Ragi biscuits are among the easier things to bake at home — no gluten to develop, no proving, and a forgiving dough. This makes about 25 biscuits and takes under an hour.
Ingredients
- Ragi flour — 1 cup (120g), ideally sprouted
- Whole wheat flour — ½ cup (60g)
- Powdered jaggery — ½ cup (90g)
- Butter or ghee, softened — ½ cup (110g)
- Milk — 2 to 3 tablespoons
- Baking powder — ½ teaspoon
- Cardamom powder — ¼ teaspoon
- A pinch of salt
For chocolate ragi biscuits, swap 2 tablespoons of the ragi flour for cocoa powder. For coconut, fold in ¼ cup desiccated coconut at the end.
Method
1. Cream the butter and jaggery. Beat softened butter with powdered jaggery until light — about three minutes by hand. Jaggery doesn't dissolve the way sugar does, so sieve it first or you'll get gritty pockets.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. Sieve ragi flour, wheat flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt together. Sieving matters here; ragi clumps.
3. Bring it together. Fold the dry mix into the butter and jaggery. It will look far too dry. Add milk one tablespoon at a time until it just comes together into a soft dough. Do not knead — there's no gluten to develop, and working it makes the biscuits tough.
4. Rest. Wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. This firms the butter and stops the biscuits spreading in the oven.
5. Shape. Roll to about 5mm and cut, or roll small balls and flatten with a fork. Thinner biscuits come out crisp; thicker ones stay soft in the middle.
6. Bake. 170°C for 15 to 18 minutes.
Knowing when they're done
This is the part that catches everyone. Ragi biscuits do not turn golden — they are already dark, so colour tells you nothing.
Go by two other signs instead: the edges firm up and lift very slightly from the tray, and the kitchen smells nutty rather than raw. They will still feel soft when you take them out; they crisp as they cool. If they're already crisp in the oven, they're overbaked.
Cooling and storing
Cool completely on a wire rack before moving them — warm ragi biscuits break. Store airtight. Home-made with no preservatives, they keep about a week to ten days.
Common problems
Dry and crumbling apart. Not enough fat or milk. Ragi absorbs more liquid than wheat does.
Spread flat. Butter was too soft, or the dough wasn't chilled.
Gritty texture. Jaggery not finely powdered, or not sieved.
Bitter aftertaste. Overbaked — ragi turns bitter before it looks burnt.
Hard rather than short. Over-kneaded, or too much wheat flour in the ratio.
Making them for younger children
Roll thinner and bake a minute or two longer so they dissolve more readily, then break into small pieces before serving, and supervise while eating. Leave out any nuts.
If baking isn't happening this week, our ragi millet cookies work on the same principle. See also what makes ragi biscuits different and our guide to choosing biscuits.
General information, not medical or dietary advice.