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Nourishing grain
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Combined with its low cost, ragi makes for a highly affordable source of high-class nutrition
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RAGI, A.K.A Finger millet and African millet, is a hardy crop that provides high quality nutrition at a low price. The earliest archaeological evidence of its cultivation is from Ethiopia, circa 3000 BC. Ragi arose in Uganda and neighbouring parts of Africa thousands of years ago and spread to India by 1000 BC.
Before the introduction of maize, ragi was the staple food crop in southern Africa, and it is still a significant food crop in southern India.
One of its main attractions for farmers is that the seeds are small and quick drying and insects cannot live inside them. The seeds can last up to half a century in storage. This makes the crop valuable as a bulwark against famine.
Food uses: Throughout the tropics, sprouted ragi seeds are a nutritious and easily digestible food ideal for weaning infants and the elderly. Ground ragi is a base for porridges, puddings and baked foods, and the whole grain is eaten as a popped food. In Indonesia, the whole grain is popular as a vegetable. Ragi flour can be baked into bread and flat breads. In Africa, finger millet is a source of alcohol, especially for making sweet malts. Arake is a finger millet-based alcoholic drink from Ethiopia.
Nutrition value: 100 gm of ragi seed provide nearly 370 Calorie, with 88 gm of carbohydrate, 7.6 gm of protein and 1.5 gm of fat. Ragi grain contains more protein, fat and carbohydrate than maize, rice and sorghum. Combined with its low cost, this makes ragi a highly affordable source of high-class nutrition for those doing hard labour. The grain is also rich in important minerals like calcium, phosphorus and iron and in methionine, an essential amino acid that the body must have in the daily diet. Ragi is also a better cereal for diabetics than rice or maize. Ragi is a folk cure for liver ailments, leprosy, measles, pneumonia and other lung ailments. The leaf juice is a medicinal drink for women in labour.
RAJIV. M
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