Ragi koozh
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
A cooling, lightly fermented porridge of finger millet and broken rice, served with buttermilk, shallots and green chillies.
Region: Puducherry and Tamil NaduOccasion: Summer; offered at Amman temples in the Tamil month of AadiTime: 30 min + overnightServes: 4Vegan
Ingredients
- ½ cup ragi (finger millet) flour
- ¼ cup broken rice
- 4 cups water
- Salt to taste
- To serve: 1 cup thin buttermilk or water, 6 shallots finely chopped, 1 green chilli chopped (omit buttermilk for a vegan version)
Method
- Mix the ragi flour with 1 cup water and leave overnight to ferment lightly.
- Next morning cook the broken rice in 3 cups water until very soft.
- Stir in the ragi mixture and cook on low heat, stirring, for 10 minutes until thick and glossy.
- Cool. Shape into balls and keep in water, or thin with buttermilk or water and salt to drink.
- Serve with chopped shallots, green chillies and a pickle or dried fish fry on the side.
History
Millet koozh has long been the cooling drink of Tamil farm labourers in summer.
Significance
During Aadi, koozh is cooked in large pots and offered to Mariamman and other village goddesses, then shared with devotees. Ragi is promoted as a nutritious millet under India's millet mission.