Ragi, or finger millets, more popularly known as nachni in the Indian subcontinent is one of the healthiest and nutritious cereal grain. It is widely used in the South Indian diet and is, in fact, a food staple in the diets of many villages across South India. Ragi balls and ragi porridge (kanji) is a popular and extremely nutritious delicacy over here.
Ragi, unlike other food grains, needn’t be polished and as such is healthier than its counterparts. Ragi has the unique distinction being the richest source of calcium among the varied plant foods and as such is great for bone health.
Some of the other health benefits of ragi flour in the diet are – it lowers high cholesterol levels, helps in anaemia, reduces the risk of diabetes and is an excellent source of amino acids namely tryptophan, threonine, valine, isoleucine, and methionine among others. These amino acids are responsible for muscle repair, blood and bone formation and improve skin health.
Ragi flour has a low-fat content along with the rich amount of fibres adds to the already long list of ragi flour benefits. The low-fat content aids in weight loss and as such is a flour of choice for many weight watchers and health experts. Today, one can easily find a snack prepared with the use of ragi flour right from the ragi dosa to the ragi idlis. This healthy fascination of ragi flour is continued in the baking industry that offers a range of ragi biscuits and ragi cookies to choose from.
Another extremely nutritious ragi food is ragi malt better known as ragi java. Ragi java is quite similar to oatmeal and is prepared with milk, buttermilk and sugar, making it an extremely powerful breakfast food item. A bowl of it delivers 1/3rd of the calcium requirement for the day along with about 12 grams of protein. You can easily find ragi malt powder online at bigbasket, so go ahead try this new healthy breakfast alternative.
Besides preparing all these ragi delicacies, one can even use ragi ka atta along with their regular wheat atta to prepare ragi roti which is healthier and more nutritious than regular wheat roti. For the instant generation, there are also ragi flakes readily available in the market and is much healthier than the regular breakfast cereals.
The best thing about ragi millet is its inexpensiveness. The average ragi price is depended upon the type of ragi atta being purchased – regular or organic. However, bigbasket offers great discounts on the ragi price and is a great place to shop for your basic requirements. Bigbasket offers a wide range of ragi products right from the ragi flour to instant ragi dosa mix, instant idli mix and biscuits and cookies. So start including more ragi in your diet and eat away to good health.