Nutritional Healthy Bake

I am not sure if this qualify's for a cake and that's why the title 'bake'. This time around I tried to make something very very healthy keeping in mind that this was exclusively made for the kid at home. Now that vacation are on and an ever active kid to keep me on toes, I thought why not. It was always my wish to make something tasty with Finger Millet aka Ragi and I just used this chance to make some healthy stuff.

Ragi as such is given to infants as their first semi solid food and we all know the goodness this cereals carries along with it. High in protein, calcium and fiber , Ragi, has it goodness stored for elders too. In this state of Karnataka, Ragi is had as a drink or kashaya or the famous Ragi mude which is a staple diet among all people alike. This is how the recipe came into being.

Ingredients

(Dry Ingredients)

1 cup whole wheat flour (200 gms)

1/2 cup ragi flour           (100 gms)

Cocoa Powder             3 tbsps

Baking powder              1 tsp    

Baking soda                  1/2 tsp

(Wet Ingredients)

1/2 cup thick curd          (150 ml)

Jaggery grated               (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup) depending on ones sweetness (150 gms)

Banana (Nendran)         1 full ripe - else 2 ripe Yelakki Banana

Vanilla Essence             1  tsp   

Ghee                             3-4 tbsp

Milk                             1/4 cup to 1/2 cup

                              

My way of Making

1. Sift together the dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the curd and jaggery until well combined. To this add the well mashed bananas. Once mixed well, add vanilla essence and ghee and combine.

3. Add the sifted dry ingredients into the liquid mixture one step at a time and combine them well. Add milk only if needed to make a smooth batter.

4. Preheat your oven to 180C.

5. Pour this into a greased cake pan and bake for around 25 to 30 minutes until the center of the cake is done.

6. Cool and relish this nutritious bake with or without any frosting.

Note

1. The top of the cake would mostly turn out dry immediately after its done. Its better to cool it down before relishing the dish.

2. You could use the usual stuff like White flour, butter, egg to make this more of a sponge cake.

3. One could add some nuts as well to make it more of a healthy small meal combined with milk.

4. Mine was done around 23 minutes, so keep a watch.