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!
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!
