Shastalu – Ragi vermicelli dessert

Shastalu – Ragi vermicelli dessert Ingredients: Finger millet/ Ragi flour – 2 cups Water – 3 glasses Jaggery powder – 1 ½ cup Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp Fried gram powder – ¾ cup Grated coconut – ¼ tsp (optional) Ghee - ½ tbsp Muruku maker – 1 Wooden stick – 1 Instructions:  Take a small pan and add jaggery powder into it. Pour a glass of water and switch ON the flame. Keep stirring continuously until the jaggery melts. Add cardamom powder and mix well. When the jaggery syrup starts to thicken, switch OFF the flame and set it aside. Take a large thick bottomed bowl with wide mouth. I am using a pressure cooker container. Pour 3 glasses of fresh water into it. Switch ON the flame. Add ½ tbsp of ghee, 1 tbsp of finger millet/ragi flour into the water and mix well. Make sure that there are no lumps and allow it to boil. When the foam starts to build up on the surface lower the flame. Add finger millet flour slowly into the boiling water. Keep stirring continuously until all the flour gets mixed into the water and binds well like a soft dough. Make sure that there are no lumps. Stirring continuously is a very important step to keep the dough soft and smooth. Also, ghee plays a vital role in not letting the dough stick to the wooden stick or bowl, and, enhancing the flavor of nutritious ragi ball. Once the dough is mixed well, put the container on low flame and cover the lid. Let it cook for a minute or 2 until the steam starts to slowly build up. Switch OFF the flame. Take a plate and slightly wet it with water. You may also use ghee at this stage but i prefer water. Remove the lid over the ragi dough and dish out small portions of it into a plate. Dip your fingers and palm in the water. This step is like greasing to avoid the dough from sticking to the plate or your fingers. It also protects the skin from burning as the dough is still hot. With the help of your palm and fingertips, gently press the ragi dough to make an oval shape.

Take a muruku maker and fix the plate with tiny holes (the one used for making Sev). Grease the muruku maker with water. Put the oval shaped ragi dough in the muruku maker and place the handle of the muruku maker over the dough. Gently press the handle of the muruku maker. This will extract fine strings of ragi dough out of the murukku maker. Place a plate underneath and try making medium sized rounds. These are called ragi vermicelli. Allow it to cool down for 1 to 2 minutes. Then, gently pick it up and place it in a clean and dry container. Follow the same process until all the dough is used up to make the ragi vermicelli. You may also serve ragi ball in the same way instead of making them into vermicelli. How to serve Shastalu? Take a clean plate and place ragi vermicelli in it. Add 1 tbsp of fried gram powder over the vermicelli and pour 2 small ladles of jaggery syrup over it. Add a tsp of ghee and serve hot. Simple yet delicious Shastalu is ready within minutes. TIP 1: Make the ragi vermicelli when the dough is still hot and smooth. TIP 2: Thick and tough dough will become more harder when it gets cold. Making vermicelli out of it will be difficult. Kids would enjoy having both the varieties. I find this as an easy way to introduce kids to healthy eating. Traditional recipes are not just simple to make but are very tasty and nutritious. Ragi is considered as a super food. Ragi has 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. Jaggery contains lot of elemental iron and vitamin C. Ghee has vital fatty acids that help in hydration of the skin cells. These 3 vital ingredients make this recipe a must try. Do try out and enjoy serving your family and friends. Don’t forget to share your experiences in order to help me serve you better.