Finger millet/Ragi is an easily digestible nutritious millet. This is the first millet recommended for babies. For babies below 7 months, only the milk is extracted from this millet and porridge is made(click here for recipe). After completing 7 months, whole ragi porridge can be given using whole ragi flour or sprouted ragi flour(link to making flour) for more nutritious porridge. In our family, we give this sprouted ragi porridge till baby turns one. After baby’s first birthday, we start with Multigrains/Sathumaavu(click here for link) porridge.
- Sprouted ragi powder - 2 tbsp(levelled)
- Water - ½ cup
- Ghee - ⅛ tsp
- Take 2 tbsp(levelled) sprouted ragi powder in a pan. Add ½ cup water to it.
- Mix well with a whisk or spoon, without lumps. Cook in low-medium flame.
- After 2 mins, once you see the color change(from pale to dark), add little ghee and keep stirring continuously. Cook for a total of 10 mins. Do not cook till it thickens well. Switch off when it is little thick(not very thick).
2.Mix well and then switch on the stove to avoid lumps.
3.Keep stirring for the whole 10 mins cooking time.
4.After 1 year, you can add sweeteners like cane sugar(naatu sakkarai) or filtered cane jaggery(vellam) or palm jaggery(karuppatti) syrup. Add it at 7th minute and cook for 3 more minutes or until slightly thickened.
Preparation – How to make sprouted Ragi porridge for babies ?
1.Take 2 tbsp(levelled) sprouted ragi powder(click here for recipe) in a pan. Add 1/2 cup water to it.
2.Mix well with a whisk or spoon, without lumps. Cook in low-medium flame.
3.After 2 mins, once you see the color change(from pale to dark), add little ghee and keep stirring continuously. Cook for a total of 10 mins. Do not cook till it thickens well. Switch off when it is little thick(not very thick).
Transfer to feeding bowl and feed once its warm.
Tips/Tricks in preparing sprouted Ragi porridge
- This porridge thickens over time, so feed asap.
- Mix well and then switch on the stove to avoid lumps.
- Keep stirring for the whole 10 mins cooking time.
- After 1 year, you can add sweeteners like cane sugar(naatu sakkarai) or filtered cane jaggery(vellam) or palm jaggery(karuppatti) syrup. Add it at 7th minute and cook for 3 more minutes or until slightly thickened. Below pic is the one made with cane sugar for my elder kid. She likes it to be little thick like cake.
Nutritional Benefits
Finger Millet/Ragi– Calcium, Potassium, Iron, Protein, Fibre
Hi Mom,
Thanks for the recipe. I have prepared flour the porridge exactly in the same way. After sometime, the porridge became watery -flour and the water became separate (Thanni vitta maari). I thought might be because of ghee. Even after stop adding ghee, it became like that. But after I squeezed out the milk alone and prepared, the porridge was fine.
What might be the mistake in my flour?
@Saranya, this won’t happen if you grind in mill. As v r grinding the flour in mixie, it won’t be so fine powder. The granules cannot absorb water like fine powder and so it separates after some time. The trick is to feed as soon as possible, after preparation as water won’t be separated until it’s warm.
Thanks for the clarification. ☺️☺️☺️
@Saranya, I made some extra porridge today and kept it for 1 hour. It became thick and didn’t let out any water. I think you have to grind more as fine as possible to avoid this issue. You can also sieve and grind the bigger particles again.
I tried with only half cup of Ragi as I had only that much left in my home . And that’s got over now. Will make the next batch very fine and give it a try. Ll let u know how it comes out . Thank you
Hi Shyamala,
This time I prepared in large quantity and gave it in mill to grind. As you suggested , the porridge was fine even after one hour. Thanks for your time .
cool