Ragi Payasam

Yet another summer friendly dish. Ragi a nutritious food which has a cooling effect on body. There are a variety of sweet and savory dishes that can be prepared with ragi. Since its summer I prefer ragi this way. We make this frequently now. Cook and keep it ready in the morning, by the time its 11 or 12 ,when the sun is high up and the heat is unbearable,have a cup of ragi...its so so relaxing....

I have shared the method of processing ragi before,now this is a method of preparing a dish with it. But if u hesitate giving coconut milk and bananas to your kid ,please wait I will be sharing other recipes. I have prepared this dish with less coconut milk and without bananas for my little one. Well here I have used freshly ground ragi.

Ingredients

• Ragi. -  3/4 cup
• Jaggery syrup. - 1 cup
• Coconut milk. -  1 cup ( thick)
• Banana (plantain variety)  - 1 or 2
• Salt. -  a fat pinch

Method

• Soak ragi for 1 hr. Grind with a little water. Strain , squeeze the remains. Grind this again with a little water and repeat the same till only the skin is left.
• Transfer the ragi to a heavy bottom vessel, add in salt, jaggery syrup and chopped bananas.
• Keep this on medium flame stirring continuously. The mixture thickens and turns glossy when done. Add more water if needed to adjust the consistency.
• Add coconut milk, mix well and remove from flame.

Notes

• If using processed powder, just add a few spoon of the powder to water along with rest of the ingredients (except coconut milk) and cook. The taste may be slightly different.
• Increase the quantity of jaggery or add a little sugar if u want it more sweet.
• Never boil after adding coconut milk.