“Ragi dish Korangatti is had for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Accompanying it would be a curry made of vegetables that are in season or a non-vegetarian dish. Beans, pumpkin and amaranthus are some of the vegetables that we usually cook. Anchovy, crab curry and meat are also served as sides,” explains M Chandran, a member of the Muduvan tribe from Thayyannankudy settlement under Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Idukki.
Chandran was explaining how millets, especially ragi, has been a constant in their diet, along with other millets. They now grow 34 varieties of ragi, with millets such as chama (little millet), thina (foxtail millet) and varagu (kodo millet) and multiple varieties of beans, amaranthus, maize and pumpkin. This was made possible by Punarjeevanam project of Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department.
“Korangatti is a glutinous dish, slightly bigger than an idli, made from ragi flour that is cooked in boiling water to a halwa-like consistency. It is poured onto a plantain leaf and is left to set. No sugar or salt is added,” he adds.
