Ragi/Finger Millet

  

Ragi, scientifically called Eleusine coracana, is an annually cultivated cereal crop, vastly found in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, such as in Ethiopia, India And Sri Lanka. Being densely packed with a host of nutrients, ragi confers valuable health benefits such as enhancing digestion, reducing the risk of heart disease, slowing down ageing and managing diabetes. The common English name of Ragi is finger millet, owing to the appearance of the head of the grain comprising five spikes and thus, resembling the five fingers attached to the palm of the hand. This variety of annual grass grows up to a height of 1 to 2 m, belonging to the Gramineae botanical family. Leaves measure between 30 and 70 cm, being narrow and green. The straight or sometimes curved branches hold seeds arranged in florets, which can be brown, red or purple in colour. Widely distributed across several states in India, its local names include “Ragi” in Kannada, Hindi and Telugu, “Nachni” in Marathi, “Madua” in Bengali and “Kezhvaragu” in Tamil.

Finger millet crops are drought-resistant, tolerating slightly acidic to alkaline soils as well. This makes it ideal to propagate these plants through the year, in different geographical terrains across India, be it in the mountains or the plateaus. Upon developing, the seeds of the ragi plant are dried, cleaned and stored as grains. Thus, commercially available ragi is either in the form of salubrious super-grains or threshed under high pressure and sold as flour, after applying various processing techniques such as milling and malting.

The humble millet ragi, is, in fact, an ultimate super-food! Buy our nourishing ragi products today, to enhance overall health!

Due to the immense popularity of other cereal crops such as rice and wheat, ragi had taken a backseat in the Indian food and nutrition scene for a long time, although they were a highly regarded nutritious yield in ancient agricultural practices more than 2000 years ago. In the past three to four decades, thanks to in-depth research and the thrust by the UN FAO (United Nations Food And Agriculture Organisation) on incorporating millets in the daily diet, to tackle malnutrition and a myriad other commonly occurring ailments, ragi has made a significant comeback as a frontrunner, for maintaining optimal health.

Ragi Nutrition Content:

Ragi displays a rather impressive nutritional profile, encompassing all the essential macronutrients - carbohydrates, fibers, fats and proteins, along with noteworthy levels of key micronutrients - vitamins and minerals. It has negligible levels of cholesterol and sodium, to promote heart wellness. In addition, ragi contains considerable quantities of vitamins C and E, to boost immune, skin and hair health. The B complex vitamins - thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid as well as calcium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus are also found in ample amounts in ragi flour, truly justifying its status as a wholesome breakfast cereal and a superfood.

The nutrition values in a 100 g serving of ragi flour are as follows:

Ragi Calories - 385

Macronutrients:

Total Fat 7%

Saturated Fat 3%

Polyunsaturated Fat 5%

Monounsaturated Fat 2%

Cholesterol 0%

Sodium 0%

Total Carbohydrates 25%

Dietary Fiber 14%

Sugars 2%

Protein 10%

Micronutrients:

Minerals:

Calcium 26%

Iron 11%

Potassium 27%

Vitamins:

Thiamine 5%

Riboflavin 7.6%

Niacin 3.7%

Folic Acid 3%

Vitamin C 7%

Vitamin E 4.6%

Ragi is, in fact, a favourable fibre rich Indian food, that serves as an alternative to other routine cereal and grain crops in the Indian diet regime such as rice, wheat or barley. It has the distinction of being a relatively rare plant source of crucial essential amino acids namely isoleucine, tryptophan, valine, methionine and threonine, thus complementing both vegetarian and vegan diets.