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Ragi Mudde (Finger Millet Balls)
Photo: "Ragi ball" by chinogypsie, Flickr (flickr.com/photos/61178524@N00/3881033440), cropped · CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Ragi Mudde (Finger Millet Balls)

Ragi (finger millet)TraditionalKarnatakaDinnerFlour (atta)VegetarianContains dairy

Prep 5 min · Cook 10 min · Serves 4

Make

Ingredients

  • ragi (finger millet) flour — 1 cup
  • water — 2 1/4 cups (2 cups to boil; the other 1/4 cup is whisked with 2 tbsp of the flour)
  • salt (to taste)
  • ghee — 1 + 2 tbsp (2 tbsp go into the mudde; the rest greases the shaping bowl)

Method

  1. Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan and add the salt.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk 2 tbsp of the ragi flour into the remaining 1/4 cup of water until there are no lumps.
  3. Pour this slurry into the boiling water and keep stirring; it will start to thicken.
  4. Scatter the rest of the flour in an even layer over the top and let it bubble for about a minute without stirring.
  5. Now work the mixture with a sturdy spatula or wooden stick, stirring in one direction and pressing out any lumps. Keep the heat low and carry on until the whole mass is thick.
  6. Add 2 tbsp ghee and keep stirring until the dough looks glossy.
  7. Cover and let it steam on low heat for about 5 minutes, then switch off and leave it covered for 5 minutes more.
  8. Grease a small bowl with ghee, drop in about 2 heaped tablespoons of the hot mudde and swirl the bowl until it rolls into a smooth ball. Shape all the balls while the mudde is still hot, and serve with a hot curry.

Water and timing

Water: 2 1/4 cups for 1 cup of ragi flour — 2 cups brought to the boil and 1/4 cup for the flour slurry, as the FSSAI ingredient list totals.

From: FSSAI, Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes, PDF p. 77 (printed p. 63)

Fresh atta: grind small, use soon

  • Millets keep for months as whole grain; flour is best ground as it is needed, because it turns rancid. (FAO, Sorghum and millets in human nutrition (1995))
  • Bajra changes fastest: its grain stores for months, but its milled flour has a very short shelf life. (ICAR-IIMR scientists, Food Chemistry Advances (2023) (DOI 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100190))
  • In an Indian study, untreated bajra flour stayed within the quality limit only about 2 days at room temperature. (ICAR-IARI, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2016))
  • Ragi flour keeps better than foxtail, barnyard or bajra flour (it carries less fat). (Planta (2024), review)
  • Keep atta closed and cool: bajra flour kept best in polythene and worst in gunny sacks; grains should be dry and in airtight containers. (Chaudhary & Kapoor, J Sci Food Agric (1984); ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines (2024) (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.2740351113))
  • Going off shows first as smell and taste — sour, musty or dusty, then bitter. (Lai & Varriano-Marston, Cereal Chemistry (1980))

So: buy the grain, grind a week’s worth at a time — less for bajra in summer.

Adapted from FSSAI, Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes, PDF p. 77 (printed p. 63), written in our own words.