Ragi Manni
Ragi manni, or finger millet pudding, is a nutritious, delicious, and melt-in-the-mouth traditional sweet made with ragi, coconut, and jaggery. Here's my quick and easy ragi manni recipe with step-by-step photos and a quick video tutorial.
Servings: 25 pieces
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-bottomed pan
- Mixer/Grinder/Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup Ragi (also called finger millet or nachani)
- 1 cup fresh grated coconut
- 1 cup jaggery, grated or chopped (Reduce the quantity if you prefer it less sweet.)
- 1 tablespoons ghee
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- A small pinch salt
- 4½ cups water for blending and extracting the ragi milk
Instructions
- Clean and rinse the ragi well. Soak it in enough water for 6 hours or preferably overnight.
- Drain the soaked ragi and transfer it to a mixer jar. Add grated coconut and 1½ cups of water. Blend to a smooth paste.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve or muslin cloth. Squeeze well to extract as much ragi-coconut milk as possible.
- Return the leftover ragi-coconut residue to the mixer. Add another 1½ cups of water, blend again, and strain. Squeeze well to extract the milk.
- Repeat the same process once more with 1½ cups of water. Strain and squeeze well. Keep all the extracted milk aside.
- Transfer the ragi and coconut milk to a heavy-bottomed pot. Add jaggery and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously.
- At first, you may see small lumps forming. Don’t worry. Keep stirring continuously. The lumps will disappear within a few minutes as the mixture thickens.
- Once the mixture starts thickening, reduce the heat to low. Add ghee and cardamom powder, and continue stirring and cooking it for another 15 minutes. Taste and add more jaggery if needed. Be very careful at this stage, as the mixture is extremely hot.
- Cook on medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until the Ragi Manni becomes thick and glossy. It should fall easily in one continuous flow from the spoon but hold its shape briefly when dropped back into the pan. You can see the video for details.
- Turn off the heat. Immediately transfer the hot mixture to a greased tray or container. Tap the tray gently once to spread it evenly.
- Let it cool completely. For neat slices, I like to refrigerate it for 2 hours before cutting. Cut into your desired shapes and serve chilled. It tastes best when cold.
Video
Notes
- Keep stirring: Cook over low to medium-low heat, stirring continuously to prevent lumps.
- Cook until fully cooked: Continue cooking until thick and glossy. It should fall in one stream from the spoon and briefly hold its shape.
- Use a fine sieve: A fine sieve makes straining easier. Use a fine sieve and squeeze well to extract the ragi milk.