Ragi cerelac Recipe
April 1, 2011Hi Everyone, am back after a long break.
Several people have been asking me the recipe for Ragi custard or ragi cerelac for infants. Pasted below is the instant method. Two more to follow soon.
(Source: Friends and relatives)
Instant ragi custard:
Wash very thoroughly and soak one fistful of ragi overnight. In the morning, put the soaked ragi in the chutney jar of the mixer and grind to a smooth paste.
Add water intermittently.
Transfer contents to a soft cloth-lined sieve (a muslin cloth or a white cotton towel).
Sieve really well as babies can’t digest ragi husk. DO NOT USE TEA STRAINER FOR THIS – ONLY CLOTH WILL DO.
Take the white filtrate and mix 2 or 3 ladles of water.
Keep on slow flame in a heavy bottomed pan and stir non-stop till the ‘ragi milk’ becomes like custard and attains a glazed/shiny look.
Cook slowly adding lots of water. Avoid lumps.
Feel free to add more water if needed. — Adding more water really depends on the comfort level of the baby – the more thin it is, easier it is to feed initially. Gradually make it thicker and at the ‘thick’ custard stage it will look like nicely set pudding.
The trick is that it should cook very slowly and thoroughly. After a few days, you could add boiled and cooled dairy milk (packet milk) instead of water.
Initially feed bland ragi custard – babies don’t know how it would taste with salt or sweet. So DO NOT garnish it with any spice or sugar.
When you do introduce sweet/salt, try adding jaggery, a table spoon of milk (to adjust its feedability…) and a little home made ghee before feeding. Feed when it is lukewarm.
Try tiny amounts in the first week. Begin 5-month old and gradually increase quantity to about 12-15 spoons of feed. Motions next day may be watery/grey… Don’t worry.
After a week or so, add pulps of infant-approved vegetables or mashed banana or mashed apple.
Suitable for infants who are 5-6 months old.
Disclaimer: This above method is a time tested home-made recipe and has been used for infants in our family from generations together. In any case, check with the paediatrician while introducing solids and semi solids.
