Black is beuatiful! Ragi dishes are always on the top of my menu list, given their nutritive qualities. Besides being a very rich source of calcium, ragi is one of the few sources of methionine for a vegetarian, especially vegan diet. Ragi known as Finger Millet or African Millet is mostly grown in arid areas in Africa and Asia, and is common in South India.
Ragi Pizza is the name I use to sell Ragi Rottis to my grand children, who are unbelievably ravenous when it comes to “devouring” pizzas! Just adding a few vegetables makes the rotti attractive and more nutritious, and a wholesome food. A ragi pizza breakfast keeps my husband going till he comes back late in the evening after finishing his 18 holes of golf.
INGREDIENTS:
Ragi flour – 3 cups
Salt – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Onion – 1
Carrot – 1
Capsicum -1
Cabbage – to make ½ a cup when shredding
Green chillies – 2
Fresh ginger – 1’’ piece
Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbs
Oil – for drizzling around the roti
METHOD:1. Chop onions into very thin slivers.
2. Chop the cabbage similarly.
3. Mince capsicum into very thin slices.
4. Peel and grate carrot.
5. Chop green chillies, ginger and coriander leaves.
6. Mix all the cut ingredients with salt and cumin seeds.
7. Now add the ragi flour and mix again evenly.
8. Add water and make loose dough, so that it can be easily patted on to the tava or pan.
9. Grease the tava with a spec of oil.
10. Place a ladleful of the dough on the tava.
11. Wet your fingers in cold water and then pat the dough as thin as possible into a round pizza.
12. Now turn on the flame.
13. Dribble oil around the rotti and cover with a lid.
14. Cook for 2 minutes and remove lid.
15. The ragi when cooked, will turn into a dark shade, and the vegetables will shimmer revealing their colours, on top of the cooked rotti.
16. Leave the rotti on the hot tava for another minute, turn it to the other side, if you want to toast the other side as well, and then remove from flame.
Hot nutritious Ragi Pizza is now ready to be served. Children will enjoy it with tomato sauce. Any pickle or chutney will also be a good accompaniment. As with most dishes, its taken to a new level if topped with a blob of fresh and soft home made butter!This dish, (minus the butter topping!) goes to the Challenge at Veda's blog - Iyengar's Kitchen !
