and halwa too.
Benefits
- Ragi is composed of certain key amino acids, making it a unique plant-based source of high-quality proteins.
- Ragi, being organically gluten-free, can easily be substituted for wheat, to prepare chapatis, dosas and sweets or mithais, and is often recommended for patients with celiac disease.
- Finger millet, being a fantastic source of natural calcium, strengthens bones in growing children. It also restores optimum bone density in older people, assisting in alleviating osteoporosis symptoms.
- Ragi is blessed with the goodness of dietary fibers, with quantities higher than many other cereals such as wheat, barley and oats. finger millet, the grain’s seed coat is rich in polyphenols.
- Good source
- The comprehensive nutritional content in ragi makes it a perfect food for meeting a growing child’s ever-expanding nutrient requirements. A kanji or malt made with ragi flour is often fed to infants and young kids, particularly as a weaning food in the southern states of India.
