Moong Daal Dhokla - Yellow Lentil steamed savoury cake - ( 9 months and above)

ingredients

For The Batter

1 cup soaked yellow moong dal (split yellow gram)

1 green chill

salt to taste

1 tsp sugar

a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)

1 tbsp besan (bengal gram flour)

2 tbsp curds (dahi)

1 1/2 tsp fruit salt / baking soda

For The Tempering

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)

1/2 tsp sesame seeds (til)

a pinch asafoetida (hing)

2 tsp finely chopped green chillies

For The Garnish

1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)

For Serving

green chutney

1 tbsp grated coconut

Process :

1. Combine the yellow moong dal and green chillies and blend in a mixer using a little water to make a paste of pouring consistency.
2. Transfer the paste to a bowl, add the salt, sugar, asafoetida, oil, turmeric powder, besan and curds and mix well to make a batter.
3. Just before steaming, sprinkle fruit salt and mix lightly.
4. Pour the batter into a greased 175 mm. (7”) diameter thali.
5. Steam in a steamer for 10 to 12 minutes or till the dhokalas are cooked. Keep aside.
6. Heat the oil in a small non-stick pan and add the mustard seeds.
7. When the mustard seeds crackle, add the sesame seeds, asafoetida and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
8. Add the green chillies and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
9. Pour the tempering over the prepared dhoklas and spread it evenly.
10. Sprinkle the coriander and coconut evenly on top.
11. Cut into pieces and serve hot with green chutney.

Ref : Tarala Dalal

White Dhokla Recipe (1 year and above)

My son is now 14 month and no teeth at all. This Dhokla is soft and mouth melting hence babies without teeth can easily eat this.

My son like this Dhokla very much. This dish is high in carbohydrates and protein. 

Here is recipe goes.

Ingredients 

• 1 cup regular rice or idli rice (i used idli rice)
• ¼ cup urad dal( black gram)
• ½ cup thick sour yogurt or khatta dahi
• ½ inch ginger/adrak, chopped
• 1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped
• ½ tsp oil to be added later to the batter
• ½ tsp baking soda

Procedure

1. rinse the rice and urad dal a couple of times in water.
2. soak them together or separately in enough water for 5-6 hours.
3. drain them well and then in a wet grinder, add the drained rice and urad dal.
4. add chopped ginger and green chili also.
5. grind the rice and urad dal adding 2 to 3 tbsp water at intervals.
6. the batter should be thick like the idli batter.
7. when you feel the batter, a little grainy texture of the ground rice is preferable.
8. pour the batter in a deep bowl or pan.
9. add the sour yogurt and salt.
10. stir well and keep the batter in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 7-8 hours.
11. before preparing the dhoklas, grease the pan in which you will be making the dhokla with oil.
12. add water in your steamer or pan or pressure cooker and let the water come to a boil.
13. first add oil in the batter and stir well.
14. then add the fruit salt or baking soda to the batter.
15. be quick enough to stir well, so that the baking soda is distributed uniformly in the batter.
16. pour on a greased pan. sprinkle with black pepper powder, red chili powder and roasted sesame seeds.
17. place the pan with the dhokla batter in the steamer or pot or pressure cooker.
18. cover and steam for 20-25 minutes or more till a tooth pick inserted in the khatta dhokla comes out clean.
19. if using a pressure cooker, remove the vent weight (whistle) and cover the lid tightly and steam for the same amount of time.
20. when done, remove and let the khatta dhoklas become warm.
21. slice and serve the khatta dhokla or white dhokla with coriander chutney.

Barley Upma Recipe

for infant elder than 1 year.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Barley whole or broken (I have used whole Barley) 
• 3 Cups water
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of carrot,diced small
• 1/2 cup of french beans, finely chopped 
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 tablespoon peanuts
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon half broken white urad dal(Optional)
• String of curry leaves
• salt to taste
• juice of 1 lemon
• a small bunch of chopped coriander leaves
• oil for cooking

• Process 

  1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker or in a pan on medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. Once it crackles add in the split urad dal and peanuts. Saute for a few minutes until the dal gets roasted. 
  2. Once roasted add ginger, green chilies, curry leaves and cook for few seconds.
  3. Add carrots, beans and let it cook for a minute or two stirring in between.
  4. Now add barley. Mix well and cook for few minutes. 
  5. Pour in the 3 cups of water. Stir in the salt and tomatoes and give the mixture a good stir.
  6. Cover the pressure cooker or the pan and allow the upma cook in medium flame till 3 whistles come. If you are cooking it in a pan, then cook until all the water is absorbed stirring occasionally.  
  7. Take the pressure cooker off the heat and let the cooker rest for some time before opening the lid.
  8. Open the lid and add in lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot.

Surati Locho ( Mixed Lentils savoury dish)

This recipe can be fit for toddlers elder than 1 year.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of chana daal(Split skinless Bengal Gram)
• 1/2 cup of urad daal(Split skinless Black Gram)
• 1/2 cup of poha(Beaten rice or rice flakes)
• 1 tbp green chili paste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2-3 drops of lemon juice
• 2 tbp oil
• 1 tbsp sev(namkin)
• 1 tsp eno
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Soak lentils in lots of water overnight.

2. In the morning drain water and wash it well and add washed 1 cup of poha.

3. Grind it in mixture grinder and form a soft batter.

4. Add salt, green chilli paste according to taste, add pinch of turmeric powder and eno and mix it well.

5. Take a deep vessel and spread half of oil to vessel so that the batter does not stick to it. Pour the batter into the vessel and spread some black pepper.

6. In a pressure cooker add some water and boil it for 10-15 mins or till done.

7. Keep the vessel in pressure cooker and cover the cooker with the lid without whistle attached to it.

8. Steam it for 10 minutes.

9. Put a knife in the batter to check if it is baked properly by inserting clean knife. if it comes out clean,it means it is done.

10. Serve hot with adding some lemon juice, sev, half of oil and chopped coriander leaves and chilli.

Tips : can be served with green and red chatney. I had some left over tamrind chatney and it tasted nice. 

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.

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.

  \

  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.  

Homemade Baby Foods - Healthy recipes for infants (6 months & above)

Like all new mothers  I too struggled with getting adjusted to totally new and different lifestyle after I delivered my first child.While slowly adjusting to new life style I realized that time is running and my little one has almost completed  6 months...and  its time for him to transit from liquid to semi liquid food.my child was only on breast milk until he has completed 6 months.

India is well known for its rituals and festivals. Interestingly there are many samskars(processes for bringing auspiciousness for child) to perform from womb and continue till child grows.One of the samskars for new born is "AnnaPrashan" First grain giving ceremony. We celebrated same for our child by giving him sweet rice by our spiritual priest. 

One of the great challenges for new mothers is to decide what to feed child on daily bases. Here I am putting 5 healthy babyfood recipes for infants tasted by my child. 

1. High Fiber Broken Wheat cooked with fresh fruits (Dalia with fresh fruits and raisin).

Preparation Time :5 mins

Cooking Time : 15 mins

Serves : 1 to 2 infants

2 tbls broken wheat
1 tbls Ghee
1 tsp  Jaggery (or Mishri or Sugar)
1/4 c peeled apple
1 tsp  raisin
11/2 c water
pinch of cardamom

1. Wash and clean broken wheat. Drain it.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in heavy bottom pan over moderate heat.When it       is hot stir in  cardamom and fry for 30 seconds.

3. Add in 2 tablespoons of broken wheat. Fry for 3 to 4 mins.

3. Cut the peeled apple in small pieces. you may also make puree and add in.

4. Add raisins and water. Cover the pan while cooking on slow to moderate heat    for 15 mins.

5. Add Jaggery or mishri or sugar once broken wheat is cooked.

6. occasionally stir in. Check after 15 mins. If wheat is still not fully cooked then    cook more for another 5 mins.

7. Serve  warm.

Tips:

1. Water can be replaced with milk to enhance taste as well as nutrition value.
2. Apple can be replace with banana or any other fresh fruits. If ripe banana           used then reduce the amount of Jaggery . 
3. If Jaggari has dust in it then make Jaggery water filter it then add it. Jaggari       is easy for digestion. 
4. Raisin makes this dish rich in nutrition. Along with raisins almonds or any           other dried food can be added.
5. If using almond then use almond powder or crush almond with milk.
6. Make sure that your food is in form of puree or semisolid so the child                 can swallow it easily. 
7. While feeding child make sure that the food is little warm not so hot.

2. Oat based multi seeds porridge with natural sweetener.

This dish helps developing brain tissues. High in fiber and protein. Dates makes this dish rich in iron as well. No need to add artificial sweetener as nature sweetener dates is included. 

 Preparation time:10 min 

Cooking Time :15 min

Serves : 1 infant

2 tbs oat powder
1 tsp multi seeds powder
2 piece of dates or 1/4 tsp honey

 3/4 cup milk 

1.Roast oats for 5 mins on medium flame on heavy bottom pan. Grind it finely.

2.While oat is getting roasted boil milk. Add mashed dates in it.
3. Heat ghee in heavy bottom pan. Take small pan as quantity is less.
4. Once ghee is heated add oat powder in it. cook for 2 mins stir it continuously.
5. Add multi seeds powder in it. stir it continuously and cook for another 2 mins.
6. Add milk and dates mixture in it. Stir it continuously and cook for 4 min till its thickened. 
7. Delicious porridge is ready for the baby. 

Tips:
1. Oats powder can be prepared in advance.
2. Multi seeds includes water melon seeds, cucumber seeds, musk melon seeds. This powder can be done in advanced and kept.
3. Pumpkin seeds can also be used.
4. Ghee is mean to be cows ghee only.
5. Dates can be replaced with honey. 

3. Mung Daal cooked with vegetables.

This Recipe is very healthy and easy to digest for babies. Mung Daal is rich in protein while vegetables adds vitamins as well as fibers making it easy to digest. 
Carrot and pumpkin gives little sweet taste to daal which makes babies happy to eat.

 Preparation time:5 min 

Cooking Time :20 min

Serves : 1 infant

2 tbs Yellow Mung Daal
1 tbs Ghee
1/4 tsp Jeera
1/4 cup diced carrots and pumpkin 
pinch of salt

1. Wash mung daal and Sock in water for half an hour (optional). 
2. Drain water from mung daal after keep it aside.
3. Heat ghee in heavy bottom pan. Add Jeera once ghee is heated.
4. Add vegetable cubes. Saute well. Add Mung daal. Stir it properly. 
5. Add 1 cup of water and pinch of salt. Give a quick stir.
6. Cover the pan. Cook for 20 mins while stirring it occasionally.
7. Check if daal is properly cooked.

Tips

1. If vegetables are not mixed with daal then mash it while feeding.
2. This daal with vegetables only can be fed to baby or roti can be added to this daal and can be given to baby which I used to do mostly.
3. Different types of vegetables can be added to daal.
4. Do not use vegetables which can cause gastric trouble to baby. Carrot, pumpkin, sweet potatoes,zucchini are some good options.
5.Do not use aluminium vessels while cooking for baby.

Most of the times I cook Mungdaal in mud pot which I have brought from India.
In mud pot, daal is cooked slowly which retain all protein in daal as well as all vitamins and minerals in vegetables.  Mung Daal takes only 20 mins to cook in mud pot if socked in half an hour before. 
Let me know if you wish to know how to cook mung daal in mud pot.

4. Split toor dal (pigeon pea/arhar) soup

This is the first recipe suggested by grand mother for my baby. This soup is very easy to make and contain high protein as well. My baby likes this soup very much hence I prepare this for him on every alternate day. 

Ingredients 

1/2 c toor daal (pigeon pea/arhar daal)

1/2 tsp jeera powder (cumin powder)

salt to taste

drop of ghee

Preparation time:5 min 

Cooking Time :20 min

1. Soak daal in water for half an hour. Wash and clean.
2. Take 2 cups of water in pressure cooker add salt and cook daal thoroughly.
3. Once daal is cooked, take it out and allow it to cool for 5 mins.
4. After 5 mins you can see the water and daal have separate layers.
5. Take water from the daal in small bowl. Add little jeera powder in it. Add drop of ghee in daal water.
6. Daal soup is ready to serve to baby.

Tips:
1. Mostly I sock roti in this daal soup and feed my baby. 
2. This daal can be cooked without socking as well. 
3. Time for cooking daal in pressure cooker can be vary for different pressure cooker hence I did not mention it. Generally this daal needs 2 to 3 more whistles then rice. So decide accordingly.