Learn how to make your own healthy crackers! Try this simple cracker recipe using ingredients like ragi and lots of seeds. Bake and keep these at your home, and munch on them daily for an easy and tasty way to include more seeds in your diet.
Ingredients:
100 gm (2/3 cup) whole wheat flour
50 gm (1/3 cup) finger millet (ragi) flour
1 tbsp jaggery powder
1/2 tsp salt
40 ml (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or olive oil or ghee)
1 tbsp flax seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds (white)
1 tbsp melon (muskmelon or watermelon) seeds
80 gm (1/3 cup) curd/yogurt
Serving: 5 (5 pieces per serving)
Nutrition Value (per serving):
Energy: 233 kcal
Protein: 6 gm
Carbs: 26 gm
Fats: 12 gm
Fibre: 4 gm
Method:
In a large bowl, add whole wheat flour, ragi flour, jaggery powder and salt. Mix well.
Add oil to the bowl and mix well to get a powder-like consistency.
Add all the seeds and mix roughly with a spatula.
Add curd/yogurt and mix well.
Using your hands, knead until you get a dough that is similar to a chapati dough. (Tip: Do not mix and knead the dough too much because it may cause the crackers to become too hard.)
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Roll and spread the dough thin. The texture of crackers after baking depends on the thickness of the dough during this process. If you like the crackers crispy, make it super thin. If you like them crunchy, make it approximately 2 mm in height.
With a knife, cut the dough into squares. Prick them with a fork.
Preheat the oven at 150-160°C and bake for 20-22 minutes. (Tip: Adjust the baking temperature as per your oven’s characteristics and the thickness of the dough).
once done, set aside to cool until they are comfortable to hold in your hands. If needed, break off small pieces of cracker along the split lines.
Enjoy your healthy and tasty Ragi Seeds Crackers!
Recipe Video
Know Your Ingredients
Finger Millet (Ragi)
Ragi is a millet which is packed with all the essential macronutrients - complex carbohydrates, fibers, fats and proteins, along with noteworthy levels of key micronutrients - vitamins and minerals. It is a gluten-free grain with many health benefits. Ragi is a rich source of calcium which is required for health bones and teeth. In fact, ragi has three times more calcium than an equivalent amount of milk. In addition, ragi contains considerable quantities of vitamins C and E, to boost immunity, and skin and hair health.
Whole wheat Flour
Compared to refined flour, whole wheat grain flour is not stripped of valuable nutrients and has many health benefits. It is fibrous and a complex carbohydrate that slowly converts to glucose in our body and keeps us full for a longer time. Fibre also helps lower cholesterol as well as move waste through the digestive tract. Whole wheat flour is also rich in vitamins B1, B3, and B5, along with riboflavin and folate. It also has more iron, calcium, protein, and other nutrients than refined flour.
Flax seeds
Flax seeds are rich in many nutrients, including fiber, protein, magnesium and manganese. Because of the Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) in flax seeds, which is an essential omega-3 fatty acid, they may reduce high blood pressure level, and improve heart health by helping to maintain normal heart rhythm and pumping.
Sesame seeds
Sesame seeds are a good source of healthy fats, protein, B vitamins, minerals, fiber, and rich in various antioxidants. They are high in magnesium which helps in lowering blood pressure. Sesame seeds are highly rich in calcium, which is good for strong bones and teeth.
Muskmelon seeds
Muskmelon seeds are a good source of proteins, vitamins (folate, thiamine and niacin, vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid), minerals (magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, potassium, phosphorus and manganese), and fatty acids. Melon seeds are rich in fiber which improves gut health, makes circulation in the body better, and helps get rid of waste material from the blood.
Curd
Curd is a great probiotic that contains good bacteria for a healthy gut and helps in the proper functioning of the digestive system. Curd is also a good source of protein. It helps prevent infections and improves overall immunity. Curd is rich in calcium and phosphorus, which are good for healthy bone and teeth. Curd can also help reduce high blood pressure.
This recipe has been contributed by Chie Hirayama, Dietician and Certified Diabetes Educator (Japan).