Grains, rice & flours · Flours
Finger millet flour (ragi)
Reddish-brown flour of finger millet, used for ragi mudde, dosas, rotis, porridge and malt drinks; naturally gluten-free.
Also called: ragi flour, nachni flour, finger millet flour, mandua atta, ragi hittu, kezhvaragu maavu
What it is
Flour ground from finger millet, a tiny brick-red grain grown widely in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and East Africa. It is known as ragi, nachni or mandua. The flour is darker and finer than most millet flours and has no gluten, so on its own it makes crumbly doughs that are usually shaped by hand or mixed with wheat.
Eleusine coracana
How it’s used
- Ragi mudde (stiff balls) with sambar
- Porridge, ragi malt and kanji
- Dosas, idli and rotis
- Cookies and laddoos
- Mixed with wheat flour for breads
Characteristics
- Taste
- Earthy, slightly nutty and mildly bitter.
- Texture
- Fine and soft; doughs are short and non-elastic.
- Appearance
- Reddish-brown to purple-grey powder.
- When cooked
- Thickens quickly when cooked in water; doughs crack unless made with hot water.
- Sold as
- powder
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for baking, Used for thickening
Storage
Cool, dry and dark. Keep airtight in a cool cupboard, or in the fridge in hot climates; whole-grain flours can turn rancid. Best within a few months.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Naturally gluten-free, but may be milled alongside wheat; buy certified flour for coeliac diets.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 382 kcal
- Protein
- 10.75 g
- Carbohydrate
- 75.12 g
- Fat
- 4.25 g
- Fibre
- 3.5 g
- Sugars
- 1.66 g
USDA FoodData Central: Millet flour (a close stand-in).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Sorghum meal — Works in rotis and porridge; paler and milder.
- Pearl millet flour — For baking and porridges; less earthy.
Related ingredients
Recipes with finger millet flour (ragi)
Indian · 13 min · 168 kcal · More flours
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