Finger Millet Porridge - Ragi Koozhu

கேழ்வரகு கூழ் - மண் மணம் மாறாத உணவு 

Finger millet, is commonly known as ragi in South India.

i remember the botanical name of ragi - Eleusine coracana from my college days. but then i never tasted any food made with ragi. may be if i had tasted ragi koozhu then, i would have remembered "Eleusine coracana" along with its awesome fermented flavour of this porridge. 

it gives me a lot of pride to say that i learnt this recipe and can make it with the exact country side taste/flavour which i like. i did lot of research for this recipe, experimented many times and ended up in this recipe. 

when i was a little girl, my neighbour auntie used to make this during summer, especially during the Tamil month Aadi. she used to invite all of us for lunch in her house that day. my favourite items on the menu were these - கூழ், முருங்கை கீரை பொரியல் and கருவாட்டு குழம்பு (i.e., porridge, sauteed drumstick greens and dry fish gravy). those days i always like it to have it along with these two side dishes. otherwise i would not have it at all. later, i started making this koozhu by myself. i was able to make the koozhu in the same taste and flavour like the one which my neighbour auntie used to make. this brought me the memories of the golden olden days. that made me fall in love with this ragi porridge or கேழ்வரகு கூழ். now i love to have it without any side dish. just few shallots is good enough to make this koozhu a heavenly meal. 

i make sure i make this during summers. myself and my husband love this. my daughter too like this.. but only with drumstick greens stir fry.. just like the way i was in her age ! 
this porridge cools your body. therefore consume this porridge more during summers. since it is twice fermented, the food is totally easily digestible. 

if you plan to have koozhu for breakfast/lunch, then you have to start to prepare on the previous day morning itself. one morning you have to mix the ragi flour in water for fermentation, then cook it the same day evening and let it sit the whole night. next day morning you have to dilute it with curd and water or butter milk and salt and consume. here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

first day:

• ragi flour - 1 cup
• boiled rice (broken) or raw rice (full) - 1/4 cup
• water - 5 cups plus 2 cups

second day:

• curd or butter milk
• water
• salt
• few shallots

Procedure:

• the preparations has to be started the previous day itself.
• morning around 9 am, add 2 cups of water to the ragi flour and mix well to a batter like consistency. cover it and keep aside for the rest of the day to ferment.
• evening around 5 pm, soak half cup of rice. you can either use boiled rice or raw rice. i would use boiled rice as i like the flavour of boiled rice in the ragi koozhu. you will definitely notice the difference when you  try making koozhu with both the rices. broken rice is much recommended. if not, you can use the whole unbroken rice too.
• at around 7 pm, start cooking the porridge.
• boil the 5 cups of water in a big container. i use the earthen ware - the மண் சட்டி.
• when the water starts to boil, add the soaked rice and let it cook.
• once the rice is cooked soft, add the fermented ragi flour batter. 
• keep stirring as you pour this batter into the boiling water.
• keep the stove in medium heat and keep stirring till it starts to boil.
• once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and cover it. let it cook covered for 10 to 15 minutes.
• open and stir the porridge and check whether it is cooked fully. this i will tell you how. dip your hand in cold water and touch the porridge gently. if the porridge is cooked then it will not stick to your hand, if it is still uncooked the porridge will stick to your fingers. that is all. 
• once you make sure that the porridge is cooked, switch off the stove and cover it and keep on the counter top overnight. 
• Next day morning: the porridge must be thick by now. transfer how much ever you want into another vessel and add butter milk and salt (i add few tablespoons of curd and a little water). cover it again and leave aside till the time you want to consume. then add more water to this if needed, mix well and consume.
• you can dilute the koozhu with butter milk and drink it right away too. but leaving it aside for some time will give a tinch of sourness to the koozhu with gives an awesome flavour to it. we love it this way.
• that's it... the awesome South Indian country side.. native style.. or "மாரியம்மன் கோயில் கூழு" (Maariyamman Kovil Koozhu) is ready to be relished.

this koozhu or the porridge will have this unique fermented ragi batter as well as the fermented rice flavour. 

we like to have this koozhu with drumstic keerai poriyal or dry fish gravy (கருவாட்டு குழம்பு)

if you are a hard worker you an have this porridge more than twice a week. otherwise just once a week is good enough. it is very cooling for the body.

i easily drink 4 glasses of porridge for lunch. will never feel heavy on your stomach and at the same time, you will not feel hungry till late evening or we can even skip dinner. 

i never feel guilty for skipping dinner. it is healthy to skip dinner if you are not hungry. and most of the time we never feel hungry for dinner. its just the routine habit we consume something for dinner. but its not necessary as our system metabolism itself will slow down as the day ends and prefer to shutdown our digestion workshop early and start the work of detoxification of the body. if you feel the stomach is empty slightly then you can have very little food for dinner. that will do good. if you think you will not feel hungry till you sleep.. then you can very well skip the dinner. its a great weight reduction tip too. most of the days i am not hungry and hence i skip the dinner. 

thank our ancestors for this recipe, think of them when you consume this, and stay healthy.

Happy cooking !!!