Ragi Roti

Being in Karnataka for a long time has slowly made me a fan of this wonderful grain - ragi. I think "Appearances are deceptive" would be apt to describe this. Though ragi dishes may not look appealing, they are rich in iron content, fibre and are a great low calorie food for young and old alike.

Ingredients:

• Ragi powder (easily available in shops now a days) - 3 cups
• Onions - 3 medium sized (finely chopped)
• Salt to taste
• Coriander - finely chopped - 1 tbsp
• Grated coconut (optional) - 1 tbsp
• Green chillies - 2 (finely chopped)
• Asafoetida - 1 tsp
• Jeera (cumin) seeds - 2 tsp
• Sour Buttermilk - 1 cup
• Water as required
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Add onion, green chillies, coriander, cumin seeds, asafoetida, salt and grated coconut to the ragi powder and mix well.
• Add sour buttermilk and knead. Add water little by little and continue to knead until the mixture reaches the consistency of chapatti dough.
• Cover and keep aside for a couple of hours.
• On a cold tava, apply a little oil evenly. Take a handful of dough, put it in the middle of the tava. wet your hands and flatten the dough working from the inside to the outer edges of the tava. Once the dough has been spread evenly into a roti of not more than 1 cm thickness, put it on the stove.
• Add a little oil to the sides of the roti and cover with a plate.
• Let it cook for 3 - 4 minutes. Turn the roti, apply little more oil and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes.
• Serve hot with butter and chutney powder / chutney and curd.