Ragi sangati in pressure cooker (Ragi mudda/Ragi Balls)

Ragi sangati, also called Ragi mudda is a staple food of people in many parts of Andhra-Telangana states (in India). It is also consumed everyday in majority of southern Karnataka and few places in Tamil Nadu. In these states, it is known as ragi mudde and ragi kali respectively. Often accompanied by a side dish like gravy, curry, dal or just chutney, it makes for a hearty and nutritious meal. Ragi sangati is often considered a farmer's meal as it keeps them full for longer duration and energetic at work throughout the day.  

So, what is Ragi sangati and how is it healthy? Ragi, the super grain is a millet variety and is known as finger millet in English. Ragi is rich in dietary fibre, protein, potassium, calcium, iron and vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C and E, making it a nutrition power house. Regular intake of ragi flour helps to improve bone density, overall heart health, bowel movement and regulate blood sugar levels. Because of its fibre content, it helps you keep fuller for long time aiding in weight loss. It is gluten free, so can be undoubtedly consumed by those who are gluten intolerant. 

Apart from sangati, ragi can be included in our diet in different forms like dosa, roti, idiyappam (string hoppers), porridge, pancakes, cakes, cookies and a lot more. You can also introduce finger millet in form of cereal/ porridge for babies once they start solids. Check this link on how to prepare ragi cereal/ porridge for babies.

Since my childhood, ragi sangati was prepared regularly at home, especially on Sundays. After having a relaxing oil bath, it was a pleasure watching my grand mother shape balls out of fuming hot ragi sangati right from the stove and place it in all of our plates. Next comes my mom's turn to serve us finger licking chepala pulusu (fish curry) or kodi koora (chicken curry). This ragi sangati-chepala pulusu or ragi sangati-kodi koora is an unbeatable combination and is just brilliant. Once our entire family finishes the meal, we switch on the TV to watch a regional movie telecasted in Doordarshan, the only TV channel back in 90s. Everyday sunday afternoon, they telecast a South Indian regional language movie - Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada. Irrespective of the language, we wait the whole week to watch the movie. Those days were a nothing but pure bliss.

So coming back to the point, vegetarians after reading this please don't get disheartened. There are a lot of vegetarian options that you can pair up with sangati and they taste amazing too, for instance vada pulusu or bendakaya pulusu (or any vegetable pulusu for that matter), pappu (dal) made our of greens like thotakoora (amaranthus), palakoora (spinach), menthi (fenugreek), vegetable kurma etc. I make black chick peas kurma which tastes as good as chicken kurma with ragi sangati. We can also serve sangati with a variety of chutneys too.

Traditionally my grandmother used to make this sangati in a thick bottomed vessel, by cooking rice first, then adding ragi and combining it well using a wooden spatula until it is thoroughly cooked. Those visuals are still fresh in my memory. But now a days, we look out for ease in everything that we do. Don't we? So I started making a simpler and quicker version of ragi sangati in a pressure cooker, replacing rice with dalia (broken wheat). Whenever I make sangati, I travel back in time and fondly recollect my childhood memories. 

Do comment if you are a sangati lover like me and the memories that it brings back to you. I would love to know.

Ragi Sangati in pressure cooker:

Ingredients:

• Dalia (broken wheat) - 1/4 cup
• Ragi (finger millet flour) - 1 cup
• Water - 2.5 cups
• Salt - To taste

Procedure:

• Wash and soak dalia for half an hour
• Pressure cook dalia with half a cup of water for 4 whistles
• Once steam releases, add 2 cups of water and salt to dalia and bring it to a boil
• When the water boils, add a cup of ragi flour and mix thoroughly so that it doesn't form any lumps
• Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and close the cooker lid along with the whistle
• Leave it undisturbed until the pressure releases naturally. The pressure built up will be sufficient to cook the ragi
• Then occasionally wetting your hand with water, shape the ragi sangati into balls of desired sized. You can check the below video the process of making sangati in a pressure cooker and how to shape it into balls
• Serve ragi sangati hot with your choice of side dish

Tips:

• Instead of dalia, you can use broken rice or whole rice (white or brown). Cook the rice until mushy and follow rest of the process as explained above
• To make the sangati flavourful, you may add a tablespoon of ghee just before shaping them into balls
• Soak left over sangati in water overnight. In the morning, you can mix it with curd and thinly chopped onions to have a highly nutritious drink called ambali for your break fast

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