To put chillis or not?

So some of my mommy friends have been asking about using chillis in food and the two main questions are:

1. When do you start introducing chillis?

2. And how much?

To answer both questions-- I would go with what your child can manage and slowly build on it from there. A friends daughter started eating chillis in her food before 9 months. If you decide to start, add a quarter of chilli in their dal for instance see if they can manage this. Increase this amount by half a chilli in a months time.

Most parents aim for their child to eat the family food around the age of 1. If you have decided to cook one meal now for the family, start by putting a small amount of chilli, lets say one chilli in a curry for 2 adults and 1 baby. Add plain yoghurt to the food so that they can get used to the idea not only of eating spicy food but eating the family meal. Then increase this amount over a few months and see how your child responds. I have found this has worked and there is no more making separate baby food (Thank God!).

I have found that my little one is happy to sample spicy flavoured crisps but makes a big deal out of a small amount of chilli in her food, so eating junk food can be an indicator of chilli tolerance!

Regressing?

So I am due with Baby # 2 in a few weeks. My little one has been involved from day 1, coming to every doctor's appointment, scan and has an understanding that there is a baby growing inside me. She often kisses my belly and points to it saying 'baby'. Now for the last 7 months, she has been eating by herself and my husband and I have been very proud of this achievement. She has this desire to be independent and feels part of the family unit when we all eat together. Now for the last two days, she is not interested in eating her food. In fact she welcomed being fed, which she normally doesn't like. She doesn't like others fussing over her while eating and likes to eat at her own pace by herself.

Is she aware that D-day is approaching very soon? Is there an unconcious desire to be the 'baby' again? I mean she IS still the baby, after all she is barely 2 years old. It's like she is pacing back and forth between independence and dependence. The next few weeks is going to be critical for her and lots of attention, love and patience is in order...

Chicken curry with potatoes

This is a delicious way to introduce curry to your child at 9 months. Chicken curry is a staple in any non vegetarian Indian diet. A lot of people prefer boneless chicken--however I have found that boneless chicken can becomes dry and chewy. So if you want a tender piece, I would recommend steaming a piece of chicken on the bone and then removing the pieces. The chicken is easier to swallow and is less chewy. Sometimes boneless chicken can get dry and overcooked.

And if you don't wish to use chicken you could boil some eggs and add at the end instead.

You will need:

Cooking oil

1/2 small onion

ginger

garlic

tomato

fresh coriander leaves

chicken

Spices: cumin seeds, tumeric powder, coriander powder

In a pan, add a tspn of oil and put half a spoon of cumin seeds once the oil is hot. Chop half a small onion and fry along with the seeds. Now add ½ tspn grated ginger and one small clove of finely chopped garlic. Add one chopped large tomato. Cook till it becomes a sauce, then add ½ tspn of haldi powder and ½ tspn of coriander powder and simmer till the masalas are cooked. Now add ½ cup of deboned chicken (or a piece of chicken on the bone which once cooked you tear away from the bone and cut into manageable pieces) and chop up one potato into small pieces. Add water till the chicken and potato is covered and cook on medium heat. Add finely chopped coriander at the end and stir through. Mash or blend according to your child's preference.

Serve with rice and plain yoghurt.

This recipe tastes lovely with sweet potato or butternut squash.

If you are using a pressure cooker: Put the cooker on medium flame and after it whistles once turn off the gas.

Eating out...Is it worth it?

Went out for family dinner tonight. This usually entails deciding on a baby friendly restaurant, then booking an early table and getting back in time for bed time. Anything too late then the evening is exhausting with my daughter feeling restless and cranky. In less than 2 hours we were in and out of there. It's all carefully planned to not throw her off the edge.

So dinner was Italian, lots of choices that appeal to kids: bread sticks, pasta, chunks of mozzarella and tomato, pieces of pizza and olives (which by the way she loves!) As each course was presented to the table there was plenty of 'wows' and pointing to each plate. She was curious about the pizza toppings and how the parmesan was being grated onto the pasta. But once her meal was cut up into bite sizes for her, then very little was consumed. She was engrossed with the experience of it all--watching the other children, drawing with the green colored pencil they gave her on her paper mat, sipping her orange juice and watching the waitress serve the neighbouring tables.

All in all, my husband and I had a nice meal and our daughter appeared to have had a fun evening out with a few nibbles here and there. I guess what bothers me is that she didn't eat enough but she was happy. So should I be concerned or accept that when eating out, its not actually 'eating' that takes place?

First Foods: Butternut squash with cumin

This is a wonderful recipe when you start weaning your baby. I know butternut squash isn't an 'Indian vegetable' but since we live in London I want to provide recipes that are accessible. Many baby recipe books use butternut squash as its naturally sweet and full of goodness, this is my Indian version. You could also use sweet potato.

You need:
1/2 butternut squash
1/4 spoon of cumin seeds

1. Peel, remove seeds and dice the butternut squash. Steam the squash in a double boiler. If you dont have a double boiler, then put the squash in a pan and add boiling water till the squash is covered and cook on high with the lid on. Squash doesnt take time to cook, so keep an eye on it.
2. Take a frying pan and put the gas up to med-high. Now add the cumin seeds and let them roast. Once the aromas come through turn the gas off.
3. Now add the squash and cumin seeds (and if you require some water) and put in a blender till smooth.
4. You can freeze leftover portions in ice trays and save for a later date.

Recipe 1: Tadka Spinach with Egg

I tried this easy recipe on Monday which can be given to babies 6 months onwards. Please make sure your child is not allergic to any of the ingredients below. The best part is that adults can have the same dish except in step 6, add a couple of chillis to the tadka.

Tadka Spinach with Egg

1 egg
Spinach leaves (fresh or frozen)
Cooking oil
1/2 onion
1 Tomato
1 garlic

Spices: Haldi powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds, hing


1. Use either frozen spinach, 6-8 cubes else half a bag of fresh spinach chopped up finely.
2. Chop half an onion finely and sautee the spinach and a tomato (skin removed) in a tbsn of olive oil.
3. Add a pinch of tumeric and 1/2 tspn of coriander powder. Put the lid on and continue to cook till the color deepens and the onions are fully cooked through.
4. In a seperate pan boil water and once bubbling and an egg. Cook for 8 mins
5. Once the spinach is cooked, either mash up or put in a food processor depending on the texture your child prefers.
6. Tadka: In another pan or in a tempering ladle, add 2 tbsn oil, one clove of pressed garlic, one tspn of cumin seeds. Cook on high heat till the garlic has turned color. Then right at the end, and a pinch of hing.
7. Put all this on the spinach and mix through quickly.
8. Peel the boiled egg, and slice into six pieces and put on top of the egg. Mash the egg with a fork for children who are in the early stages of weaning.
9. Ready to serve!

My little girl is very partial to egg, so she enjoyed this dish. However, if your child doesnt like egg, you can crumble some cheese or paneer on the spinach.

Teething bites!

So my little one has been battling with sore gums, fever, smelly nappies, drooling, a chronic runny nose and the worst one crankiness aka TEETHING. It's her canines that are surfacing and the last time she was like this was over a year ago. I had totally forgotten how the household turns upside down--her sleep pattern changed in the day, there was moodiness, and nights were broken due to dry throat and pain in her gums. Naturally her eating was affected as well. The only thing that comforted her was yoghurt and warm milk with a pinch of tumeric. Good thing was that she was having alot of water, juice and fruit but hardly a few mouthfuls of her meals.

But it looks like post weekend, she has turned a corner. Gobbled up a bowl of chicken curry with roti and potato with mustard seeds. Of course it was all submerged in yoghurt (just the way she likes it). And slowly but surely, she finished her bowl and I breathed a sigh of relief. My baby was getting better....

Parents--Any ideas there of what foods comfort your baby at this trying time?