what is ragi can anyone pls tell me ,what is it called in hindi and what are the benefits of it for a one year old baby jigna replied. check this out remove spaces:

http ://www. nandyala. org/mahanandi/archives/2005/05/02/raagi-malt/

in this board, there was one post which helped me, posting it for you.

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=6870&table_name=dis_feeding

hope this helps you. SP replied. RAGI AND ITS BENEFITS:
i think its called nachni in hindi, its another cereal which is highly nutritious for children commonly given in south india. its easy to digest.
it is extremely rich in iron and calcium as compared to other cereals. it is black in colour and very similar to mustard seeds in its appearance.

PREPARING RAGI(recipe from tarla dalal, but this is what is commonly done also)
--1/4 cup whole ragi (nachni)
--Soak the ragi for 6 to 8 hours.
--Drain out all the water, tie in a muslin cloth and allow to sprout. This may take upto 2 days in warm weather. Remember to keep sprinkling water on the musllin cloth to keep it damp, as the grains will not sprout if they are dry.
--Dry roast all the grains on a tava (griddle) over a slow flame, stirring continuously till they are crisp and can be easily powdered.
--Cool for 5 minutes. Rub them between your palms to remove all the ;burnt skin and sprouts which will otherwise leave a burnt taste in the mixture.
--Separate this burnt portion from the toasted grains by passing it through a sieve. Discard the burnt portion.
--Grind the toasted grains to make a fine powder.
-- In case you want a very smooth powder, the ragi powder can be double filtered.
To the above other grains such as wheat, whole moong(green gram) and rice can be added.
Wheat and moong need to be sprouted similar to ragi, but rice needs to be washed and let to dry. All of them have to be roasted seperately and then mixed before grinding.
Ratios of cereals to be added:
1/4 cup rice, washed and dried
1/4 cup whole moong (green gram), raw
1/4 cup whole wheat (gehun)
1/4 cup whole ragi (nachni)

Any other cereal which is commonly used can also be added to make this powder as nutritious as required. in fact down south, more than 20 different kinds of cereals, legumes etc are added to make this baby food!

COOKING RAGI:
ingredients:
--1 tablespoon of the mixture
--hot milk/ formula
--Boiled and luke warm water
-- salt, sugar and spices as required
-- small knob of ghee

Take 1-2 tablespoons of the dry mixture , and add the boiled luke warm water to it to the consistency required. stir it continuosly so that a paste is formed without any knots. Add salt, sugar and other spices as per your taste. A small knob of ghee also to be added.
Place this paste on the stove and mix continously avoiding knots.
Once the mixture starts to bubble it is cooked. Now add in the milk as required, stir and switch off.
As the ragi cooks it becomes thick, so add as much water and milk/formula as u need to bring it to the consistency you feed your baby.
Ragi is ready to serve.