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Bajra Raab (Warm Pearl Millet Drink)
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Bajra Raab (Warm Pearl Millet Drink)

Bajra (pearl millet)TraditionalGujarat / RajasthanDrinkFlour (atta)VegetarianContains dairyContains nuts

Prep 5 min · Cook 10 min · Serves 2

Make

Ingredients

  • ghee — 2 tbsp
  • ajwain (carom seeds) — 1 tbsp
  • bajra (pearl millet) flour — 4 tbsp
  • jaggery — 1 tbsp (grated or powdered)
  • salt — 1/2 tbsp
  • dry ginger powder — 1 tbsp
  • water — 2 cups
  • chopped nuts — 1 tbsp (optional; almonds or cashews)

Method

  1. Heat the ghee in a small pot and add the ajwain; let it crackle.
  2. Add the bajra flour and roast it in the ghee for 2 to 3 minutes.
  3. Add the jaggery, salt, dry ginger powder and water, and whisk hard until no lumps of flour remain and the jaggery has dissolved.
  4. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes more.
  5. Pour into glasses, top with chopped nuts if using, and serve hot.

Tips

  • General practice: pour the water in slowly at first while whisking; roasted flour lumps easily.

Fresh atta: grind small, use soon

  • Millets keep for months as whole grain; flour is best ground as it is needed, because it turns rancid. (FAO, Sorghum and millets in human nutrition (1995))
  • Bajra changes fastest: its grain stores for months, but its milled flour has a very short shelf life. (ICAR-IIMR scientists, Food Chemistry Advances (2023) (DOI 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100190))
  • In an Indian study, untreated bajra flour stayed within the quality limit only about 2 days at room temperature. (ICAR-IARI, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2016))
  • Ragi flour keeps better than foxtail, barnyard or bajra flour (it carries less fat). (Planta (2024), review)
  • Keep atta closed and cool: bajra flour kept best in polythene and worst in gunny sacks; grains should be dry and in airtight containers. (Chaudhary & Kapoor, J Sci Food Agric (1984); ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines (2024) (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.2740351113))
  • Going off shows first as smell and taste — sour, musty or dusty, then bitter. (Lai & Varriano-Marston, Cereal Chemistry (1980))

So: buy the grain, grind a week’s worth at a time — less for bajra in summer.

Recipe from FSSAI, Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes, PDF p. 46 (printed p. 32), written in our own words.