Ragi (also spelled as Raagi or Kelvaragu) or finger millet koozh or a kind of porridge that is a special dish meant for Tamil month Aadi where this porridge is offered to God. This ragi itself is a good ingredient for those dieting and also a rich fibre food good for ladies specially. This dish is the breakfast in the country side in India where they serve this with raw green chilli or pickles or they take it with raw onions.

Raagi or Kelvaraghu Koozh Recipe:

Ingredients:

Ragi (Finger millet) flour – 4 tablespoons

Salt – as required

Butter Milk – 3 tumbler

Water- 3 tumbler

Chopped onion – handfull

Cooked rice – 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Mix Ragi flour in 1 cup of Water without any lumps.

2. Heat remaining Water in a vessel.

3. Once it started to boil, add mixed Ragi flour in medium flame.

4. Allow the Ragi flour mix to boil until it thickens.

5. Finally add cooked rice, salt, chopped onion and remove from flame.

6. Allow it to cool for some time and add butter milk while serving.

Ragi Koozh served with chilli, pickles and onions

Ingredients:

Toor Dhal cooked – 1/2 cup

Lemon – 1 big

Green chilli -1

Curry and coriander leaves – to garnish

Pepper and jeera – 1/2 tsp each

Ginger – a small piece

Salt -to taste

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Take pepper, jeera, green chilli, ginger and curry leaves and keep them grinded slightly.

Ingredients ready to grind..

2. Smash cooked toor dhal adding water and drain the water and take 3 glass of the juice.

3. Add salt and grinded paste to the toor dhal juice extracted.

4. Add a pinch of asafoetida powder and allow it in stove for few mins.

Lemon Rasam in making..

5. When it starts boiling, turn off the stove and add lemon juice.

6. Roast mustard in little oil and garnish along with coriander leaves over the prepared lemon rasam.

Lemon Rasam

Tasty lemon rasam ready to be served. This rasam is rich in vitamin C. And since we add lemon at the end, Vitamin C is not degraded from this dish. This can be had as a soup if having cough or cold.

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes – 4 (remove seeds, peeled and chopped)

Olive Oil – 2 tablespoon

Onion chopped – 1

Garlic crushed – 1

Red pepper chopped – 1 small (optional)

Chicken or vegetable stock – 4 cups

Tomato paste – 4 tablespoon

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan, cook the onion, garlic and red pepper till soft.

2. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes.

3. Add the tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste.

4. Cover and simmer the stove for 15 minutes.

5. Allow to cool slightly and grind them in a mixie until it is smooth.

6. Return to the pan and heat gradually.

7. Cook for 2 minutes and serve hot.

Ingredients:

Medium size mushroom – 3

Oil – 1/2 tsp

Maida – 1 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste – 1/4 tsp

Corn Flour – 2 tsp

Salt, Pepper – as required

Method:

1. Chop the mushroom finely.

2. Add little water to corn flour, mix well and keep it ready.

3. Take a pan, add oil and fry the maida and add 3 cups of water. Allow it to boil.

4. Now add ginger garlic paste and chopped mushroom.

5. Allow the mushroom to get cooked.

6. Finally add the corn flour, salt, pepper and boil for few mins and serve hot.

Ingredients:

Onion – 1

Garlic – 2

Carrot -2

Beans – 5

Cabbage – a hand full

Capsicum – 1

Chow chow – a piece

Tomato – 2

Coriander leaves – little

badam- 5

Salt, pepper – as required

milk – 1/2 cup

Butter -1 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and chop all the vegetables finely.

2. Remove the badam skin and keep them grinded.

3. Take a pan, add the chopped vegetables, grinded badam, salt, pepper, pinch of sugar and cook them adding sufficient water.

4. Open the cooker after steam subsides and drain the water.

5. Now grind the vegetables finely and add the drained water back and boil it.

6. Now add the milk and and allow it to boil a bit.

7. While serving, garnish with little butter and coriander leaves.

If you want the soup to be watery you can add the drained water as said in step 5 and filter it completely and then add milk.

But it is best to have the vegetables as they contain fibre and which is needed for health.