The crunch craving is real and it deserves a real answer. These chips are thin enough to snap when you break them, seasoned with ajwain and sesame so they taste complex without any flavour powder, and dark enough from the ragi flour that they look like they cost something. They take 30 minutes, and they keep for a week. The packaged alternative takes up shelf space, has fourteen ingredients, and does nothing for your calcium levels. For a sweeter ragi snack that uses the same baked-not-fried principle, the Ragi Chocolate Cookies are the dessert version of this same whole-grain philosophy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Earthen Story Ragi Flour Shop ↗
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp chilli powder or black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tbsp cold-pressed oil (groundnut or sesame)
- 5 - 6 tbsp warm water (as needed)
Steps
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine ragi flour, sesame seeds, ajwain, cumin, chilli, and salt in a bowl. Mix well.
- Add oil and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Add warm water gradually, mixing until a firm, non-sticky dough forms. It should not crack when rolled - add a tiny bit more water if it does.
- Divide dough into two portions. Place each between two sheets of parchment and roll as thin as possible - ideally 2 - 3mm. The thinner, the crispier.
- Cut into squares, rounds, or irregular crackers using a knife or cutter. Prick each piece twice with a fork to prevent puffing.
- Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until crispy and the edges begin to darken. They will continue to crisp as they cool - do not overbake.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before storing. They will be fully crispy only once cold.
Key Benefits
- Ragi atta as a high-calcium snack base Most packaged chips are made from refined potato starch or maida - both nutritionally empty. Ragi flour provides calcium and iron with every chip, turning a snack moment into a meaningful micronutrient contribution. Finger millet (ragi) has more calcium per gram than almost any other grain - a fact that makes ragi chips a genuinely functional snack, not just a healthy-sounding one.
- Baking over frying for cleaner fat intake Baked with cold-pressed oil rather than deep-fried, these chips have a fraction of the fat of commercial crisps and none of the trans fats created by repeated frying oil reuse. Traditional Indian snacking was mostly baked or sun-dried, not deep-fried - the shift to fried packaged snacks is a modern and nutritionally unfortunate development.
- Ajwain and cumin for digestive support Both spices contain compounds that stimulate digestive enzymes and reduce gas formation - making these chips genuinely easier on the digestive system than their packaged counterparts. For a ragi preparation with a warming, nourishing character, the Prune Raisin Ragi Bars use the same grain in a completely different format.
Explore more recipes like this on our Recipes page, or read our ingredient guides and food knowledge articles in the Discover section.
