Ragi idli

Few days back when I posted a ragi drink, I got a few requests for dishes with ragi/finger millet flour. I have a very good article with many ragi recipes in it, but had never tried any of them. Then I read an article about the medicinal values of ragi and I thought it is the time to try few of the dishes. This article (from the Kannada weekly “Taranga”) had 3 types of ragi idlis. I tried the simplest one and loved it very much (except for the color).

Ragi is the major food for most of the villagers in Karnataka. I think this is mainly because it is very cheap and because of its cooling effects on the body, it is good for the people working under bright sun.

Note: Ragi has cooling effect on the body. So be careful while using it in winter(especially if you are eating it for the first time or eating after a very long time).

Ingredients:
Ragi flour 1 and 1/4 cup
Urad daal 1/2 cup
Oil
Salt

Method:
Soak ragi flour and urad daal separately in water. (Urad daal should be soaked atleast for 1-2hrs, ragi flour can be soaked just 10-20mins before mixing).
Grind the urad daal to a very smooth paste. Mix the soaked flour with the ground daal. Add salt and mix well. Leave it overnight for fermentation.
Next day, grease the idli stand with oil and pour the batter. Steam it like idlis(without weight if using cooker).
Serve hot with chutney.

Serves : 2-3
Preparation time : 15mins