Have you tried ragi puttu recipe for babies and toddlers? This recipe is also known as finger millet puttu, nachni puttu, panja pullu puttu or kezhvaragu puttu.
Breakfast should be easy to make and healthy too.
Puttu is a breakfast item that can be made easily and is also healthy as it is steam cooked.
Most of us know about rice puttu (ari puttu), one of the traditional Kerala food recipes served with kadala curry (black chickpea curry).
Let us try a healthier version of puttu today- ragi puttu or steamed finger millet cakes/puttu.
Ragi is considered the best food for the little tummies, as it is easy to digest and helps in weight gain too.
This ragi puttu recipe is ideal for babies of 11 months and above (if they can chew the food properly). Make sure you replace the coconut with banana for them.
For toddlers and older kids, this puttu is an apt breakfast or evening snack recipe.
You can also read the benefits of ragi and the recipe to make sprouted ragi flour.
Ragi puttu or finger millet puttu is basically ragi flour and grated coconut steam cooked using a puttu kutti. Thanks to my mother-in-law who has always been someone to look upon for sumptuous meals. This one too comes from her kitchen of varieties.
You can make ragi porridge, ragi soup and ragi paratha too using finger millet.
Step by step ragi puttu recipe for babies and kids:
For this ragi puttu recipe you can either use steamed ragi flour or raw ragi flour. If you like to use steamed ragi flour, take ragi flour in a white cotton cloth, wrap it and steam for 10 minutes.
Now take the steamed ragi flour or directly the raw flour in a bowl. Add salt and ghee to this and mix well.
Sprinkle water a little by little. Rub the flour well with your fingers so that no lumps are formed and the mixture reaches a crumbled texture. Cover and keep aside the flour mixture for 10 minutes.
If you are using a puttu maker, first layer the puttu kutti with a little grated coconut. On top of the coconut layer add 2 fistful of the ragi puttu flour mixture. Then again add grated coconut followed by puttu flour. Finally add grated coconut as the top layer. Close the puttu kutti.
Heat water in a puttu maker or steamer or idli cooker and place the puttu kutti over it and steam the flour for 15 minutes.
Once the puttu is cooked well steam will come out through the puttu kutti and there will be a nice aroma of steamed puttu. Switch off the stove and remove the puttu kutti from the pot and push the puttu to a plate using a wooden or steel ladle.
Serve along with sugar/jaggery banana or any gravy of your choice. Kadala curry makes a perfect combo.
What to do with left over puttu?Left over puttu can be used best as evening snacks or next day morning breakfast in the form of sweet or savoury upma.
You can keep the left over puttu in refrigerator. When you take it out the next day, it will be very hard. No worries, just crumble it using your hand.
Put this in a mixie jar and whip or pulse for few seconds and then steam it for 5 minutes.
If you opt for a savory upma, season the leftover puttu with mustard seeds, small chopped onion, green chilli and curry leaves. Upma is ready You can also serve it with sugar or banana.
If you have leftovers, you can refer to the left over roti recipe and leftover dosa recipe for toddlers.
Notes:
If the ragi mixture is not cooked properly it might lead to upset stomach for babies and kids. So make sure to cook it well.
Don't forget to give a surprise treat to your kiddo's sweet tooth by making Ragi Cake with Chocolate Sauce and ragi almond cookies.
If you are looking for more healthy recipes, you can buy our ebooks on 21 Breakfast recipes and 53 healthy lunch box recipes.
Do try this ragi puttu recipe for babies and let us know in the comments section how you liked it!
Do you make any other version of puttu at home? Is your little one fond of puttu? Do share with me in comments.