ORGANIC AND NATURAL PRODUCTS

Ragi, scientifically called Eleusine coracana, is an annually cultivated cereal crop, vastly found in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, such as in Ethiopia, India And Sri Lanka. Being densely packed with a host of nutrients, ragi confers valuable health benefits such as enhancing digestion, reducing the risk of heart disease, slowing down ageing and managing diabetes.

The common English name of Ragi is finger millet, owing to the appearance of the head of the grain comprising five spikes and thus, resembling the five fingers attached to the palm of the hand. This variety of annual grass grows up to a height of 1 to 2 m, belonging to the Gramineae botanical family. Leaves measure between 30 and 70 cm, being narrow and green. The straight or sometimes curved branches hold seeds arranged in florets, which can be brown, red or purple in colour. Widely distributed across several states in India, its local names include “Ragi” in Kannada, Hindi and Telugu, “Nachni” in Marathi, “Madua” in Bengali and “Kezhvaragu” in Tamil.

Finger millet crops are drought-resistant, tolerating slightly acidic to alkaline soils as well. This makes it ideal to propagate these plants through the year, in different geographical terrains across India, be it in the mountains or the plateaus. Upon developing, the seeds of the ragi plant are dried, cleaned and stored as grains. Thus, commercially available ragi is either in the form of salubrious super-grains or threshed under high pressure and sold as flour, after applying various processing techniques such as milling and malting.

Ragi Nutrition Content:

Ragi displays a rather impressive nutritional profile, encompassing all the essential macronutrients - carbohydrates, fibers, fats and proteins, along with noteworthy levels of key micronutrients - vitamins and minerals. It has negligible levels of cholesterol and sodium, to promote heart wellness. In addition, ragi contains considerable quantities of vitamins C and E, to boost immune, skin and hair health.The B complex vitamins - thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid as well as calcium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus are also found in ample amounts in ragi flour, truly justifying its status as a wholesome breakfast cereal and a superfood.