Homemade Sprouted Ragi Powder Recipe For Babies

Sprouted Ragi Powder

I started making sprouted ragi powder, when I started solids for my babies. This is the homemade powder which I used to make ragi porridge for babies. Once I started making ragi powder at home, I never go back to store bought ones. This powder is great when you are starting your baby to solid foods. Homemade powder is good and preservatives free, so you know what you are feeding your baby. Since Ragi is very healthy for babies, it is filling and help your baby gain weight in a healthy way.

About Sprouted Ragi powder

Ragi is a healthy grain, specially for babies, toddler and kids. It makes an amazing first food for babies. If you are planning to start ragi as their first food, then I strongly recommend you to start with ragi. Ragi grains is soaked in water overnight. It is then strained and allowed to sprout. The sprouted ragi is then roasted and powdered. Ragi has a tough outer skin, so soaking and sprouting them allow them to soften and makes it easier to digest for babies. You can use this ragi powder to make breakfast recipes like ragi dosa, ragi idli, idiyappam and puttu. My Ragi malt is a great way to start your day.

Ingredients for Sprouted Ragi powder

For Making Sprouted ragi powder, You need to choose high quality organic ragi which is easily available in market. It is best to make sprouted ragi powder in batches. I make around 1 kg of ragi flour in one batch. Since the grain is sprouted, the powder doesn’t stay fresh longer. I usually store them in fridge for longer preservation. Ragi is loaded with calcium & protein. Including ragi daily in our diet is highly recommended. It is good for new mom’s to increase their milk production. Helps in preventing hair loss, improves weight loss and it is packed with tons of health benefits with them.

How to make Sprouted Ragi Powder at Home (for babies)

Cleaning & Soaking Ragi

To make fresh ragi porridge. Start by washing fresh ragi by rubbing with your hands in lots and lots of water to get rid of dirt and other ucky stuff. Do this step at least 4 to 5 times to make sure that your ragi is absolutely clean. Now soak them in fresh clean water overnight.

Sprouting Ragi

Next morning drain it. Now take a colander and line it with a clean white cheese cloth or muslin cloth. Transfer the ragi in the cloth and tie it up. Now place in a cold and dark place and leave it undisturbed for 12 to 15 hours. I leave it for a whole day. Next day morning, you can see small sprouts coming out from ragi. Now spread the ragi in a clean cloth or plate and dry it under fan or sunlight for 5 to 6 hours till it is completely dry.

Roasting Ragi

Now heat a large kadai. Add the dried ragi in it and roast on a very low flame till it is lightly toasted. Remove it to another big plate and allow it to cool down.

Grinding Ragi Powder

Now give this to mill and powder it finely. If you have a powerful blender you can powder it at home, do it in small batches. It will take long time to powder the ragi. After you powder it pass it through a fine sieve. Allow it to cool down and store in a air tight container.

Storing Ragi Powder

You can store the ragi powder in cupboard. But for safety purpose i store it in fridge.

How to Make Sprouted Ragi Powder (Stepwise Pictures)

Cleaning & Soaking Ragi

1)This is whole grain ragi. Take it in a large bowl. We are going to clean ragi and wash it really well. First check whether there is any stones or pebbles in ragi. If you see any remove and discard it. 2)Now lets wash, Rinse ragi by rubbing them with your hands with clean water multiple times and discarding the water. 3)This is how you clean ragi. Repeat this for 4 to 5 times. You should have removed all the dust in ragi by this method. 4)Cover ragi with fresh water and let it soak overnight. Ragi has tougher outer skin so to soften it, You have to soak ragi for at least 10 to 12 hours. I usually leave them to soak overnight. 5)Next morning strain the ragi in a fine mesh strainer. Can you see the difference, Ragi doesn’t get super big so there is no much difference. But it has got slightly bigger in size.

Sprouting Ragi

Now we are going to sprout ragi. Now take a colander and line it with a clean white cheese cloth or muslin cloth. 7)Transfer the strained ragi in the cloth and tie it up loosely. 8)Place in a cold and dark place and leave it undisturbed for 12 to 15 hours. I leave it for a whole day. 9)Next day morning, you can see small sprouts coming out from ragi. Ragi doesn’t grow sprouts too much, so even if you see little that is enough. Now spread the ragi in a clean cloth or plate and dry it under fan or sunlight for 5 to 6 hours till it is completely dry.

Roasting Ragi

10)Now heat a large kadai. Add the dried ragi in it and roast on a very low flame till it is lightly toasted. 11)This step is to remove all the excess moisture from ragi and to make it super dry before grinding. This will extend its shelf life. 12)once roasted, Remove it to another big plate and allow it to cool down completely.

Grinding Ragi powder

13)Give this to mill and powder it finely. If you have a powerful blender you can powder it at home, do it in small batches. It will take long time to powder the ragi. After you powder it pass it through a fine sieve. 14)Allow it to cool down and store in an air tight container.

Ragi Porridge with Homemade Sprouted Ragi powder

I am sharing how you can make a simple porridge out of our homemade sprouted ragi powder. This porridge is specially for babies. If you want to feed toddler and kids, you can mix some milk with the porridge and consume.

Ingredients for Ragi Porridge

1 tbsp Homemade Ragi Powder 1 tbsp Karupatti | Palm Jaggery ½ cup Water

How to Make Ragi Porridge

Take a clean saucepan, add in 2 tbsp of karupatti. Now pour in ½ cup of clean water. Heat this up and cook until the karupatti is melted. Cool it completely. Take a clean bowl and a fine mesh strainer. Sieve the liquid through this. Now add a tbsp of homemade ragi powder in the liquid and mix well so no lumps are formed. Now pour this mixture through the sieve in the saucepan. This double straining is essential for babies. If you are making for kids or toddler you can skip it. Heat this on a low flame stirring continuously. Cook this for around 4 to 5 mins till the ragi is cooked and thicken. Take it off the heat, allow it to cool down and transfer it to feeding bowl or feeding bottle and feed your baby.

Tips & Tricks

Sprouting - Ragi doesn’t sprout much. Sprouting depends on climatic conditions as well. So if your ragi doesn’t sprout, it is not an issue. You can proceed with the roasting. Allow it to sprout longer will make it mould and smell bad. Roasting - make sure ragi is completely dry before dry roasting for easy roasting. Consistency of porridge- The consistency of the porridge which you make totally depends on you. You can make it too runnier and pour it bottles and feed your baby or makeit little thicker and feed your baby using a spoon. Sweetener to Use in porridge - I use panakarkandu or karupatti as sweetner. This is how i do. Take a small piece of karupatti or a piece of panakarkandu in a saucepan, add some water in it and heat it up till it is melted. Then i strain that and add ragi powder in it, strain again and cook them together. Karupatti strengthens your baby bones. Panakarkandu helps prevending cold for your babies. You can even mix up a small piece of both.

How to Make Ragi Powder without Sprouting

You can skip the soaking and sprouting part completely in this recipe if you want regular ragi powder. Wash ragi and strain it in a fine mesh strainer. Dry it completely under sun. Roast ragi till lightly toasted. Grind them in mill to fine powder.

Frequently asked questions

1)Why are you sprouting ragi?

Ragi with skins are little hard for digestion. So sprouting the ragi will make it easier to digest. And also sprouted grains are more healthy and nutritious for your baby.

2)Is roasting the ragi necessary?

Roasting ragi ensures that it dries off the last bit of moisture from ragi and ensure for a longer shelf life of the ragi. Mean while, you have to roast the ragi on a very low flame and for a minimum time.

3)Is it necessary to store ragi in fridge?

I recommend you to store ragi in fridge. Because i am scary cat of handling homemade stuff. I always have concern that homemade stuff should be always be handled carefully because it can get spoiled so easily. So i always keep homemade powder, masala, pickles, jams in fridge to make sure it is always fresh.

4)My ragi is not sprouting even after a day?

Ragi don’t sprout so big, you can only see small sprouts in it. And you have to keep the ragi undisturbed in a dark and cool place to make it sprout. You should not peek into it often.

5)Can we grind ragi at normal blender at home?

Grinding ragi at normal domestic blender can take lots of time. It makes the blender gets over heated. So if you want to grind ragi at home, then grind it in small batches. Leave sometime if the machine gets over heated. After you make it into fine powder, sieve it through a fine sieve and allow it to cool down. Once the powder has cooled store it in an air tight container.

Ragi Recipes Using Ragi powder

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