Green Moong Dal n Spinach Kichadi

And I am finally back and writing here again! I thought I will never get a chance to. Well, with a kid as active (read hardly sleeps) as this one (with an exceptional love for the 'laptop'), it is tough to sit down and write a blog post too! Anyways, since I am posting today, I decided to do one of my favourite, as well as Athyn's favorite lunch recipe, THE GREEN RICE as we call it - is an easy to make, very healthy n balanced, yummy green moong n rice based pongal / kichdi. I do add all the vegetables I can in this, although Spinach / Palak takes prime importance as it blends awesomely with the rest of the ingredients.

Method to make Green Moong Dal n Spinach Kichadi

1. Wash, peel and cut all the vegetables you like to add in the kichadi - I add potato, pumpkin, ash gourd, carrot and raddish other than the spinach)
2. Wash the spinach twice or thrice and chop into fine pieces.
3. Add rice and green moong dal in 1:1 ratio (unlike in normal pongal with lesser dal).
4. Mix a pinch of jeera powder, hing and turmeric powder.

5. You can also freshly grind jeera and black pepper and add, if baby is old enough.
6.  Don't forget to add a generous amount of ghee
7.  This will need 4 times water (say 2 spoons of rice-moongdal mix will need about 6 to 7 spoons of water considering what vegetables you have added, some give water out by themselves)
8. Pressure cook for 30 to 40 minutes (or till almost 10 whistles)

You can give it a mix and serve for toddlers (and in fact adults in the family too, i love it and my mom loves it too!). For babies, you can hand mash it and feed (which is easier to do if you cut the veggies in chunks and not small bits initially - saves a lot of time too).

Just be careful about the whole moong dal skin peeling off, it could be a choking hazard for really young babies. It is also very heavy on the tummy so preferred for lunch than dinner, do not overfeed either.

You can choose to add turmeric powder, cumin powder and hing (asafoetida) if you are giving it to your baby already. It is completely harmless and in fact good for the stomach to add these after 7 months.

I think this is the quickest nutrition-packed (protein, iron and fiber rich), yummy meal I have ever made and has become a regular household lunch on mondays to kick start the week with loads of energy!

Spinach and Papaya Puree

What do you do when your baby is low on iron while being exclusively breastfed (formula-fed babies have an iron-fortified advantage, breastmilk lacks the iron), hates orange juice (vit c helps absorb iron) and over that the iron drops make him constipated? Well I came up with this magic potion!

This Spinach-Papaya Puree is a definite relief from constipation and a great source of iron especially for vegetarian babies. Papaya is fiber rich and was recommended by both my mom and the pediatrician for relief against constipation, when asked to stop using the iron drops. I was very worried to stop the iron drops knowing he has a low count through blood work. So I made up my mind and ensure he gets greens in his everyday diet. I add at least a handful of spinach to his Kichdi everyday for lunch.

But somedays that just wont do. When more is needed, the puree form has to come in. Although Athyn is not a big fan on purees, this one is a hit with him, am guessing cos of the sweetness Papaya brings in.

Method to make Spinach and Papaya Puree

1. Take a handful of Spinach leaves and double and triple wash them.
2. Wash, peel and cut Papaya, use about 4 to 5 big pieces.
3. Chop the Spinach roughly and place it along with the Papaya for cooking.
4. Add minimal water and pressure cook for 15 to 20 minutes or 3 to 4 whistles.
5. Remove from flame and throw in some cheese (optional) while it is still hot
6. Once the cheese melts and cools down, blend the mixture along with sweet lime or orange juice (made with 1 part juice and 10 parts water) as this helps absorb the iron from the spinach, or just (previously boiled and cooled) water, until it is pureed well.

Serve this directly for 7 months+ babies. For older babies and toddlers, you can serve it along with roti, idli, dosa or spread on bread. You can also add it to nestum / cerelac or cooked oats.

If you do not want to add cheese, add other ingredients like dates and apricots while pressure cooking to enrich the flavor as well as the nutrients.

Be aware, too much spinach causes diarrhea in some babies. Moderate the quantities according to your baby's digestion patterns.

Tomato-flavored Sooji Kheer / Upma

This one came out of an experiment with adding taste to simple rava (sooji) upma while not adding salt. I usually add some vegetable or fruit to make his food tasteful without the need of salt or sugar, but here I get stuck. I know babies have no taste of salt and it does not matter to them but somehow the idea of bland sooji kheer (porridge) seems boring right?

So I started out flavoring the water that I use to make the Upma and was amazed by the result. The smell in the kitchen after making this Upma is divine! It is sooooo tempting that you wanna eat it yourself. Well the best part is when I did, I absolutely didnt feel the need for salt in it even for me!

Method to make Tomato-flavored Sooji Upma / Kheer

1. Wash and deseed a couple of juicy tomatoes
2. Boil them in water for few minutes.
3. Mash and squeeze the juices out of the tomatoes and strain.
4. Boil the tomato-flavored water in a fresh pan
(make sure the water is in 1:4 ratio with the sooji to be used)
5. Add Jeera (cumin) powder, hing (asafoetida) and ghee.

6. When the bubbles form, slowly spread the rava  into the boiling water.
7. Keep in lowest flame and let it cook.

Serve it warm to baby, they love it. It hardens when cold. You can increase the water ratio if you want to feed like a porridge. You can even add little pepper and turmeric powder if you are giving your baby. But i think its the cumin, hing and ghee combo that makes it smell and taste so yumm.

Some people start rava / sooji right after 7 months, but in case of tomato, do the 3 day test for sure, cos it is a known allergen in many people (especially if one or both of the parents / siblings are prone to allergies). And about the spices, its your call again, cumin is very good for digestion and I started it a little before 8 months or so. You can wait until 8 or 9 months or until you feel your baby is ready.

Green Beans, Pumpkin and Cheese Soup

Hi all! So the blog has kick started well, with a much better response than I expected! So am all enthused to spend the lil my lil brat allows for me in the day (rather night) to spend on baby food blogging now.

Athyn is not much in soups or any liquid food for that matter, he's big time biter and wants to eat like us. But loved this one soup, i think its the cheese flavor. Green beans has been one thing that I am not able to get into his diet at all. It does not mash along with other vegetables during lunch time (dal kichdi with mixed vegetables) and when blended with water (or even BM) tastes kinda bitter. Even the Gerber beans is yucky (with and without rice). So in an effort to somehow get green beans in his meal, randomly came up with this soup and it was a success!

Method to make Green Beans, Pumpkin and Cheese Soup 

1. Wash and remove the strings out of both sides of  the beans (French Beans).
2. Cut into 3 or 4 pieces each.
3. Wash, peel and make 4 or 5 cubes out of the pumpkin.
4. Add any hard cheese of your choice (I used the cheese slices you get in Britannia / Amul)
5, Use previously boiled and cooled water to blend the same.
6. You can use a scoop of oatmeal to make it a thick soup, it adds to the flavor amazingly.

Be very careful about the Cheese choice. Cheddar is always the best option. Other than which hard cheeses like Gouda is okay for babies, but sometimes they are too elastic-ey for them to chew on and swallow. Avoid soft cheeses like blue cheese until baby is one year at least.

If baby is less than 8 months, you can make the soup without any cheese and add unsalted butter instead, its tasty in its own way.