Ragi Roti or Nachni Roti is a healthy, nutritious, gluten-free alternative to the traditional roti prepared using ragi flour or finger millet flour. I have shared 3 simple ways in which you can make a ragi roti recipe at home. Serve ragi roti with spicy Indian chutney, protein-packed dal, or any Indian curry or simply with some butter or ghee.
Check out simple and healthy ragi recipes like ragi dosa for breakfast, healthy ragi manni with jaggery, weight loss ragi soup.
About the recipe
Ragi roti (Ragi Chapati ) is an unleavened flatbread made using ragi flour as the main ingredient, which can be served for any meal. Ragi is gluten-free and rich in iron and calcium. It is a healthy alternative to regular wheat-based rotis.
Ragi belongs to the class of millet. Ragi means finger millet, and roti means flatbread. A popular recipe from North Karnataka, also called raagi rotti in Kannada, nachini roti or nachni bakri (bakhri) in Marathi.
While growing up, all I knew was Ragi rotti and ragi mudde are a staple in North Karnataka and are eaten mainly by farmers for breakfast as it keeps you full for a longer time and is power-packed. But now, with its numerous health benefits, ragi roti is consumed by people with diabetes or even also those who want to lose weight.
Ragi roti benefits
- High in nutrients: Ragi is rich in essential nutrients such as calcium, iron, dietary fiber, and antioxidants.
- Weight management: Ragi roti is a good choice for a weight loss diet due to its high fiber content. The fiber keeps you full for a longer time, and this reduces appetite and results in low-calorie intake.
- Diabetes management: Ragi has a low glycemic index, which slowly releases glucose into the bloodstream, resulting in better blood sugar control.
- Gluten-free: Ragi is gluten-free, making it suitable for individuals with gluten intolerance or celiac disease.
- Bone health: Ragi is an excellent source of calcium, important for maintaining healthy bones and teeth.
- Iron content: Ragi is considered one of the richest sources of iron among cereals and grains.
3 ways of making ragi roti (nachni roti)
First, the dough (a thick and soft batter) is prepared with ragi flour or millet flour, onion, green chilies, coriander, curry leaves, and cumin seeds. You can also make jowar roti, bajra roti, or akki rotti the same way.
There are three ways to make ragi roti from the dough or batter.
- Patting the roti on parchment paper or butter paper
- Patting rotti on a banana leaf (a traditional way of making rotti in the village)
- Patting the roti dough directly on a hot tawa or pan.
Apart from these three methods, you can even make the ragi rotti just like you spread dosa too. Add more water (preferably hot - only for this method) while preparing the dough/batter to obtain a medium-thick pourable consistency. Spread the batter using a ladle on a hot pan, similar to a thick pancake/dosa. This will give you thicker ragi rotis and needs longer cooking time.
Ingredients
Ragi Flour: A main ingredient that forms the base of the roti. This is nothing but ground finger millet grains available in any Indian stores as raagi hittu, ragi flour, ragi atta, nachani atta.
Other ingredients: For flavor and texture, add cumin seeds, oil, coriander leaves, curry leaves, green chilies, and onions.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step instructions
You can check the video on making of healthy and easy ragi roti recipe.
Make the dough for Ragi Roti (Nachni Roti)
Step 1: In a bowl, add ragi flour, cumin seeds, and oil, and mix well. To this, add onion, coriander, green chilies, curry leaves, salt, and mix.
Step 2: Now add water little by little to form a soft dough. Do not add all water at once. Add in increments. You should be able to spread the dough easily with your fingers.
Making of roti (method 1)
Step 3: Brush the paper with oil. Take a small portion of dough and spread it as thin as possible using your fingers or spatula.
Step 4: Heat a nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet on medium flame. Grease the pan with oil. Flip the spread roti on hot tawa and gently peel off the parchment paper.
Step 5: Drizzle oil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 6: Flip and cook until it is cooked through completely and rotti develops some golden spots.
Making of traditional rotti (method 2)
Brush the leaf with oil. Spread the dough just like you did on parchment paper.
Flip this on a greased tawa and peel off the leaf. Cook on each side for 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle oil as needed.
How to make roti directly on tawa? (method 3)
Brush the hot tawa with oil. Take a portion of the dough and spread it as thin as possible. Use a silicone spatula if you are a beginner. If you are an expert cook and comfortable around hot utensils/tawa, dip your finger in a bowl of water and carefully spread the dough.
Drizzle some oil. Cook the rotti on one side for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side until lightly golden.
Tips
- For the perfect ragi roti, see that the flame is always on medium. Else the rottis will crisp up on the outside but remain uncooked inside.
- Vary the amount of cilantro, curry leaves, and green chilies to taste.
- Use oil as desired to cook rotis. I prefer coconut oil.
- To easily spread the dough, grease the banana leaf, parchment paper, or pan. Secondly, you can keep a bowl of water to dip your fingers in while spreading the dough. Doing so will prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers while spreading.
- The banana leaf and parchment paper method will give you thinner rotis than the one where you directly spread the dough on the pan.
- If you feel the dough is hard to spread, add more water and soften it.
- You can make ragi rotti more nutritious by adding grated carrots, chopped capsicum, green peas, avarekalu, or crushed peanuts.
- Love simple plain ragi roti? Then skip the onion, cumin seeds, chilies, and herbs. All other steps remain the same.
- This Ragi chapati (roti) is made using only ragi flour. No wheat or any other flour is used.
Serving suggestions
- You can serve ragi roti with homemade desi ghee or butter and chutney powder (pudi).
- Ragi rotti with chutney is a popular combination loved for breakfast. Any coconut-based chutney, tomato chutney, or coriander mint chutney will taste good with roti. You can also check out roasted eggplant dip.
- Millet roti can also be served with Indian dal, country-style chicken curry, or dill leaves curry (palya) for a nutritious, wholesome lunch or dinner.
Recipe FAQS
One ragi roti or nachni roti contains 178 calories with 4g of protein.
Ragi is rich in fiber, minerals, iron, calcium, and amino acids and thus a good choice of food for diabetics and those on a weight loss journey. It helps control blood sugar levels as it has more polyphenols than other commonly used grains like rice and wheat.
Yes. Ragi is gluten-free and high in calcium and iron content and phenolic compounds compared to wheat. Also one of the best recipes to add for your weight loss and diabetic meal.
Ragi is packed with essential nutrients that are needed for a healthy and balanced diet. But ragi is high in fiber; if you have constipation problems, don't consume it daily. In such cases, consuming ragi once or twice a week is fine. Make sure to drink sufficient fluids to prevent constipation.
Ragi is low in calories, and ragi recipes are best for your weight loss diet. The recipe given above for roti can be added to your weight loss diet. You can reduce the amount of oil you add if needed.
More Best Ragi Recipes
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Recipe card
Ragi Roti Recipe | Nachni Roti | Ragi Rotti
Equipment
- Dosa tawa / Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cups Ragi flour or Finger Millet flour or Nachni atta
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds or Jeera
- 1 teaspoon Oil , more for greasing and cooking (I use coconut oil)
- 3 Onions , small finely chopped ( or 2 medium)
- ¼ cup Cilantro or Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 Green chilies , finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Curry leaves , chopped
- ½ teaspoon Salt , adjust to taste
- 1 cup Water plus an additional 2 to 4 tablespoon (approx.)
Instructions
Make the dough for Ragi Roti (Nachni Roti)
- In a bowl, add ragi flour, cumin seeds, oil, and mix well.2 cups Ragi flour, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon Oil
- To this, add onion, coriander, green chilies, curry leaves, salt, and mix. Now add water little by little to form a soft dough. Do not add all water at once3 Onions, ¼ cup Cilantro, 2 to 3 Green chilies, 2 tablespoon Curry leaves, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 cup Water
To make roti in parchment paper, banana leaf, or butter paper
- Heat a nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet on medium flame. Grease the pan with oil.
- Brush the paper or banana leaf with oil. Take a small portion of dough and spread it as thin as possible using your fingers or spatula.
- Flip this on hot tawa and gently peel off the leaf or parchment paper. Check out the video on the making of ragi roti for better understanding.
- Drizzle oil. After two to three minutes, flip and cook on another side.
- Cook until it is cooked through completely and rotti develops some golden spots.
How to make roti directly on tawa?
- Brush the hot tawa with oil. Take a portion of the dough and spread it as thin as possible. Use a silicone spatula if you are a beginner. If you are an expert cook and comfortable around hot utensils/tawa, dip your finger in a bowl of water and carefully spread the dough.
- Drizzle some oil. cook the rotti on one side for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side until lightly golden.
Video
Notes
- For the perfect ragi roti, see that the flame is always on medium. Else the rottis will crisp up on the outside but remain uncooked inside.
- Vary the amount of cilantro, curry leaves, and green chilies to taste.
- Use oil as desired to cook rotis. I prefer coconut oil.
- To easily spread the dough, grease the banana leaf, parchment paper, or pan. Secondly, you can keep a bowl of water to dip your fingers in while spreading the dough. Doing so will prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers while spreading.
- The banana leaf and parchment paper method will give you thinner rotis than the one where you directly spread the dough on the pan.
- If you feel the dough is hard to spread, add more water and soften it.
- You can make ragi rotti more nutritious by adding grated carrots, chopped capsicum, green peas, avarekalu, or crushed peanuts.
- Love simple plain ragi roti? Then skip the onion, cumin seeds, chilies, and herbs. All other steps remain the same.
- This Ragi chapati (roti) is made using only ragi flour. No wheat or any other flour is used.
Nutrition
This post for healthy roti with ragi flour was first published on Jan 2022. Updated with stepwise pictures and calorie information.
Allyssa
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Liz
I love trying new recipes, especially for breakfast! I saved this recipe to give it a try! Thanks for the share!
Stephanie
Thank you for the introduction to Ragi Rotti. A delicious and healthy way for me to start my day! The video is quite helpful.
Sara Welch
This was such an unexpected and unique flatbread that does not disappoint! Turned out light, fluffy and delicious; easily, a new favorite recipe!
Anjali
This roti turned out so well! It was soft and flavorful and tasted great with dal!