ragi ladoo recipe with step by step photos – quick, easy and tasty ragi ladoo made with three ingredients – ragi, jaggery and ghee.
ragi or nachni or finger millet is a healthy grain and should be included in the food that we make. being very rich in calcium it is excellent for kids and women. i have got a lot of requests to add ragi recipes. so will add them one by one. usually i just add some ragi flour in the everyday roti dough i make and thats how we include ragi in our diet. i also make ragi kheer, ragi halwa, ragi dosa, ragi rotis and ragi idli at times. on occasions i make ragi pooris too.
for now sharing this quick recipe of ragi ladoo. one of the most important things you need to remember while making these ladoos is to roast the ragi very well. if there is even a slight rawness, then this will cause stomach aches.
these ragi ladoos stay good for a week at room temperature in a cool climate. in a hot or humid climate, refrigerate them.
if you are looking for more ladoo recipes then do check:
ragi ladoo
INGREDIENTS FOR ragi ladoo
- 1.5 cups ragi flour (nachni or finger millet flour) or 210 grams ragi flour
- ¾ cup organic powdered jaggery or 140 grams powdered jaggery
- ⅓ cup ghee or 65 to 70 grams ghee
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder or 3 to 4 green cardamoms (choti elaichi) - crushed in mortar-pestle
HOW TO MAKE ragi ladoo
roasting ragi flour
- take 1.5 cups ragi flour in a kadai or a thick bottomed broad pan.
- keep the pan on a low flame or sim and begin to roast the ragi flour. you have to stir often while roasting the flour so that there is even roasting.
- roast till the color changes and you get a nice aroma from the ragi flour. about 6 to 8 minutes on a low flame.
- timing will vary with the material, size and thickness of the pan. i used a steel kadai which does not have a thick bottomed base, thus it took me just 6 minutes to roast the ragi flour.
making ragi ladoo mixture
- then add 1/3 cup ghee in the flour. the ghee will melt.
- begin to mix the ghee with the flour.
- keep on stirring and roasting this mixture for 5 to 7 minutes more. again here timing will vary with the material, size and thickness of the pan.
- do check the taste of the ragi flour and you will get a crunchy taste. there should be no rawness in the taste. it took me 5 minutes to get the roasting done at this step, due to the steel kadai i used.
- then switch off the flame. place the pan down.
- add 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder and add 3/4 cup jaggery powder. you can also grate a block of jaggery and then add. you can use powdered sugar instead of jaggery, but add sugar as per taste.
- begin to mix very well.
- break the tiny lumps of jaggery if any with the spoon or spatula.
making ragi ladoo
- let this ragi ladoo mixture become warm, then mix everything again very well with your hands and break small lumps if any with your hands.
- take a portion of the mixture and shape into ladoos.
- if you are unable to form ragi ladoos, then add a few tablespoons of ghee, which is at room temperature. mix again very well and begin to shape the ragi ladoos.
- make ladoos this way with all of the mixture.
- store ragi ladoo in an airtight jar or container. serve them as a sweet snack.
preparation to make nachni ladoo or ragi ladoo
roasting ragi flour
1. take 1.5 cups ragi flour (nachni or finger millet flour) in a kadai or a thick bottomed broad pan.
2. keep the pan on a low flame or sim and begin to roast the ragi flour. you have to stir often while roasting the flour so that there is even roasting.
3. roast till the color changes and you get a nice aroma from the ragi flour. about 6 to 8 minutes on a low flame. timing will vary with the material, size and thickness of the pan. i used a steel kadai which does not have a thick bottomed base, thus it took me just 6 minutes to roast the ragi flour.
making ragi ladoo
4. then add ⅓ cup ghee in the flour.
5. the ghee will melt.
6. begin to mix the ghee with the flour.
7. keep on stirring and roasting this mixture for 5 to 7 minutes more. again here timing will vary with the material, size and thickness of the pan.
8. do check the taste of the ragi flour and you will get a crunchy taste. there should be no rawness in the taste. it took me 5 minutes to get the roasting done at this step, due to the steel kadai i used.
9. then switch off the flame & place the pan down. add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder.
10. next add ¾ cup jaggery powder. you can also grate a block of jaggery and then add. you can use powdered sugar instead of jaggery, but add sugar as per taste.
11. begin to mix very well.
12. break the tiny lumps of jaggery if any with the spoon or spatula.
13. let this ragi ladoo mixture become warm, then mix everything again very well with your hands and break small lumps if any with your hands.
14. take a portion of the mixture and shape into ladoos. if you are unable to form ragi ladoos, then add a few tablespoons of ghee which is at room temperature. mix again very well and begin to shape the ladoos.
15. make all ragi ladoo this way with the mixture.
16. store ragi ladoo in an airtight jar or container. serve them as a sweet snack.
Hi I did everything as you said and my proportion and timing were also precise as told by you but somehow the laddoos could not hold the shape even after extra ghee they kept on breaking as powder only thing which I added extra was little bit of roasted poppy seeds please suggest
some more ghee needs to be added. then the ragi ladoo will bind. usually when ladoo do not bind, then it is less ghee in the mixture. so adding more ghee always helps. melt some ghee and then add. mix and let the mixture become warm. then shape in ladoo. hope this helps.
Hello, can I make barfi from this recipe? If not, could I add a little milk and shape them like barfi? Thank you for your recipes!
yes roopali you can make barfi. addition of some milk will definitely help to give some moisture and setting them to a neat even shape. do add milk. without milk it will be difficult to make burfi.
Hi Dasanna,
Can this be fed to my 1 year old baby? Also can this be stored at room temperature and fed as a travel food for baby, powdered and mixed in hot milk and fed? Pls let know
hi meera, ragi can given to a 1 year old. for the ragi ladoos, i would suggest to powder and mix it with some hot milk, to avoid choking. yes, you can keep the ladoo at room temperature and use it for travels too.
Loved your recipe! I have been trying to find recipes before but all had a failed turnout… Loved the proportions you’ve got… I made these ladoos with mixed millet flour.. The taste turned out be great with this method! Thank you ❤️
P.s: I have been a fan of a lot of your recipes… Thanks for sharing 🙂
thank you sonia 🙏🙂. this recipe can work with any millet flour and even mixed millet flour. the proportions of ghee can always be changed to a bit less or more. thanks for sharing the positive feedback and review on ragi ladoo recipe.
Hi Dassana
As usual perfect recipe!
U mentioned about ragi poori in description
Could u pls share the recipe ?
Thank u!
thanks rams. yes i do make both ragi roti and ragi pooris at times. i will add try to add the recipe in some time.
Can I use powdered sugar in place of jaggery as it’s not available and I want to make it asap
you can use powdered sugar.
Hi,
Traied making these ladoos sometime last week…they have come out tasty…added 1/2 cup of raosted dry coconut to it….However the laddoos are a little dry…also there is a slight powdery taste to it…does it mean that the flour wasn’t roasted well….
jagruti, if any more ingredient is added, then some more ghee will also be required. thus the dryness is there. so could be 1/4 cup of ghee could have been added. the powdery taste is because the ragi flour has not roasted well enough.
Excellent is the word. Thanks a lot for the awesome healthy recipe.
Welcome Aarthy. Thanks for your positive feedback.
Hi dassana,
I tried this laddu, though tasty it came out extremely hard to bite.
What can be done to make it soft.
Can you let me know please
Parvathy, crumble the ladoo mixture and add some more ghee and then make the ladoos again.
For how many days can this ladoo be preserved?
stays good for a a couple of weeks in the fridge.
Hi Dassana,
Made these today and they turned out very delicious.Quick to make and equally tasty.Thank you.
Welcome Ashwini. Glad to know this.
I have been struggling to get my kid to eat ragi roti. made this laddu today and felt very happy when he started asking for more laddus. 🙂
thank you soooo much for such a wonderful and easy recipe.
thanks a lot usha. glad to know that your kid liked the rage laddus.
Came out really well! Great taste and crunchiness 🙂
thanks jayashree for the feedback on the ragi ladoo recipe.
Can we add broken nuts? Will it suit for the ragi flavor?
yes you can add broken nuts. they go well with the ragi flavor.
Made these laddoos. My folks used to look down on ragi, but these laddoos just blew their minds.awesome is the word. And such simple recipe … Thank u..
welcome diana. glad to know that you all liked ragi ladoo recipe.
Gud Aftrnun…. Before I could start with Shaping the laduus, I sprinkled a pinch of salt all over and mixed it well. That awakened all the flavours present in it. Thanks for sharing a yummy n healthy sweet snack. M looking forward for Methi ka Laduu recipe and sugar free sweets snacks.
thats a good tip manasi of adding a pinch of salt. thanks for sharing this. i do plan these recipes in some time.
The method of preparation is very similar to a gujarati recipe called god papdi – thts made with wheat floyr n jaggery n spread on a plate n cut in slices
thank you shweta for sharing your tips and suggestions.
thanks for the healthy recipe?. But I am not sure about the purity of the jaggery I am getting here in my place. shall I dissolve it in water and can I use after filtering it
welcome ram. i have used organic jaggery which does not have impurities. make a thick jaggery solution and then filter it. just add enough water to make the jaggery moist (about 3 to 4 tablespoons). too much water and the ladoos won’t hold shape. it will become like a halwa/kesari consistency.