Finger Millet (Ragi) eggless cookies

When my mom and brother were diagnosed with dengue fever, many were suggesting an array of foods as a magical, instant cure. One of them was finger millet or ragi. Rich in calcium and anti-oxidants, this one’s quite a winner and all its variants are gluten-free.

High in carbs and low in fat, ragi is excellent for weight loss too, or so they claim. This one goes out to all my friends who are gluten intolerant, and are craving for a delicious mouthful of cookies.

After baking a batch, I took a few to my office. Our beloved 70 something year old support staff Mr. B was unable to believe that these ‘biscuits’ were made of ragi, the substance they use for making bhakri in their village. Bhakri is a type of flat bread, and a staple to be eaten with vegetables in many parts of southern and western India. He hesitantly put one in his mouth, and then again confirmed with me (5 times!) that it was really the same bhakri flour! Convinced (after taking some for his wife), he is now going to get me a sack full of ragi grains straight from his farm. Cant wait to get my hands on farm fresh ragi to try out several things.

I baked these cookies in a muffin pan with muffin liners to get that even same shape and texture. You can even bake them on cookie sheets or on silicone mats. (See note)

Yield : 20-22 medium size cookies

You will require :

2 cups finger millet (ragi) flour
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp baking powder

Method :

Roast ragi flour in a big pan on medium flame for 5-10 mins. Roasting is very important here, as it helps the flour in absorbing the butter later on and cooking well into a light crisp cookie.
Combine the roasted ragi flour, butter, powdered sugar , cardamom and baking powder. Mix well, till it is a homogenous mixture.
Pre-heat oven to 300°F or 150°C.
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liner.
Roll 1 tbsp flour mixture in your palms into small balls and place it in the cupcake liner.
Bake at 150°C for 20 mins.
Let it cool with the liners on absorbent paper for 15-20 mins. (The absorbent paper will absorb a lot of butter and you will wonder if 3/4 cup of butter was essential to begin with. But trust me, the flour will need that butter to bake.)

Note:

The flour mixture will be of powdery, crumbly texture, hence it becomes imperative to bake it in a muffin pan. Roll it between your palms till it becomes a reasonably round ball be assured that it will mould itself into the liner and bake into a neatly shaped cookie.

These cookies stay royally crisp and fresh at room temperature even up to 10 days.

Enjoy a cookie with a cup of soy milk for a perfectly healthy start to a day!