Homemade roasted ragi powder or famously known as ragi huri hittu is something we have grown up with. Ragi huri hittu is one of the most delicious things to eat ever, for breakfast. It is nutritious and at the same time no compromise on taste. A proud Bangalorean/Bengalurean knows the value of this.
Nowadays everyone consumes fancy porridges and nutrition bowls. I say nothing wrong with that but remember we have a age old tradition of making a delicious product for consumption. We must stick to these old recipes and never forget the importance. Ragi or finger millet or nachni is something that is local to us. We have grown the grain for hundreds of years.
Yes, making ragi huri hittu at home is time consuming and some effort is involved. You can also buy good quality ragi huri hittu in organic stores. The best one known to us though is from ಸುಬ್ಬಮ್ಮ ಅಂಗಡಿ (subbamma stores) in Gandhi Bazaar (not sponsored). They make the best ragi huri hittu. But here I do not have such luxury, I tried my hand at making ragi huri hittu and it was great! You can mix with hot milk, jaggery and milk for a sweet version. Or mix with curd, roasted groundnuts and salt to taste for a savoury version.
Try more ragi based recipes:
Ragi dosa
Ragi oats dosa
Ragi roti
- 200 Gm ragi/finger millet/nachni
- Water to wash
- In a sieve, clean and add the ragi
- Wash the ragi well and make sure there are no impurities
- Leave it for 5-10 minutes in the sieve and let the water drain out
- On a clean kitchen cloth, empty the washed ragi onto it
- Spread the ragi evenly all over the cloth
- Leave the cloth with the ragi spread on it in a cool place for 6-8 hours
- Heat a heavy bottomed pan or kadai on low flame for atleast 5-8 minutes
- Now add around 2 to 3 Tbsp of ragi into the kadai
- Use a pair of wooden sticks or clean chopsticks and start frying the ragi
- Remember to always fry on low flame, ragi starts to change colour
- Cover with a lid for a few seconds
- Now most ragi start to pop and rest of the ragi get roasted
- See how the ragi have popped, a few pops can be seen conspicuously
- Remove the roasted and popped ragi onto a plate to cool
- Repeat with all the ragi and roast, pop it till well roasted
- Allow to cool completely
- In a dry grinder or coffee grinder, add the roasted ragi into the jar
- Grind the ragi into a powder, it should not be coarse not very fine
- Store in a airtight container and use as required
Use wooden sticks to pop and do not disturb the pan a lot
Do not keep the ragi drying on the cloth in the sun, always keep it in a cool, shadow place for drying
Ragi Huri Hittu Stepwise:
In a sieve, clean and add the ragi
Wash the ragi well and make sure there are no impurities
Leave it for 5-10 minutes in the sieve and let the water drain out
On a clean kitchen cloth, empty the washed ragi onto it
Spread the ragi evenly all over the cloth
Leave the cloth with the ragi spread on it in a cool place for 6-8 hours
Heat a heavy bottomed pan or kadai on low flame for atleast 5-8 minutes
Now add around 2 to 3 Tbsp of ragi into the kadai
Use a pair of wooden sticks or clean chopsticks and start frying the ragi
Remember to always fry on low flame, ragi starts to change colour
Cover with a lid for a few seconds
Now most ragi start to pop and rest of the ragi get roasted
See how the ragi have popped, a few pops can be seen conspicuously
Remove the roasted and popped ragi onto a plate to cool
Repeat with all the ragi and roast, pop it till well roasted
Allow to cool completely
In a dry grinder or coffee grinder, add the roasted ragi into the jar
Grind the ragi into a powder, it should not be coarse nor very fine
Store in a airtight container and use as required
Thank you so much for this. I have been buying ragi huri hittu. Will try this method.
You are welcome Asha 🙂
Can I not just eat the popped ragi ?
I don’t have a mixer/grinder.
Thanks for the tip, I was buying the popped branded ragi and now I want to try home-made as it’s a lot cheaper.
Your reply/comments are appreciated.
You can eat them if they are popped.
Tried some roasting on the stove,
Some popped and most did not pop,
They got burnt as I tried to get them ALL popping.
I guess NOT ALL pop.
only a few pop !
Hi, you can try popping them on low heat and use a wooden stick to move them around. Do check the quality of ragi.
can this be given to babies less than year old – 7 months
Hi Lavanya, yes please use organic ragi and cook to porridge consistency with water and few drops of ghee . Add cooked apple if you want. Don’t use ragi with milk as it hinders iron absorption. Another suggestion is not to offer ragi everyday as it is constipating in small children. If offering for first time do so first half of the day. Hope that helps!