Ragi ki roti step by step procedure | how to make ragi ki roti

How to make ragi ki roti easily is the question everyone asks when I suggest them to try it. Ragi is the Finger millet that is highly recommended as a healthy alternative grain. Making flat breads or ragi ki roti with it is a challenge for many and I used to get a few requests now and then. It is actually quite easy if you use your microwave in the dough making process. You can easily make the ragi roti dough by heating the ragi flour slurry in microwave and then kneading it like any other dough.

Ragi is also known as Nachni, Mandua or finger millet in different languages.

I had clicked these pictures long back when someone was not able to make millet flour rotis, I had sent her all these step wise pictures in mailbox but forgot to post on the blog. Here it comes for all my friends and readers.

We love rotis made with mixed flours and individual millet flours as well, this Ragi roti is enjoyed most with a chokha or a mash like Hummus or Baba ghanoush. It actually behaves like a cracker if you cook it for a couple of minutes on the flame. If you cook quickly it stays soft as a normal whole wheat roti should be, just a little fibrous in mouth feel when the roti gets cold.

The procedure to make the dough is a little tricky if you are doing it for the first time. The flour is mixed with water to make a slurry and then cooked either on stove top or in microwave so the slurry cooks and makes a glutinous dough. Ragi flour turns glutinous when cooked like this.

If you do it in microwave, the process becomes really easy though.

Let's see how the dough is made...

A cup of flour and 1.5 cup of hot water...

Mixed together to make a slurry like this...

The slurry is cooked in microwave for two minutes, the slurry looks set around the margins...

Look at this picture how the slurry gets set...

Take a spoon and mix it vigorously, the slurry is hot so be careful, the mixture become glutinous like this picture...

Microwave once more for a couple of minutes. The mixtures gets a bit dehydrated and stiffer but yet doesn't look like a dough...

Now add some more dry flour and knead using a sturdy spoon as the  mixture is hot. Adding the flour will lower down the temperature and you would be able to handle it with your fingers in a few minutes...

The dough looks like this..

Pinch off a ball, smoothen it to make it round...

And roll out a roti as you would do for a whole wheat roti, using some flour for dusting..

It behaves well under the rolling pin. No sticking on the surface and no cracking.....

Flip it on a hot tawa...

Flip to the other side in 30 seconds...

Wait for another 30 seconds and then fluff it up on open flame.

The Ragi ki roti is ready. You see this way of making the dough takes about 5-6 minutes if you are using a little more than a cup of Ragi flour and your Ragi rotis come out nice and soft. Most importantly they don't crack and stick to the rolling surface.

Recently I clicked pictures of a quicker method that I worked out to make ragi ki roti and other millet flour rotis and bhakhris. I make a thick slurry or a very loose dough of the flour and microwave it for a minute (for one cup flour and 1 cup and a little more water). Then mash the sticky cooked dough with a sturdy fork or potato masher before kneading it with hand for a few seconds. See these pictures for more details.

The kneaded dough is rolled and cut into smaller portions to roll out rotis like above..

A nice meal with ragi roti is something to look forward to.

I hope this post will be helpful to many who are trying to include gluten free grains or other whole grains in their diet. Ragi has multiple health benefits and I have posted a Ragi dosa, a Ragi uttapam and Ragi Idli in the past. More ways to include this wonderful grain in your daily meals..

Please let me know if this post is helpful to you...