Rough-textured bites of malted ragi and coarsely crushed peanuts, held together by warm jaggery and ghee, with cardamom coming through late.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Ragi Flour 1 cup
Fresh
- Raw peanuts 1 cup
- Jaggery, grated 120 g
- Ghee 3 tbsp
- White sesame seeds 2 tbsp
- Cardamom powder ½ tsp
- Salt a pinch
Method
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Roast the peanuts
Dry-roast the peanuts over medium heat until the skins blister and slip. Cool, then rub them in a cloth and winnow the skins away.
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Roast the flour
Warm the ghee and stir Sprouted Ragi Flour through it on the lowest heat for six to eight minutes, until it loosens, darkens a shade and smells like a malted biscuit.
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Crush unevenly
Pound the peanuts in a mortar to an uneven rubble — some halves, some grit. A food processor makes dust, and dust gives you a paste rather than a bite.
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Melt the jaggery
Melt the jaggery with a tablespoon of water just until it liquefies. Stop there; no syrup stage is wanted, only enough tack to bind.
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Combine off heat
Take the pan off the flame, tip in the flour, peanuts, sesame, cardamom and salt, and work it quickly with a spatula while everything is still hot.
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Roll while warm
As soon as you can bear the heat, press walnut-sized portions hard between your palms. Warmth is the only binder here — once cool, the mixture will not hold.
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Set and store
Leave the bites on a tray for twenty minutes to firm. They keep a week in an airtight jar.
Why this works
Roasting sprouted ragi flour in ghee gelatinises a little of its starch and drives off the raw note, so the bites taste toasted rather than floury. Jaggery melted only to a liquid stays pliable at room temperature, which keeps the bites chewy; taken any further it would set hard and crack when rolled.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Ragi Flour → Sprouted Little Millet Flour Paler and gently sweet, with less malt.
- Peanuts → Roasted cashews Softer bite and a creamier finish.
- Ghee → Coconut oil Vegan, with a distinct coconut note behind the jaggery.
