Ragi Vegetable Soup: A Warm, Wholesome Finger-Millet Soup

Ragi has long been a staple across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, where it's eaten as mudde, roti, dosa and porridge. In this recipe from the Wholesome Living Through Food series, a collaboration between Yoga & You and Home Cooking, it goes somewhere a little less traditional: into a warm, colourful vegetable soup. The fresh vegetables bring flavour and colour, and the ragi brings body and a wholesome, earthy depth. The result is a comforting bowl that works as a light meal on its own.

Why ragi?

Ragi, or finger millet (Eleusine coracana), is one of India's most important millets. It is naturally gluten-free and is especially well known as a good plant source of calcium, as well as fibre. Like other whole grains and millets, it is digested more slowly than refined flour. In this soup, just two tablespoons of ragi flour are enough to thicken a full pot, giving it a silky texture without cream or cornflour. If ragi is new to you, our ragi kanji, ragi roti and ragi upma are other easy ways to start.

How the soup comes together

The full ingredients and method are in the recipe card above. A few points from the video make a real difference:

• Dissolve the ragi first. Ragi flour clumps if it hits hot liquid directly. Whisk it into room-temperature water until completely smooth, and give it another stir just before adding it to the pot.
• Build flavour in ghee. Onion and a generous amount of garlic are sautéed in ghee until the onion turns translucent, before the vegetables go in.
• Season the vegetables, not just the broth. Salt, black pepper, cumin and coriander powder are added to the vegetables and cooked for about ten minutes, so the spices bloom and coat everything.
• Tomato goes in last. Adding the chopped tomato after the ragi, rather than at the start, means it keeps a little bite instead of dissolving into the soup. It's a nice contrast to the soft vegetables.
• Let it thicken. After the ragi and tomato go in, about fifteen minutes on the heat is enough for the soup to thicken beautifully. Stir now and then so nothing catches at the bottom.
• Finish fresh. A squeeze of lemon and a handful of fresh coriander, added after turning off the heat, lift all the flavours.

Make it your own

The cook in the video describes this as a soup made "entirely in my style", and it's meant to be adapted:

• Vegetables: beans, carrots, corn and peas are the base, but you can add any vegetables you like, such as pumpkin, cabbage, spinach or capsicum.
• Thickness: about a litre of water gives a medium-bodied soup. Use more water for a thinner soup or for more servings, less for a thicker, more stew-like bowl.
• Spice: adjust the pepper and cumin to taste. A pinch of chilli flakes or fresh ginger also works well.
• Onion- and garlic-free: for a sattvic version, leave out the onion and garlic and add a little grated ginger and a pinch of asafoetida (hing) to the ghee instead.

Serving

Serve the soup piping hot, as is, or with a slice of toasted bread or a small bowl of rice on the side for a more filling meal. It's a good choice for a light dinner, which many yoga traditions and Ayurveda both favour, and it's comforting on cool or rainy evenings. For another warming bowl, try our carrot ginger soup.

A note on diet

Nutritional needs vary from person to person. Ragi is gluten-free, but if you need to avoid gluten strictly, check that your ragi flour hasn't been processed alongside wheat. If you have a specific health condition, such as diabetes or kidney disease, ask a qualified dietitian how millets and portion sizes fit into your diet.