Sweet-N- Spicy Nachani- Khajoor- Rava Bhakri.

"Sweet-N- Spicy Nachani- Khajoor- Rava Bhakri" ... once again I am back with an old recipe of nachani/ finger millet/ ragi bf dish which I had not prepared for long time ... decades back I used to prepare them by soaking and grinding seedless khajoor/ dates but today I cut short and added dates syrup easily available in stores which I always store to relish panpolo with ... a delicious bhakri, high on nutrition and is good for all especially growing children ... tastes best served with homemade loni/ butter ... Yummilicious ...

** Nachani/ Ragi/ Finger millet are small tiny seeds, tinier than most millet varieties in size but highest in source of calcium and nutrition. And when you add on jaggery along with dates it increases the iron level and many more minerals and turns out like a small bomb loaded with healthy properties. Nachani is referred to as ragi or nanchano in Konkani and ragi malt a powder that is mixed with milk is used by young and old alike for overall health benefits. However, I have always preferred to either grind the whole grain or powder form into my own concoctions as I usually do not depend much upon readily available products.

** A decade back when I was hit badly with health issue due to spondylitis it took me long time of over 5 months to bounce back to health. The high dosage of medicine given took my health completely for a toss. One thing led to another and I was always having complaints. Finally 5 yrs back I changed my Dr. and found,t I had deficiency of D3 Vit.B12 Calcium and Iron. I was completely taken aback as I always ate well and except for a weak back I had no other issues. I thought of writing this not as a complaint, but just to express how at times our ignorance despite being educated falls apart on improper diagnosis done.

** It had never occurred to me, as I was neither a Dr. nor a nutritionist nor a science student that simple lack of proper nutrition can be the reason of my pains and by the time, I realized a lot of damage was done to bones. When my young Dr. assured me it was not that bad and there was hope, I groaned thinking, OMG do I have to take medicines again, I was surprised by my Dr. suggestion. Yes, I had to take D3, Calcium and B12 medicines until it was brought up to safe levels but the major part played was by consuming proper nutritious intake of food. I was asked to revamp my diet by eating the right grains, veggies etc.

** I was suggested to check out on good trusted websites for Do’s and Don’t regarding food and trust me it is really confusing. So I made a list and sent to my friend who had a nutritionist friend who helped in gaining knowledge. Trust me, nachani, is loaded with health benefits and is very good for all age group people to maintain good health. Nachani/ Ragi was the first millet that was suggested as it was loaded with calcium which was needed badly. On veggies, Bhendi/ lady’s finger was asked to be included along with carrots, beetroots, capsicum and spinach. Well, these things did make me happy as the list of to eat was long and good.

** The next question was, if I ate eggs, fish?? I sheepishly replied that, I was a Non-Veg. who ate fish, eggs and chicken only, but had stopped it for personal reason. I am writing this to all those who do so, it is fine if you want to go ahead and be a Vegetarian, in fact it is healthier, but if you have been a non-veg. through childhood then there are bound to be some drawbacks on suddenly stopping the same. I had no knowledge of it as, I was not much into web reading etc. It is advised that on stopping of non-veg consumption, one should increase veggies that are closer in composition to the same to balance the nutrients.

** The underlying teaser is "Don’t expect results overnight". It is a slow but steady journey that needs to be followed and may take years to fall on right path. Ten years down the lane, I am still on that journey, as the damages were more, but I have crossed the bigger hurdles. There is so much to learn and follow in order to gain back fitness, not easy, as many a time we falter, discipline and patience needs to be had by tons, but I won’t give up nor should you if it’s a matter of simple deficiencies, they can be overcome through proper food habits. Make a study for yourself and search the right ingredients suitable for you and go for it.

** As for me Nachani/ Finger millet/ Ragi has played wonders being topmost in calcium level. I started adding it at least thrice a week to my diet of Idly, dosa, chapati, poori, roti, coolants etc. all of which are blogged. Though all millets are good for health, Nachani top’s them all. I also switched to jaggery from sugar as it is highest source of Iron, the very reason why in olden days people offered it to those who came home in bright sunlight, tired and dizzy for instant energy. Dates/ khajoor are another storehouse of nutrients that should also be included into your diet, do check out on various recipe in my blog, try it out and enjoy.

** Here is my age old traditional recipe of "Sweet-N- Spicy Nachani- Khajoor- Rava Bhakri” … My own style … definitely a healthy one for all ... However if you are diabetic or have any other health issues please do consult before trying out any changes in your food diet .... 

** Preparation of Khajoor/ dates for the recipe ....

** First we need to have khajoor ie dates ground to a smooth paste for this recipe. I would like to mention here that for a decade now it is easily available in the stores in syrup form and I have been using it for dishes or for serving coolant etc. for long period successfully. For this bhakri too I have used the same, it is really a boon to those who want to use a little bit or for those like me who are always in a rush or have a busy pattern of lifestyle. Having said that, the same can be prepared easily to which I had been doing so about 2 decades back.

** You can use any khajoor/ dates that are available in your vicinity but I then used to prepare with seedless dates available in packs. Again, it is a matter of choice to soak it or not as you can grind it straight away if you do not have enough time, however if you soak it in slightly hot water for about 20-30 minutes it gets ground easily into a smooth batter. Another point I must mention here is the texture of the paste, which actually depends on individual choice. Sometime there remains some stubborn hard skin pieces which you can sieve too.

** Coming to jaggery, in Mumbai we get clean jaggery, that does not need to be heated with water and sieved, but if necessary, you can go ahead with it if what is available in your vicinity is not clean as it is important to remove dirt particles if any. We now get fine powdered jaggery easily in stores that mixes up well in dishes, is free of dust particles and easy to measure. For coolants or curries where I just need to add on a little bit I always use the powder format while for payasam, laddoos I use the sticky ones called chikki gud available in Mumbai.

** Ingredients for this Recipe :

Rava (Bombay Rava) : 2 cups

Nachani/ Ragi/ Finger Millet Flour : ¾ - 1 cup

Kahjoor/ Dates Syrup : ½ Cup

Jaggery/ Goda/ Gud/ Gur Powder : 3 tblsp or as required.

Wheat Flour/ Atta : 1 tblsp

Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ½ cup freshly grated white part.

Green Chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 6-8 cut into small pieces

Ginger/ Alle'/ Adrak : 1 inch grated finely.

Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1/2-1 tsp

Salt/ Meeta/ Namak : to taste

** Ghee/ Toop : for frying the bhakri.

** In a large wide stainless steel bowl add in all the ingredients and mix it with a spoon till all the ingredients are loosely well mixed in. Now add in water little by little and mix the mixture to a thick bhakri consistency. That is you should be able to form it into a loose ball and pat it directly on tava. mixer grinder add in the , green chilies, ginger, hing powder and curds. Grind this to a coarse paste. Remove in a large bowl.

** Do not add in too much water first, as addition of more or less water depends upon the rava, and should be added on gradually. Keep the mixed batter covered aside to rest for a minimum 15-20 mins. The rava soaks up water and tends to get dry during this time. This step is necessary as the rava should be allowed to swell or else while frying them, the bhakri will not turn soft within and crispy outside.

** Once the resting period is over, check the consistency of the mixture. In case you find it dry add in some water and mix the mixture again. The mixture must be smooth and there should be no lumps in them. The texture should be that of bhakri / thick batter, a ball consistency. Remember, you should be able to take a lump of it on your hands and pat it on the hot tawa into a nice round shaped bhakri otherwise it does not turn out good.

** For Making of Bhakri : Heat a tava to smoking point and then reduce the heat to minimum. Brush the tava lightly with a thin layer of melted ghee. Take small amount of the mixed batter and pat it on a hot tava directly to form small bhakri. Keep dipping you hand in water to get a thin film of water on hand before you pat the bhakri, this is necessary to avoid the bhakri paste from sticking your palms and also give it a nice round shape.

** Be careful while doing patting the bhakri on tava directly as you may accidentally touch the hot tava and burn your hand. If you are not confident or do not know of this method, then I suggest you ask your friendly neighbor/ relative/ friend anyone who know and just watch it keenly they prepare it, if not possible you can always check out any You tube for the same too as there are plenty out there for reference.

** If you still do not want to do try that step, don’t worry, if you have access to banana leaf/ silicon sheet/ butter paper/ aluminium foil or even a thick cotton cloth you can use any of the mentioned to prepare the bhakri. Just follow the same method as above, first just swipe a wet hand on any of the ones mentioned above. Then place a large cricket sized ball of batter in center and then pat it down to get the desired size and shape.

** Gently invert this onto the tava taking care to see that the heat is on minimum and that the batter side is on the tava and then press it down slightly, after which slowly remove the same in peeling method while taking care to see that the bhakri remains on tava. Isn’t that easy, I suggest all never to give up, there is always a solution to a problem if you apply your mind, the main point is there should be desire to learn and prepare.

** Pour some ghee on all sides of the bhakri and a few drops on top of the bhakri. Raise the heat to medium and let cook until cooked on the bottom side and the paste on the upper portion does not stick to your hand when you touch gently. Now pour a few more drops of ghee on top side and slowly flip it over and cook on the other side too. Do not overcook as the bhakri should remain soft but firm and not too crisp nor should it get burnt on any side.

** Repeat the process with remaining batter until all the batter is consumed. This bhakri should be served hot, so in order to avoid serving cold, you can prepare the batter and keep it in the fridge and prepare and serve the same as and when required. I would like to mention here that though you can use oil for frying the bhakri, it is best to use ghee as being sweeter with adding of khajur etc. the taste is enhanced with addition of ghee.

** While normal spiced bhakri can be served hot with butter, curds, pickle, chutney, chunda or any spicy dish if you wish. This particular sweet and spicy bhakri tastes best only with butter/ loni, so go for it, you can serve with store bought ones too, if you do not prepare at home. The size of the bhakri depends on individual liking. You can make small or medium sized depending upong the size of your tava.

** "Sweet-N- Spicy Nachani- Khajoor- Rava Bhakri” is done and ready to be served. We love to have this with homemade fresh butter/ loni and it tastes wonderful. A snack highly packed on nutrition that should be included into your children’s diet. You can carry this in your lunch box too as it is equally great to eat at anytime of the day. A good breakfast snack or the same can be relished during upvas/ fasting period where eating of rava is allowed

** This is a traditional generation old snack that was served to growing up children as ragi on those days played an important role in children food either as halwa, roti, porridge, coolant, dosa etc. We should check out on our age-old recipes and try them out, as they are indeed foolproof when it comes to promoting of good health, there are so many simple, tasty and good ones that I am sure the repeat of the same will not come for decades if tried.

** When I read on old books and come across the intelligence of our ancestors I find that it is far beyond that of ours. We have easy access to books and other technology to look up to as references but they discovered food themselves and spread it by word of mouth be it the method of cooking, preserving, pickling, sun drying, just about anything. The only hitch being those days they were unable to explain the same on scientific methods.

** Come to think of it, we are indeed fortunate that 90% on food front is already done by them. All we need today is to just go back on time, check them out and follow them and I am sure we will be definitely turn healthier. Off course we also need to follow their format of hard working lifestyle too as those days they worked hard and ate heavy food which got digested as both were necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Do give me a feedback if you try it out.

** Just a word of Caution : Though all my recipes can be consumed by all individuals as they are all tried and tested in my own kitchen and relished in my own home, I still would like to request all about following certain things blindly in life. All food are nutritious but for those with ailment like diabetes, blood pressure, kidney issue, heart problems, gas issues, urinary problems to name a few, it is always good to check it out if safe with their Dr. or Nutritionist before consuming the same.