Ragi Patheli / Ragi Ada

Ragi Patheli / Ragi Ada

A delicious steamed dish in Konkani, Kerala and Sri Lankan cuisine, made ragi flour, well ripe bananas, jaggery and cardamom powder !!

Makes: 6

Ingredients

1 cup / 200 g (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) ragi flour (good quality ragi flour available @ leading supermarkets)

4 well ripe bananas (130 - 140 g), mash well

1 – 2 tablespoon water

4 tablespoon melted and sieved thick jaggery (or grated thick organic jaggery)

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

For banana leaf:

1 banana leaf

Clean banana leaf. Smoke this leaf on flame for a few seconds so that it becomes flexible and easy to fold.

Cut banana leaves into 7 - inch square pieces. Keep it ready.

Method

In a wide bowl, mix ragi flour with well mashed bananas. Sprinkle very little water (1 – 2 tablespoon / 3 – 6 teaspoon) and make a soft dough. Add melted and sieved jaggery and mix well. Then the ragi – jaggery dough will be extra soft. Sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well.

Take a piece of banana leaf. Keep a lemon sized (1 ladleful) ragi dough portion over it. Keep another piece of banana leaf smeared with oil (with oiled portion facing down) the dough. Press evenly to form a thin circle of ragi dough of approximately 10 - 12 cm diameter. Carefully remove the leaf on top. Now one will see a thin circle of ragi dough. Fold into semi circle and seal the edges tightly - such that the outer covering is the banana leaf which was placed initially.

Repeat the process to make 5 - 6 adas / patheli or to the limit of the vessel.

Arrange the Adas in a steel bowl and steam in a pressure cooker ( without weight ) or in a steamer for 20 - 25 minutes on a medium heat until done / well cooked. Allow this to cool. Remove the banana leaf covering and consume the ada.

Another modification is to shallow fry the ada. Remove the banana leaf of the Ada, cut into smaller pieces and shallow fry with ghee. This will make them tastier. This is called “Bhajjille Patheli” in Konkani.