Ragi is very nutritious and healthy food for babies. It is rich in calcium, protein and iron. In addition to mother's milk, you can start introducing other foods slowly after the baby completes 6 months. First you start with plain rice porridge as it is easy to digest. (I will post this later). Once the baby gets used to it, then you can slowly introduce plain ragi porridge. These recipes were handwritten by our pediatrician in my notebook when my kids were young. I have given these porridge to my children when they were young. Though all the baby recipes are posted after consulting our pediatrician, I suggest you to kindly consult your baby's pediatrician before starting any new food. photo credit: via Homemade food is best for babies because - 1.We can be sure that we have used fresh ingredients 2. No preservatives are added to increase its self life. 3. Lot of love goes into the preparation. I suggest that you buy organic ingredients for babies. If you have not read my basic , kindly check that post and come back here. 1#Plain Ragi Porridge for babies Ragi porridge does not suit all babies. So start with less quantity. Initially you can give plain diluted ragi porridge for a week, once the baby is comfortable with it, you can give semi solid porridge. If your baby has problems with it, leave a gap of few days and then start again. I do not want to elaborate on this as a mother knows best about her baby. Introduce only 1 new food at a time. Always consult your pediatrician before starting any new food for babies. Sterilize all the utensils, spoons before feeding the baby. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap before feeding the baby. How to prepare porridge powder Clean and wash finger millet well.Drain the water completely and dry it well in the shade/sunlight spreading it on a clean cloth. After it is dried well, dry roast it on medium flame until you get an aroma of roasted ragi. Remove from flame and transfer to a plate to cool. Get it powdered finely inthe flour mill. Store it in an air tight container. This is the plain ragi porridge powder. How to prepare porridge Take 1 cup of water, add 1 ½ tsp of porridge powder, cook on low flame until it thickens. Add little jaggery to taste. Jaggery should be dissolved in little water and then filtered. You can add 1/4 cup of cow's milk for added taste but optional. 2#Ragi Porridge (for babies above 12 months/1 Year) Ingredients needed Ragi Porridge for babies Prep Time : 20 mins | Cook Time : 30 Mins | Ingredients needed Finger millet/ragi -200 grams Cracked wheat/samba godhumai-200 grams Pottu kadalai/Roasted gram - 200 grams Ground nuts -100 grams (without the skin) White sesame seeds - 50 grams Omam/Ajwain -1/2 tsp Recipe Instructions Clean and wash ragi well. Drain the water completely and dry it in the shade/sunlight well. Then dry roast it on medium flame until you get an aroma of roasted ragi. Remove from flame and spread it on a plate to cool. Clean the otheringredients and dry roast each separately on medium flame. Leave it to cool. Get it powdered in the flour mill. Store it in an air tight container and use when required. It is a bit difficult to powder it in a mixer grinder but if you do not have a flour mill near your place, prepare it in less quantity and powder it finely and sieve it. Do not operate the mixie at a stretch. Leave a gap of 10-15 minutes in between to prevent the mixer from getting heated. How to prepare ragi porridge for babies Ingredients needed Ragi Porridge powder -1 1/2-2 tsp Jaggery/palm jaggery water Method Take 1 cup of water, add 2 tsp of porridge powder and mix well making sure that there are no lumps. Cook on low flame until it thickens. Then add jaggery/palm jaggery water to taste. Add very less jaggery. Heat a little water, add jaggery/palm jaggery to it, stir it over low flame. When the jaggery dissolves, filter it and use it.You can add 1/4 cup fresh boiled cow's milk to the porridge for addedtaste. Note - All the above recipes are not only for babies, adults can also drink it. For adults- you can add almonds, 2 cardamom and soya in addition to the above ingredients. If you found this post useful, I would really love it, if you pin it or share it with your Facebook fans or Twitter followers or Google+ circles today. All it takes is a simple click on the “pin it” “like,” “share,” “tweet,” or Google+ buttons below the post. It will keep me motivated. Thank you!
