Ragi Halwa | Nachni Halwa
Ragi halwa with step by step photos. Ragi halwa is a sweet dessert made from ragi flour (finger millet flour), milk, ghee, sugar, nuts and flavored with cardamom powder. It makes for a calcium rich, filling and delicious sweet that will be liked by everyone.
Since many of you have asked me to add ragi recipes, I am adding them one by one. Ragi is a wonder millet grain and is also known as nachni or red millet.
It has great benefits as its loaded with calcium and rich in minerals. In India ragi is consumed in the form of Ragi Mudde, Ragi Ladoo, Ragi Kheer, Ragi Dosa, Ragi Idli, Ragi Roti etc.
If you are looking for an excellent source of calcium then ragi must be very high on your list. 100 grams of ragi contains approximately 350 mg of calcium.
It is a nutrient dense grain and a superfood. In South Indian cuisine you will find many recipes where ragi is used.
I am sharing here the way I learnt to make ragi halwa from my mom. Here I have used used milk and ghee to prepare this halwa.
Ghee gives a lovely aroma and flavor. Milk gives a good taste. Ragi halwa is a healthy sweet for toddlers and kids. I have added some nuts too, but they are optional and you can skip them or add your preferred nuts or dry fruits. Remember to chop them and then add to the halwa.
You could make ragi halwa as a dessert and even for a sweet breakfast.
How to make Ragi Halwa
1. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons ghee in a heavy pan or kadai. Try to use a well-seasoned heavy pan so as to avoid the halwa sticking to the pan.
2. Then add ½ cup ragi flour (nachni flour or finger millet flour). You can also use sprouted finger millet flour.
Ragi flour gets rancid quickly. So ensure that the flour does not have any rancid aroma and is within the shelf period.
3. Keep stirring the flour for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat.
4. The mixture will begin to bubble.
5. When the mixture starts bubbling, add ¼ cup of sugar. You can use raw sugar or regular sugar or you can also add jaggery or palm sugar or coconut sugar.
6. Stir and mix the sugar very well with the ragi mixture.
7. Now add 1 cup of hot milk. The milk has to be hot before you add. So heat the milk separately in a small pan till it becomes hot.
8. When you add the milk, stir also at the same time. Keep on stirring while adding milk.
Continue to stir even after all the milk has been added. Continue stirring the halwa, till it starts thickening.
9. Soon the mixture will start leaving the edges of the pan. Now add ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder. Stir and mix well.
At this point you can also add your preferred nuts and dry fruits. Chop them and add. Some options are cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, raisins, sultanas, pine nuts and pistachios.
10. Switch off the heat and transfer the halwa to a serving dish. As the halwa cools it will thicken more.
11. While serving garnish with finely chopped nuts. In the below photo I have garnished the halwa with finely chopped almonds and pistachios. You can also use finely chopped cashews. Serve ragi halwa warm or chilled.
It makes for a filling sweet. You can enjoy this sweet whenever hunger pangs strike you.
If you are looking for more Halwa Recipes then do check:
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
For ragi halwa
- ½ cup ragi (nachni flour or finger millet flour). i used organic ragi flour
- 3 to 4 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 cup hot milk
- ¼ cup sugar, i used organic sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
For garnishing
- 6 to 7 almonds – slivered or chopped finely
- 6 to 7 pistachios – slivered or chopped finely
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a pan or kadai.
- Add the ragi flour.
- Keep stirring the flour for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat. The mixture will bubble
- When the mixture starts bubbling, add sugar.
- Stir and mix very well.
- Then add hot milk. The milk has to be hot. So heat the milk separately in another pan.
- Continue stirring the ragi halwa, till it starts thickening.
- Soon the mixture will start leaving the edges of the pan. Now sprinkle cardamom powder.
- Switch off the heat and transfer the halwa to a serving dish.
- As the ragi halwa cools, it will thicken more. Garnish with chopped dry fruits.
- Serve ragi halwa warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
This Ragi Halwa post from the blog archives first published in August 2016 has been republished and updated on 30 Jun 2022.
Hi Dassana just made ragi halwa for lunch my one year daughter and me both just loved it thanks for the recipe i usually make with jaggery but this one was super easy and yumm.
Thanks ????
thanks sheetal for the review and glad to read your feedback. welcome and happy cooking.
Tried it. Very tasty. Thanks for sharing Dassana????????
welcome bindu and thanks for the feedback on ragi halwa.
Hi,
I just saw your same Ragi Halwa under the name of Preethi in a website.
I thought of jest letting you know, I dont know if it is you posting the same photos and recipes. I was just concerned if somebody was copying your content.
Thanks Priya for letting me know about it. There are many websites who are doing it. They are not only copying recipes word by word and photos from this blog but also from many other food blogs. Its a waste of time to contact them and remove the copied content. Because many such sites are mushrooming these days. I have deleted the link from your comment. Thanks again for your gesture and concern.
Hi
I made this recipe but changed it quite a bit to cater for my son when he was 6 months old. Instead of sugar I would add dates puree and instead of milk, hot water. It turns out amazing and a very good “first food” for little ones.
When he grows up, will try this recipe as well:)
Could you post some ragi cookies recipe please? I tried them from different websites but they didn’t out well. I guess I am used to your method of cooking; )
Thank you!
thanks jinal for sharing this healthy variation. it will help the readers. i have got many requests for ragi cookies, so i will try to add them. thanks again.
Hi Dassana,
Do you have nachni duddali recipe? It’s similar to this however it requires nachni instead of nachni flour, I think. Please do post the recipe if you can?
Rida, i know the method but i have not posted the recipe. will try to add.
Hi,
Is it okay to use roasted ragi flour?
yes you can use roasted ragi flour, but then no need to roast it much in ghee. you can only roast for about 2 minutes.
Thanks a lot. 🙂 shall try it today.
welcome shalmika. do let me know how the ragi halwa turns out for you.
We made it today and it is yummy…..so tasty….. Thanks for the recipe
welcome shareena and glad to know.
Nice……is it compulsory to use non stick pan….
not compulsory. you can use a good heavy iron kadai too. but avoid steel ones as the flour can get burnt.
Hi,
I was looking for this receipe from a long time. Thanks for posting it dear.
Can we add milk before adding sugar so that ragi flour get cooked completely with milk first ?
welcome rubina. you can add milk before adding sugar.
very nice and nutritious too
thanks bhawna.