Ragi

ragi the Indonesian name for the fermented and dried greyish balls of roasted rice flour which serve as a starter culture for many of the various fermented foods in which the region of E. and SE Asia is rich. There are special ragi for miso, tempe, and tapé and for rice wines as well as for nan (bread).

Ragi includes moulds, yeasts, and bacteria of the types required for a particular fermentation. It has been suggested that the name comes from the Hindi word ragi which means ‘millet’ and that this was the grain first used. Nowadays most ragi is made on a base of rice flour. The flour is mixed with garlic, pepper, galangal, and chillis, which help to discourage unwanted organisms. The mixture is moistened, and then inoculated by sprinkling previously made ragi on it (although sometimes natural infection from the surroundings is sufficient). It is dried slowly to a crumbly ball or cake which keeps for several days.