Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Homemade Baby Food - Recipes common for infant and parents

1. Mung Daal Khichadi cooked in Mudpot

Really quick and full of nutrition mung daal khichadi can be honored by baby as well as parents.
I specially like it with added drops of ghee in it. Earlier I used to enjoy it with curd as well but I recently came to know that according to Ayurveda curd and daal are opposite foods hence I stopped eating curd with khichadi.

Whenever I cook Mungdaal I use my mud pot which I have brought from India (without breaking it in flight in cabin baggage. Also brought mud tava...yet to try..)

My son likes this khichadi a lot. today  I have added sweet potato in it.

 








Ingredients

1 c mung daal
1 c rice
1/4 tsp jeera
1 tsp ghee
1 c diced vegetables ( optional)
salt to taste

Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Serves  : 2

1. Wash and sock mund daal and rice in water for half an hour.
2.  Boil 4 cups water in metal container.
3. Cut vegetables in small cubes. You may take whatever vegetables are available in stock.
4. Heat ghee in mud pot. Add jeera in it. When jeera starts crackling add vegetables in it.
5. Fry vegetables for 2 mins. Now add mung daal and rice in it. Mix all ingredients nicely.
6. Add boiled water in mud pot and cover it. Allow to cook for 20  mins.
7. Mungdaal khichdi is ready. Serve it hot with drop of ghee on it.
8. Give warm khichadi to baby.

Tips :

1. You may use normal steel vessel or pressure cooker for cooking.


2. Pumpkin Soup 

Pumpkin Soup is very delicious and creamy soup. Its very easy to prepare. 

Boil pumpkin and peel it. Pumpkin does not take much time to boil. Whenever I boil pumpkin I just put in heavy bottom pan. I hardly use pressure  cooker to boil pumpkin.

Once pumpkin is boiled, cool it and peel it. Smash the boiled pumpkin using hand blender, now boil the soup. Add Black pepper and salt to taste. Give Tadka with ghee and Jeera.

For nice creamy pumpkin soup, you may add some cream to it. If you do not have cream then can add some milk to it. The proposition for milk is  1/5 of total soup. 

For more creamy soup, prepare white sauce and  add it to soup and boil it. This tastes just heavenly.

3. Creamy Potato

Boil potato and peel it. Cut potato in small small cubes. Now in pan, take some ghee and heat it. 
Once ghee is heated, add jeera to ghee, add potatoes. Cook for two to three minutes. Now add cream to potatoes. If cream is not available then milk can be added. Add black pepper to potatoes. Cook for 3 to 4 mins. Its ready to serve. Potato can cause gas hence give this baby after 8 to 9 months.


4. Whole Mung Chila

This is very healthy recipe for kids. 
Sock whole moong in water for overnight or at least for 6 to 7 hours. After that remove the water from moong. Keep it aside for another 10 to 12 hours. Moong will get sprouted.

Grind the moong in mixer grinder and make nice smooth paste.
Add green chilli and ginger paste to it.
Add Salt to taste.
Add coriander to the paste.

Now take non stick pan and spread little oil on it.
Now take some amount of moong paste and spread it on tava. cover the tava.
Allow it to cook for 2 to 3 mins.
Flip the side of the chilla and allow it to cook another side as well.
Serve with green chutney or Methi Masala.





Sunday, October 11, 2015

Homemade Baby Foods - Quick and healthy recipes for infants (6 months and above)

While taking care of baby single handed , there are many occasions when mothers may not have enough time to cook for baby. It may be due to any health issue or rushing somewhere to catch flight or bus or train.. .

Below are some awesome quick recipes for babies.

1. Avocado Banana Cream


I am always in wonder about different fruits that arenhow wonderfully created by nature. Two of those fruits are Avocado and Banana. Avocado was not known to me until I was in India. I have seen it first time in Singapore when my friend suggested me avocado smoothie. I was amazed by the taste. Soon avocado took place in my one of my favorite fruits. It has a very nice creamy texture. 
A ripe banana is so yummy...

Avocado does not have any natural sugar in it hence I used to make avocado banana smoothie during my pregnancy. Banana I used mainly to avoid sugar. 


Ingredients

Half ripe medium size Banana
Half ripe avocado pulp. 

Mix both banana pulp and avocado pulp until nice creamy texture is formed.




Tips :

1. If you do not have avocado then only banana can also make good stomach filling food for baby.
    Do not give banana to baby in cold weather as it may cause cough or cold.

2. Boiled Vegetables


Boiled vegetables dish is really quick and easy. One more great plus point is same dish can be honored by elders as well.
When I tried boiled veggies for my baby, he liked pumpkin and sweet potato more.
There is nothing much to write as A picture is worth a thousand words.
Just take whatever vegetables are available with you in stock.
I would recommend mainly pumpkin, carrot , zucchini, sweet potato for my baby. cauliflower, broccoli and lotus stem for elders as well. 
Boil them properly so that veggies can be mashed with hands and can be given to the baby. 



Tips :
1. Do not boil all veggies together as each veges needs different amount of time to boil.
2. For elders same veggies can be baked with white sauce which can make a very delicious change from routine food.

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  3. Clear Tomato Soup


I was really surprised when I served this tomato soup to my son and he honored it very excitedly. He was asking again and again to feed him. Hence I decided to add this in my blog.

Ingredients

2 medium size tomatoes
1/4 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
water to boil tomatoes

Procedure

Boil tomatoes in water on high heat for 15 mins.
Once tomatoes are tender smash it with smasher.
Add salt and cumin powder.
Ready to serve.


4. Kiwi Fruit




5. Shredded Apple puree.