Ragi Balls and Bass Saru ( south karnataka dish-Nati style)

The most relished dish, mostly in the villages is the Ragi Balls – popularly called as ‘Ragi Mudde’. Villagers eat these ragi balls daily, twice a day and they consider this as the most nutritious food.

Villagers toil under the scorching heat of the sun till dawn. This food makes it easy to prepare and is most preferred because ragi makes the meal stay intact in their stomach for a longer time than compared to rice. It also provides great strength than rice which makes it helpful for their daily activities in the fields.

Not only in the villages but we can find these ragi balls prepared even in cities like Bangalore, Mysore etc., where people relish the hot meal which is had by dipping the mudde with saaru and is straightly gulped. Yes! Ragi mudde is not chewed but rather you just dip a small ball with saaru and gulp it which makes it easy for you to finish your meal soon too! You can chew it too, no problem, that is how its usually had, that’s all.

Try this recipe and do let me know your experience as well! You just need to know the knack of making mudde and then it’s nothing like it!

Ingredients: ( serves 2)

1)Ragi balls (ragi mudde):

· Ragi flour – approx 2 cups

· Water 2 cups

2)Bass saru:

Tomatoes- small 2

Onion – 1 small

Garlic 7 to 8 cloves

Cinnamon – ½ inch stick

Garlic 6 to 7 cloves

Red chillies (kashmiri/ Guntur chillies)- 3

Peppercorns 1/2tsp

Jeera ½ tsp

Tamarind- half lemon sized

Coconut 1tbsp

Any pulses (green gram, horse gram, cow peas or mataka)

Oil 1 tsp

Ghee 2 tsp

Mustard seeds ½ tsp

Curry leaves 5-6

Byadige chillies 3

Method of preparation:

1) Bass saru:

Step 1: soak any one of the pulses you have at home for a minimum of 4 hrs and cook it in pressure cooker for 2 whistles. Keep the cooked pulses separately and its water separately in a bowl

Step 2: In a small pan, add oil, add chopped onions, garlic and red chillies. Grind these fried ingredients with cinnamon, pepper, jeera, tamarind, raw tomatoes and coconut. You can add little water if needed and grind it to a fine paste.

Step 3: Take the stored water in a kadai, add the ground paste into the water and let it boil. Add salt. Temper it with 1 tsp ghee, mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Ragi balls/mudde:

Step 1: Take a steel or aluminum vessel which is preferably having a wider width and height, usually used for making sambar or boiling noodles or pasta etc. Add water and place it on the stove for heating.

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Step 2: Before the water starts to boil, make a mixture of 1 tsp ragi flour and normal water and make it a paste. Add this paste to the water which is kept for heating.

Step 3: Once the water starts to boil, slowly start adding the flour and start mixing it with the help of a wooden spatula. You need to be quick. Don’t add all the flour at once or else you would end up having it completely unbaked.

The texture must not be sticky or watery. It should be solid and dark brown in colour. Touch the flour with your fingers, if its not sticking to your fingers, it has come just perfectly :)

Step 4: Close it with a lid for 2 mins by keeping the flame at sim.

Step 5: Take a steel plate and add ½ tsp of ghee. Take the cooked dough and place it onto this plate in 2 portions and make start making balls by rolling on the ghee. Be careful as it will be extremely hot. You can dip your fingers slightly in water and roll so the temperature would cool a little.

Ragi balls are ready to eat with bass saru!

Note: You can make nutritious husli with the ccoked pulses.

1.All you need to do is take a kadai, add itsp of oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies(byadige).

2.After it splutters, add in the cooked pulses, add salt,let it cook for 5 mins.

3.Add grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Relish it with mudde and saru!!

The entire recipe can be a tedious job and hard to follow. But once you have the taste of it you’ll definitely feel it a worthy try!!