Tizann is a hot porridge or cold pudding made with nachne (Konkannim), Nachani (Marathi & Gujarati), Ragi (Hindi), Finger Millet (English)… Nachne is very nutritive & healthy. Since it contains iron & calcium, it is excellent for lactating mothers & growing children. However, it is especially valuable to people who consume a lot of starchy foods as nachne contains the amino acid methionine which is essential for good health.
You can make bhakri, rotis, flat breads, dosas, porridge, pudding, cakes with the dry ground powder. It is also used to prepare flavored drinks & beer. It can be consumed with milk, water, coconut milk, yoghurt or curds (dahi).
Nachne balls are served & eaten with chicken or mutton curry, ghee with HuLi, saaru, sambhar, onions, chillies… especially in rural areas in Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh which helps people to sustain throughout the day. In India, it is grown & consumed in Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Rajasthan, Kumaon (Uttarakhand) & Maharashtra. It has a good store life.
In Goa, nachne is very popular & tizann, satva, pole(dosa), bhakri & ambil is prepared with it. Many people make idlis, laddus out of ragi. Puttu is a traditional breakfast of Kerala, usually made with rice powder can also be made with ragi powder, which is considered to be more nutritive.
Tizann is a great comfort food & can be enjoyed as a breakfast in the form of a porridge or as a dessert in the form of a chilled pudding. Either ways, it is very tasty& delicious. It is flavorful, smooth & velvety. It is the Goa Pyramid Palm Jaggery & the Coconut Milk which transforms it into a delicacy!
It is nourishing, filling & would help me sustain through the day during my schooling days. It gave me a lot of energy when both my children were born & while I was raising them. I make Tizann quite often & my family really likes it very much. Diabetics also have this porridge/pudding without sweetening it.
Tizann is simple, quick & easy to make. First time cooks, beginners, bachelors & working people can prepare it in a jiffy. If you like it cold/chilled then it stays well in the fridge… so you can prepare it in advance & enjoy it at short notice. If you like it as a hot porridge for breakfast then you can make the extract on your weekends & store in batches in containers in the freezer or chiller . You can then prepare fresh porridge for breakfast.
I prefer making tizann, the Goan way… with the soaked nachne grains! How about you? If you prefer, you may even use the nachne powder which is easily available in the stores. Do try this recipe & let me know whether you enjoyed it. 😀
Ingredients :
- 1 regular tea cup Nachani/Ragi/Finger Millet/African Millet
- 1 fresh Coconut (scraped)
- 2 nos. Goa Pyramid Jaggery (Palm Jaggery) or to taste
- A pinch of Salt
- Water as required
Method :
Pick, winnow, wash & soak nachni grains in sufficient water for about 4 hours.
Strain out the water completely. Grind together nachni & scraped coconut with sufficient water in a masala grinder, to a fine paste.
Extract the milk from the ground paste with the help of a fine meshed sieve or using a muslin cloth in a sufficiently large & deep pan/handi/dekchi.
To extract milk completely use some water to mix with the thick contents & strain. You may do this twice after the first extract.
Break the jaggery into pieces or grate it & mix with the nachni-coconut milk extract. Make sure you dissolve the jaggery completely.
Place the pan on med. heat & stir with a pinch of salt.
Keep stirring continuously till the mixture thickens & starts coating the back of the spoon.
Reduce to low heat if the mixture starts thickening too quickly.
Keep stirring continuously or the mixture will start sticking to the bottom of the pan & may burn.
Take the pan of the heat & pour in moulds/bowls or saucers immediately.
You may enjoy it hot as a porridge or chill it in the fridge after it cools down & enjoy as a pudding.
