The nutritional benefits of Ragi or Nachni (Finger Millet) are manifold. It is a staple diet for many people in villages of Maharashtra and South India. The world over, ragi is mostly found in Africa and Asia.
Ragi is a good source of calcium and iron. It is a good food supplement for children and helps in increasing their immune system. It is a good source of fiber and hence is diabetic friendly. It is also beneficial for people looking to lose weight.
There are various dishes made with ragi such as ragi roti, ragi puri, ragi dosa, ragi balls or ragi mudde, ragi biscuits, ragi papad, ragi porridge. I have also made sukhadi with ragi and other flours-multi grain sukhadi. I used to make porridge using ragi flour and give it to my son when he was a toddler. I also make rotis from it and always try to include it in our diet.
I often make this ragi and chocolate cake. It is very healthy and can be made with the regularly available ingredients. The color and taste of ragi are hidden by cocoa powder. It is thus enjoyed by kids. Adults also love it. During celebrations, I decorate the cake with chocolate sauce. This time I added a banana for additional flavor. The cake came out very well. It was moist and soft. For an eggless cake, adding banana increases its softness. The cake remains moist and fluffy.
My son takes it in his lunch box or likes to have it for a mini snack between meals.
Enjoy baking this healthy cake and enjoy it either plain or with a frosting of your choice. It goes very well with a cup of hot tea or coffee.
Eggless Ragi Chocolate Banana Cake/ Eggless Finger Millet Chocolate Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup finger millet flour ragi
- 3/4 cup raw sugar or white sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt a pinch
- 3/4 cup greek yogurt thick yougurt. I use the store brought thick yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup oil any refined flavorless oil. I have used canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 banana ripe
- 1 tsp oil or butter for greasing the pan
- 1 tbsp maida for dusting pan
Instructions
- Sift all the dry ingredients three to four times in sieve. (Whole wheat flour, finger millet-ragi flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt).
- Mash the ripe banana with a potato masher in a bowl.
- Add milk, thick curd, oil, vanilla essence, and honey.
- Add the raw sugar.
- Mix them well till the sugar dissolves.
- Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches.
- Mix it slowly. There should be no lumps. The batter is ready.
- Pour the cake batter in the greased and dusted pan. (I have used 8.5" x 6.5" rectangle cake tin). Tap it three to four times.
- Bake it for 35-40 minutes in a preheated oven @ 180 C.
- Remove tine from oven, cool and place the tin upside down and unmould the cake.
- Cut into pieces and serve.
looking so soft and very healthy.
Such a wonderful healthy recipe . My hubby was shocked when I said it is butterless and eggless . Was wondering to check if I could replace sugar with Jaggery 🤔
Hi Madhu,
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe. I have used the raw sugar. You can use jaggery instead. Happy healthy cooking!!
Regards
Swapna
Awesome recipe, very healthy nd eggless
What cup size u used.
This was a good time to try this recipe….Perfectly executed…I found the sugar content less for this…It was perfect to make a chocolate icing..
This was a good time to try this recipe….my health crazy fathers birthday..He loved itPerfectly executed…I found the sugar content less for this…It was perfect to make a chocolate icing..
Hi Rohan,
Thank you so much for trying out this healthy recipe. I am glad that your father liked it. It is a perfect treat and can be enjoyed without any guilt with power of ragi and banana and can be made from the available ingredients at home. The ripe banana gives sweetness to the cake. Hence I prefer to add a little less sugar. However if you want more sugar, add 1 cup to the recipe. Happy baking!!
Is honey necessary for this cake or is it optional? Can it be replaced by any other ingredient?
Hi Sneha,
Thank you for going through the recipe. Honey is a natural sugar and is best if you want to avoid the processed sugar. However you can replace it with raw sugar, or maple syrup, or grated jaggery, or brown sugar or golden syrup.
Just made it. Turned out super yummy. Many thanks to you. By the way, I used palm sugar instead of regular sugar.
Hi Shobha
Thank you for going through the recipe and making it. It is very healthy recipe and palm sugar makes it more healthier too. You can also use coconut sugar.
Happy cooking!!
Thanks .. pep kitchen I normally don’t post comments on recipes but this is like a fool proof recipe.. I used it as a base for my husband’s birthday cake adding choco chips in the batter and vanila frosting with sprinkles on top… And it was THe best cake… plus Its so easy and quick… Bravo
Thanks a lot. I am so glad and happy that you and your family like the recipe and took time to appreciate it. Like your idea of adding choco chips and using the cake as the base for birthday cake. It is healthy and tasty way to celebrate an occasion. Happy cooking!!
Thank you came out well. My 2 yr old loves it. I used sweetened cocoa powder so reduced sugar content and used normal yogurt after draining water .
Thank you so much!! I am so glad that your little one enjoyed it. Its a very healthy and nutritious cake and most of all anything made at home with love is healthy.. Happy cooking!!