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Ragi Halbai or Finger millet fudge is a tasty, soft, chewy fudge made of finger millet, coconut and jaggery. It is a healthy sweet.  It is a dish from South Canara region of Karnataka. Here, the whole grain of finger millet is used by soaking and then grinding and cooking it.

The use of millets is more so now than ever as the benefits one reap is abundant. It is nutritious and high in fibre. I prefer using ragi at home since it is liked by all.  Do check these breakfast recipes Ragi Idli, Ragi Thalipeeth, Ragi Khichu

South Canara cuisine is delicious and coconut is one of the main ingredients in their cooking. The coconut used is fresh one and it is usually ground to a paste and used in most dishes.

With many festive days ahead, you can try this recipe soon.

What is Ragi ?

Ragi is popularly known as Finger millet or Nachni. Finger millet or Elusine Coracana is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semi -arid areas in Africa and Asia.  It came to India around 2000 BC and since then its been consumed in different ways.

Nutrients in Ragi

Ragi is a whole grain that is gluten free and staple in South India. It is rich in fiber that helps with weight loss and diabete. It is packed with calcium, good carbs amino acids and Vitamin D. The nutrition per 100 grams is as below: ( Source: Wikipedia)

• Protein 7.6 g
• Fat 1.5 g
• Carbs 88g
• Calcium 370 mg
• Vitamin A 0.48 mg
• Thiamine 0.33 mg
• Riboflavin 0.11 mg
• Niacin 1.2 mg
• Fiber 3g

Benefits of Ragi :

1. Rich in calcium – It is one of the best non- dairy sources of calcium when compared to other grains. Dr. Anju Sood, a nutrionist from Bangalore says, ” It is extremely beneficial for growing kids and can be given in the form of porridge”
2. Help in controlling diabetes: The grains seed coat is abundant in polyphenol and dietary fibre. The low glycemic index lessens food cravings and helps maintain blood sugar.
3. Relax the body: The regular usage of finger millet has found to help stress  related disorders as insomnia, depression and anxiety.
4. Helps in weight loss: The high of dietary fibre helps one to keep full for a long time, thus the cravings are less.
5. Battles anemia: It is rich source of natural iron and thus a boon for anaemic patients. Once it is sprouted, the Vitamin C level increases and leads to easy absorption of iron into the bloodstreams.
6. Reverts skin ageing: methionine and lysine present in it  make tge skin tissue less prone to wrinkles and sagging.

ragi halbai

Now, getting on to the recipe without further ado:

Ragi Halbai / Finger Millet Fudge

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ragi
• 1 cup jaggery
• 1 cup fresh coconut
• 2 tablespoon ghee
• 2.5 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
• a few cashew

Method:

1. Soak  ragi for five hours.
2. Grate the coconut.
3. Discard the water, grind the ragi to a fine paste along with coconut by adding little water.
4. Strain the liquid through a sieve, press the residue  with a spoon Grind it again with some water. I used one and half cup of water to grind.
5. Grease a plate with a little ghee.
6. Take the jaggery and melt it with a cup of water. Filter it to remove impurities.
7. Put the melted jaggery and the strained puree in a thick bottom pan. Let it cook. Add some ghee, keep stirring, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan.
8. Put the remaining  ghee, once it thickens to a mass and leaves the side, put cardamom powder, mix and pour it over the greased plate.
9. Cut it into squares.  Decorate with roasted cashews. Ragi Halbai is ready to serve.

Pre- requirements:

Ragi are small red grains, one needs to clean it properly as tiny specks of impurities are seen. It is usually soaked in water and then the water is slowly discarded. The grains are then put to dry and used.

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5 from 7 votes

Ragi Halbai / Finger Millet Fudge

Ragi halbai is a twist to the usual one that is prepared using rice. It is tasty and healthy. Finger millet, coconut and jaggery are cooked together to form a delicious fudge. 

Course festive treats, healthy snacks, traditional sweets

Cuisine dakshina kannada, karnataka

Keyword finger millet fudge, ragi halbai, south indian cooking, traditional recipes

Prep Time 5 hours hours

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 15 pieces

Author Jayashree

Ingredients

• 1 cup ragi
• 1 cup jaggery
• 1 cup fresh coconut
• 2 tablespoon ghee
• 2.5 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
• a few cashew for topping

Instructions

• Soak ragi for five hours.
• Grate the coconut.
• Discard the water, grind ragi and coconut to a fine paste by adding little water.
• Strain the liquid through a sieve, press the residue with the back of a spoon to extract the liquid. Grind it again with some water, and again strain it. I used one and half cup of water for grinding. 
• Smear some ghee on a plate. 
• Take the jaggery and melt it with a cup of water. Strain to remove impurities. 
• Now, put the jaggery and the strained mixture in a pan and lett it cook. Add some ghee to it. Keep stirring, otherwise, it will stick to the pan. 
• Add the remaining ghee, once it foerms a mass and leaves the side, put cardamom powder, mix and spread it over the greased plate. 
• Cut it into squares, decorate with roasted cashews. 

Notes

• Ragi needs to be cleaned well before using. Small impurities are present that can damage organs of the body, thus it is highly recommended to clean it properly before using. 
• It is usually rinsed in water and gently the water is displaced, the impurities are seen lying at the bottom. 
• While grinding, check the amount of water that you are utilising, it is important you use the recommended amount.
• While  cooking, keep stirring the liquid. 

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ragi halbai

This post is part of the #HWCuisine with Ragi as the theme. Here are the other Ragi recipes by my co-bloggers

• Ragi Pakoda by Lathiya
• Stuffed Ragi Idli by Geetanjali
• Ragi Dates Ladoo by Rosy
• Ragi Wheat Snackers by Suchi Bose
• Ragi Malt by Sasmita

About the event :

Sending this post to Foodies_Redoing Old Post_113. It is a fortnightly event where we work on an old post either by changing the picture, text, formatting or anything else related to the post. Here, I have changed the pictures.This is an old post which I had written in 2018, now I have changed it with better pictures.

If you ever make this ragi halbai  or any of my other dishes,  do take a picture and tag @foodiejayashree on Instagram or @evergreendishes on Facebook or Twitter. I will be glad to see your creation and share it further. Let’s be connected, do follow on social media platforms. Until next time, let’s stay connected.  Subscribe to get all updates and an e-book for free. Check out my e-books on Amazon.  Happy Cooking !

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ragi halbai