Kezhvaragu Koozh Recipe / Ragi Koozh Recipe

     I knew this recipe is going be a super lengthy post and that I would not be able to draft it in a single day. I started with the post when I was in Pondicherry during November for a short vacation. I was so greedy to complete this on the same day, as I wanted it to be published from my hometown, this being a special post for me, as it is the first one to feature in my blog under the category - Baby Food. But somehow I managed to edit the pictures atleast, just before I started to the post-cyclone-hit-Chennai 😀😀  

     I came across this Koozh atleast 2 decades back, when my cousin Aravind was a baby. I still have a good memory of the Koozh which my mami prepares for him, its aroma, its consistency !! (may sound unreal, but amazingly, I remember). He used to be a chubby kid. The reason for which may be due to many factors, but it somehow got into my mind that goodness of the kezhvaragu koozh played an important part in him being a chubby plumpy bubbly kid. So, I wanted to give this  iron rich, nutritious baby food to my little one Abhinav as well 😍
     As is the post being jumbo, overloaded with a lot of my memories penned down, so is the process of making ragi koozh powder too !!! It took almost a week (without sufficient sunlight to dry the ragi milk) and a lot of hardwork from 3 people - my grandma, my mom and me tooo...(atleast for taking the pics :P)

     The silver paaladai (the small vessel with handle in the pic) and another bowl was presented by my husband's periamma to Abhinav :) Many a thanks to Kalyani periamma for this valuable gift with a lot more utility :)
     Using a paaladai and giving medicine/food to babies is a very special skill that one can attain only by experience. I am still skeptical if I will be able to master that art, as I find it so fearsome to control a wriggling, squeaking child put on the lap and forcefully inject the food/medicine through the corner of its mouth, with the paaladai device tilted at an expertised angle, while the baby is crying so badly making gurgling sounds in gulping the liquid and paralelly crying..., . Omg... Uffff !!!! Hats off to MIL... I cant even stand beside and watch her give something to Abhinav. Yess I get tensed due to fear and ask her to stop after just 2 trials. I cant stand to watch him cry so hardly :( 

Okay okay, now over to the process of making the ragi powder :)

Prep Time: 4-5 days || Cook Time: 5 mins || Serves : 1 || Category: Baby Food

Ingredients:
1. Ragi - 1 kg
2. Sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)
3. Ghee - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:
1. Soak ragi for about 36 hours. Rinse and change the soaking water once or twice.
(I will update with a pic of soaked ragi later). Grind the soaked ragi in a grinder with some of the soaked water. It took 45 mins to 1 hour for me.

2. Strain the ground ragi in a strainer with moderately big holes. It is okay if some of the ragi's skin escapes the holes.We are going to double filter this extract anyway.

3. Squeeze the ragi skin chunks for any more extract and then discard the squeezed dry mass of ragi. Again filter the extracted ragi milk in a strainer with more fine holes. Leave the ragi milk extract in a wide vessel covered with a lid, for overnight for fermenting. Mine took about 20 hours to settle and ferment.

4. After overnight, the thick ragi milk would have deposited at the bottom leaving a clear liquid with some froth on the top of the container. Discard the clear liquid without disturbing the settled ragi milk.

5. Now pour this ragi extract slowly over a fine mesh cloth tied around a vessel and knotted at the neck, to prevent the cloth from falling into the vessel due to ragi extract's weight. This is done to separate water, if any existing in the extract. After 2 to 3 hours, water from the ragi extract would have got filtered through the cloth, leaving a more thick paste of ragi extract.

6. Now untie the cloth from the vessel, while carefully holding it not to fall inside and touch the filtered water. Fold the cloth from all the sides and slightly squeeze the cloth with ragi extract to filter some more water. Then leave some room on top and tie the cloth into a small bag and hang it from any hook or surface, placing a vessel right beneath to collect the dripping water. 

7. After about 8-10 hours or overnight hanging, there would be no more water in the ragi extract and the ragi mass would have solidified slightly. Now carefully remove the bag and untie it. Break the ragi mass into small chunks, with a heavy spoon or laddle.

8. Give some time for the chunks to dry in sunlight and then break them down further. After drying under sunlight for 8-10 hours, finely powder the dried ragi extract in a mixi. Store in an air-tight container.

9. To make the koozh for 1 serving, take a table spoon of the ragi powder and add some water. Mix it thoroughly with a spoon and then after the ragi powder has mixed uniformly, add some more water and stir well. (I bought this small anodized vessel,  during my stay at Chennai, for the exclusive purpose of making Koozh for Abhinav :) as it is very easy with these type of vessels to cook as well as to clean.)

 10. Keep the vessel on stovetop in medium flame and keep stirring. 

11. After about 3 -5 mins, it would start thickening and boiling well with small bubbles forming and breaking. At this time give a final stir and switch off the flame. If you want a more thicker consistency, continue for 2 more mins and then switch off. If desired, a spoon of ghee and some sugar can be added when the koozh is warm.

Suggestions:

• Organic ragi can also be used. Can also try multi grains with various nuts.
• For toddlers, ragi can be directly powdered in mill along with cashews, badam, cardamom etc. Need not follow this ragi milk extract method.
• The traditional method of making the koozh powder follows, sun drying the ragi milk extract (after step 6). But as there was not enough sunlight during November, I had to cut short that to indoor drying process.
• Sundried Koozh powder lasts longer. 

   So painstakingly prepared ragi powder is definitely worth all the efforts for it nutritiousness.    

   Wish you all a very happy new year 2017 :)