Ragi Koozh or Aadi Koozhu Recipe using Ragi maavu (Finger millet flour) and Varagu Arisi (Kodo Millet) with step wise Pictures using Pressure Cooker method.

Ragi koozhu is a gluten free, diabetic friendly and a healthy breakfast porridge especially during Summer. Its a perfect body coolant and not only that Keppai koozh is still a staple breakfast of many people in the villages across Tamil Nadu. It is also made and served  as a prasadham in many Mariamman temples during the Aadi month of the Tamil calendar which falls from mid July to mid August. I always make this koozhu along with sarkarai pongal on the first and last Sunday of the Aadi month every year.

In our home town, Aadi Koozh is served as a prasadham during Sundays in Amman temples. Fridays are usually allotted for doing “thiruvillaku poojas” or “thirumaangalya pooja”. On all Sundays of the Aadi month, people who have “venduthal” (a private commitment to God), demonstrate it by making this koozhu and giving it to all the people who visit the temple on that day and also we have “paal kudam” rally that begins during mid day and ends in the evening and after which we have “thee midhi” also. All Sundays will be like a “Thiru Vizha” during this Aadi month in my home town and I miss it really very much.

Usually this porridge is made using rice grits (arisi rava) and both the arisi rava and ragi are cooked separately and then mixed together. But in my home while making for breakfast, they also use either soaked sago (javvarisi) or cooked, mashed rice as a variant to break the monotony of arisi rava. But while making it as a prasadam during the month of Aadi, we use only rice.

Here I have used kodo  millet (varagu arisi) as it is already in the form of arisi rava and also I have used the pressure cooker as both the ingredients gets cooked together thereby saving time and in case if you are a beginner, it eliminates any doubts regarding finding out whether the ragi or the rice have cooked to perfection.

Ragi Koozh Recipe

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Ingredients:

• Ragi Flour – 1 cup
• Varagu Arisi (Kodo Millet) – 1/4 cup
• Yogurt (Curd / thayir) – 1/2 cup (approx.,)
• Salt – to taste
• Water – 5 1/2 cups

Instructions:

1. Mix Ragi flour in 3 cups water without any lumps in a vessel and let it rest over night.
2. The next morning the ragi batter would have turned sour. Transfer the ragi batter mixture along with the water to a pressure cooker. Add kodo millet (Varagu arisi), salt and 2 cups of water and mix well once again.
3. Pressure cook for 3 whistles over medium flame. Take off the stove and let the pressure release. Open the cooker and using a masher (Maththu) mash all the contents well. Meanwhile, in another bowl, take the curd, add 1/2 cup water and whisk till its smooth.
4. Let it cool down completely. Now, add the whisked curd to the koozh (porridge) and mix well without lumps either with your hand or using a whisk.
5. If its too thick, adjust the consistency by adding more buttermilk or water.
6. Serve in tumblers with an assortment of side dishes like shallots (sambar onion), green chilies and mango pickle.