Ragi (finger millet ) has not been my favorite for a couple of reasons and this month I have tried my best to start liking it by using it in interesting forms and surprisingly I did like it. I think the one common reason why some people may not be excited about ragi is the dull appearance it lends to the cooked dish. I think that a dish should not only be healthy but it should look good too. So I was thinking of ways to make ragi look more appetizing and came up with this idea.
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I usually do not buy sugary cereals. It is always Fiber One and plain old Cheerios. My son likes both. Others which I get occasionally are corn flakes, puffed brown rice, puffed millet and puffed corn. I once tried the cocoa pebbles and felt that it way too sweet. My son keeps asking for chocolate flavored cereal and I keep telling him that I cannot get it because it is not healthy. Finally I got the idea to make my own chocolate cereal.
I decided to mix cocoa powder with ragi flour; sweeten it with maple syrup; form a smooth dough and try to cut out small circles and bake it. After I was done preparing the dough, I was able to roll it out but was not able to remove the circles off the surface. It was sort of sticky. So I decided to score it into diamonds instead and bake it like crackers. Even though I was not able to do exactly what I had planned to but the experiment did end well. My son loved this homemade chocolate cereal. Keeping the recipe I have given as a base one can try this with a variety of flours and come with a lot of healthy variations.
How to serve it?
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Recipe
Homemade Chocolate Cereal Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- ½ cup RagiFlour (Finger Millet)
- 1 tablespoon Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 tablespoon Flax Seed Powder
- 4 teaspoons Cocoa Powder
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil Spread
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 3 tablespoons Water
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375F/190C for 15 minutes. If using a cookie sheet with edges, flip it over (so you get a flat top) and grease it with some oil spread. Or you can use a flat cookie sheet and grease the same. You will be requiring 2 sheets.
- Meanwhile combine together the dry and wet ingredients into a smooth dough.
- Divide the dough into two equal parts and roll each half directly on the greased cookie sheets. Roll as thin as possible and using a knife/pizza cutter score it into diamonds/squares directly on the cookie sheet; do not separate. Bake for 8-15 minutes. The baking time depends on the thickness of the rolled out dough.
- The first set I baked was thicker than the second set. So the first one took approximately 12-13 minutes but the 2nd was done in about 8 minutes itself. You can smell the cocoa and also can see that the pieces around the edges turning sort of black. Keep a watch and remove the pans immediately out of the oven.
- The pieces will start coming off while you are removing it from the sheet. Spread it on a plate or another cool sheet. Once the chocolate squares have cooled completely store it in an airtight container.
Priya Krishnan says
What a site google has shown me today? - Eggless cooking. I am so thankful. I have landed here in search of innovative ragi recipe after reading about how good Ragi is.
This recipe of yours is perfect for me for my morning breakfast. I had got bored with what I have been eating and your recipe here is a perfect combo of taste and health. The looks (if I can match) will attract my son too. I so badly want him to start having some ragi.
Could you please tell me some other recipes which I can prepare using ragi? I will surely try them after this.
Thanks a million madhuram, both from me and my Son 🙂
God bless.
Cheers
Priya Krishnan
Sandhya says
Very very creative madhuram .. Want to try it as a cracker or maybe Thattai for Diwali.. Wanted to know if I add few tbsp a butter should this turn out crunchy & crispy like thattais. Ur input will really help, coz this recipe s rocking & I am looking to make some baked dish or Diwali.
Thanks
Madhuram says
Thanks Sandhya. I would suggest to follow this recipe instead: http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/03/27/baked-savory-onion-crackers/
shuba says
hi love all your recipes. i want to try this one, i would like to know if this recipe doesnt require any baking powder/ salt.
thank you
Madhuram says
Thanks Shuba. Yes it does not need baking powder/salt.
priys says
Is there any substitute for flax seed powder and maple syrup?
Madhuram says
Flax seed powder is optional. You may choose to omit it. You could try honey or powdered sugar instead of maple syrup.
sangeetakhanna says
This is such a nice idea for a cereal. I always thought the ragi steamed noodles could be made with cocoa powder and had with milk for breakfast but this baked crackers are quick to use. I bake a ragi cheese and sesame crackers(savory) and i started liking ragi after that 🙂
SathyaSridhar says
Wooow!!!Madhuram,,ragi maavula rombhavum healthy aana cereal seithurukeenga paa,,,naan ragi pakoda thaan eppaum seivaen apram ragi kool itha naan kandipa seithu paakanum..
Thanks Sathya.
suma says
Hi Madhuram. Can you please share your mail ID with me if OK with you?
Use the contact form Suma.
rajani@eatwritethink says
this is sheer genius!!! 😯
Jennifer says
Homemade cereal is genius, I make granola so why not cereal? YUM
Dawn Hutchins says
This caught my eye because I'm always looking for healthy alternatives for my daughter's breakfast (she is allergic to eggs). This looks delicious!
Heather says
Thank you so much for introducing me to this ingredient. I intend to try this out as soon as I can get my hands on some. I'd really like to start incorporating it into my healthy vegan recipe videos. Thanks!
You're welcome Heather.
nags says
what a lovely idea!
Latha says
Thank you Madhuram for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
Champa says
Madhuram, I was passed on an award which I should pass on to 10 more bloggers. You are one of them. Please accept.
http://versatilekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/blogging-and-first-award.html
Suma says
Hi Madhuram!! Super recipe!! Will surely try making this! I would not mind having this for breakfast myself 😉 . What can be used as a substitute for maple syrup?? Please let me know..
Suma, try honey instead.
Latha says
Hi Madhuram,
You have a great blog and super recipies. I just started my own blog. It's a great way you use raggi. I use it to make dosai.
Thanks Latha.
Sweatha says
Madhu,its GREAT.I love the way you used ragi.I could never ever imagine such a thing.I am tempted to try this with other flours and not just ragi.Lets see what works.Its great again.
Silent Reader says
I am sure I have told you this before..start a GOURMET store ..I will join you , I will market 😉
abc says
Hi Madhuram
When I first read the title I thought it would be a tedious process and would require baking on both the sides. But you proved me wrong. I will definitely try it probably with white whole wheat flour.
Thank you once again.
Yes you can try a couple of healthy variations using multigrain flours.