Raab recipe. This traditional Gujarathi Raab recipe is a healthy and nutritious porridge using whole grain flour and millet flours. It is served mostly during winter time to keep warm and given to people who are recovering after a bout of illness to recover their strength and build up their stamina.
It can also be had an energy drink by people who fast (vrat) during the festivals. This raab kanji also helps to keep cold and cough at bay. The flours can be altered according to their availability at hand. I have kept this porridge totally gluten free.
If you do not happen to have either rajgira or kuttu flour at hand, feel free to use whole wheat flour or any other millet flour like bajre ki atta (pearl millet flour).
Though the porridge is similar to that of the regular sathu maavu kanji that I make at home daily, the ingredients and the tempering were completely new to me which made a difference to the taste as well.
2 weeks ago my elder one suffered from Dengue fever and it was harrowing experience for us. All of a sudden his condition worsened and we had to rush him to Emergency and then had to admit him in ICU.
Though he has recovered, he is still feeling weak and due to all the medication, he had severe Gastritis and complained of stomach ache as soon as he ate anything.
My friend J and her mom came to visit him after we got him home and Aunty suggested me to make this porridge for him to help him make a speedy recovery. I do not get both Rajgira and Kuttu flours near my home. So she got me from her place and I had been making this raab for the past week and simply love it.
Along with all other fruit juices and fluids to improve his Platelets count, I gave him this raab kanji as well. It is so filling and it has also helped to improve his digestion as well.
Traditionally milk is not added to Raab but I have done so to decrease the heat of the spices added to the porridge as my boy is still recovering. As I used organic jaggery which was clean, I did not bother to make a syrup to filter out impurities.
If you are going to use regular jaggery, mix it with 2-3 tbsp water, bring it to a boil till it dissolves, pass through a sieve and use that clean jaggery syrup to make the porridge.
Raab recipe details as follows:
Raab Recipe - Gujarathi Raab Recipe
Ingredients
- Rajgira flour or Amaranth flou r- 1 tbsp
- Kuttu flour or buckwheat flour - 1 tbsp
- Ragi flour or Finger millet flou - 1 tbsp
- Jaggery - 1/4 cup grated
- Ghee or clarified butter - 2 tsp
- Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
- Dry ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
- Black pepper powder - 1/8 tsp
- Water - 2 cups
- Milk – 1 cup
- Salt - 1 pinch
Instructions
- In a saucepan mix together all the flours.
- Add water, grated jaggery, salt and mix well without any lumps using a balloon whisk or with your finger tips.
- Place the saucepan on the stove and cook over medium flame till comes to a boil.
- Simmer the flame completely and cook for 5 to 7 mins stirring continuously till the porridge thickens considerably.
- Heat a pan, add ghee and let it melt over low flame. Switch off the stove.
- Immediately add ajwain, black pepper powder, ginger powder and roast for few seconds in the heat of the ghee itself.
- Pour this tempering over the simmering porridge and mix well. Take the pan off stove.
- Add milk and mix well.
- Raab porridge is ready.
- Serve hot or warm.
That sounds really disturbing… Hope it is getting back to normal now… sounds like a very healthy and interesting drink…
Oh yes Rafeeda, he is getting back to normal but still he feels weak and tired. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi..nice recipe..but I have heard that jaggery and milk don’t go together..so can we use sugar instead?
Yes of course, you can use sugar by all means.
Hi,
Is ragi same as Nagali(as we call in Gujarati)??
Thank you
Hi Ashwina, Yes its the same one.