Ragi Porridge

Rich in iron, calcium and proteins, this is a powerhouse of nutrition for growing babies. Ragi porridge is made from ragi flour and additional sweetener of jaggery can be added. Ragi is a very healthy meal for babies, its filling and helps the baby gain weight in a healthy way.

Many mothers complain of constipation in babies because of ragi porridge and they completely avoid this miracle food.

Few things to remember:

• Start ragi for you babies, only after 8 months.
• Start with a diluted (thin runny) porridge and in small doses.
• Wait for 2 days before giving the next ragi meal.
• If the baby accepts, feed the baby a ragi meal once a day on alternate days.
• Any ragi meal consists of high amount of fibre, if you see the babies stool with black specks, don’t worry; it’s just the undigested fibre.
• Cook the ragi well. Uncooked ragi may cause stomach upset or constipation.

Here is what you’ll need:

2 tsp ragi flour

Small piece of jaggery

1/8^th tsp ghee.

Method:

• In half cup of water, mix the ragi flour.
• Keep the saucepan on heat and cook the ragi well till bubbles form and ragi thickens well.
• Add jaggery and ghee and keep stirring.
• Remove from flame and pour into the serving dish.

Note: If feeding the baby for the first time, mix only 1 tsp ragi flour with half cup water. The dose can be gradually increased. 

    Checkout the process of making Ragi Flour/ Ragi Powder in the Nutri-knowhow column. Know more about the goodness of Ragi in Nutri-knowhow column.

Recipe by Zohra Sada