Ragi mudde

Ragi Mudde are soft balls made from finger millet flour and water, associated here with Karnataka and neighboring regions. Dassana Amit’s selected preparation adds optional salt and ghee, and includes her own red chili chutney.

A small reserved portion of flour is stirred into water with the selected salt. Once the slurry boils, the remaining flour is spread over it, briefly cooked undisturbed, then stirred thoroughly into a thick dough.

The same dough is covered and steamed, then left covered off the heat. It is transferred to a water-moistened plate, kneaded smooth with moistened palms and optional ghee, and shaped into balls.

For the chutney, broken, deseeded Kashmiri chilies and tamarind soften in a separate portion of water. That water is drained, and the softened ingredients are blended with salt and fresh blending water.

Mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and fenugreek seeds are tempered in oil and mixed into the chutney. The shaped Mudde are kept warm and soft in a covered box until served with this accompaniment.