Pepper Bonanza

I know my previous Brinjal recipe does not strictly qualify as toddler food but with my little one turning two she is now eating what we do so I dont really have to struggle with coming up with something innovative for her. So my blog is gonna be henceforth just a collection of some of my favorite recipes. 

My hubby came home one day with a disappointing health report - borderline high cholesterol and very low anti-oxidants - with an advice from the doc to increase fruits and veggies intake. The fruits we usually eat are apples, pears, bananas and oranges. While oranges are great , the previous three got a thumbs down for their antioxidant properties. Colored fruits and veggies was the rule to remember and what better than the ever so colouful peppers.

I googled and came up with this wonderfully delicious recipe - again great with chapptis or nan.

Pepper Bonanza or Paneer Jalfrezi

Age when introduced: 2 yrs

View original recipe here. The original recipe calls for frying the panner cubes lightly in a bit of ghee or oil before adding it but I like to use them as they are - softer that way.

Ingredients 

1 cup Paneer (cubed)

1 cup Bell pepper/ capsicum

2 nos Onions

2 nos Tomato (chopped)

1 tsp Ginger (crushed)

2 nos Garlic (crushed)

1 nos Green chili (slit open)

½ tsp Cumin seeds

¼ tsp Turmeric

¼ tsp Red chili powder

2 tsp Coriander /dhania powder

¼ tsp Black pepper powder

¼ tsp Chole masala

½ tsp Salt (or to taste)

2 tbsp Oil

3 stks Coriander leaves (for garnishing)

1 tsp Ghee (for paneer)

Method

Heat oil in a pan, splutter cumin seeds and saute onions and bell peppers with green chilies. When it starts to brown on the sides, add the crushed ginger and garlic and fry till they loose there raw smell. Now add the tomatoes along with turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder and chole masala. Cover for few seconds to cook up the tomatoes, then keep frying till the oil releases. When the masala turns brown and thick, add the paneer pieces along with salt. Saute well to coat the paneer with the masala(should take about 2 minutes over medium flame). Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chapatti or nan.

Peanutty Baingan Bhartha

Brinjal/Aubergine is one vegetable I never get right. Brinjals have a funny bitter taste that are difficult to get rid of in cooking. One view is to soak the cut pieces in salty water and drain well before cooking. Else, use a lot of oil to fry well. I have not used the first method successfully. And dont approve of the amount of oil used in the second method. The solution? Roast them! Roasted over an open flame or in the grill, brinjal flesh becomes deliciously soft and miraculously lose the bitterness. This is the only way I cook brinjals now and it is finger licking good - great with chappatis or nan.

View original recipe here. The only variation is the addition of peanut butter and I keep the spice level low keeping my 2yr old's taste in mind.

Peanutty Baingan Bhartha

Age when introduced: 2 yrs

Ingredients:

Baingan (Eggplant) – 3 medium (use the purple large ones rather than any other varieties)

White Onions – 2 large (chopped fine)

Tomatoes – 4 medium (chopped fine)

Garlic – 1 or 2 cloves 

Green chillies – 1 

Ginger – 1 cm x 1 cm piece grated

Jeera – 1 tsp

Curry powder – 1 tsp (Or use a combination of corriander powder and garam masala)

Choley masala – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric – ¼ tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Crunchy peanut butter - 2 tbsp (or u can use crushed roasted peanuts instead, but the p.b. adds a wonderful creaminess)

Salt to taste

Cilantro to garnish

Method:

Pierce the skin of the baingan several times with a fork. Rub some oil on them and roast it directly on the fire until the skin chars and the flesh is completely cooked. This works best when you have a gas stove. For those with smooth tops, like me, open the oven and grill it on high. Keep checking and turning when required. Once cooked, place it in a cold water bath and peel the skins off. It should come off easily. Now, just run your knife over the baingan randomly and cut it into small bits. Or use a masher.

Heat up the oil and add the jeera. Add the ginger and green chilly. Then add the onions and garlic. Once the onions are transluscent, add tomatoes. After the tomatoes are cooked, add the turmeric, curry and choley masala pwds. Add the chopped baingan and required salt. Let it cook together for another 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the peanut butter and mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot rotis or nan. Yummy!

Snakes and Ladders

Some ideas for snack times for the little ones

Cheese
Cubes or slices of cheese are great as finger foods. Hard cheeses like edam and cheddar are generally accepted.

Steamed Broccoli
Plain steamed broccoli florets are sweetish in taste. Steam lightly to retain the crunchiness.

Bread sticks (with cheese dip)

Bread sticks are great on their own or with cream cheese dips.

Pepper strips (with hummus)

Wonderful source of antioxidants and a great way to consume raw veggies. Red, yellow and orange peppers cut into thin strips on their own or with a plain hummus dip.

Dried fruits

Very handy while travelling and if your child is fussy about eating fruits. Raisins, sulatanas, apricots, figs - store up on them.

Nuts and seeds

Same as above. Nuts can pose choking hazard so be mindful while your child is eating them.

Cheesy Spinach Potato

Another potato favorite which is easy to whip up. Mind you, this can be so tasty that you have to prevent helping yourself to it!

Cheesy Spinach Potato
Age when introduced: 12 months

Ingredients
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 handful of spinach leaves, chopped
1 cheese slice (I use medium or mature cheddar. You can also use grated cheese instead.)
salt to taste (normally not required)

Method
Boil the potato and spinach together. When cooked mash, and add the cheese slice to it while still hot so that it melts. Add salt if necessary. Serve.

Strawberry Jam

In my excitement yesterday, I did what I told myself I wouldnt do - bought fruits from the local market. My experience so far has been, that vegetables from the market are fine, but fruits are always over-ripe and do not stay for more than 1-2 days. I bought 3 packs of strawberries, they were just 1 quid, u couldnt blame me! Today I saw they were beginning to go bad. Now, I like strawberries, but I am not such a fan as to polish off 3 packs at one sitting. I had to do something, the strawberries had to go into some wonderful recipe.
The first thought I had was Foodie Mama's strawberry ice cream. Simple, and DH would have been delighted. But, lil darling and I have been down with a bad cold and cough for more than a week. So ice cream was out of the question.
Googled for all kinds of recipes using strawberries and the only one which I had ingredients at home for and was in the mood to try out was strawberry jam. The recipe is mind-numbingly simple. Taking a cue from Foodie Mama again, I substituted sugar with honey, but midway panic struck when I felt the jam wasnt beginning to set as it should. So in went a few spoons of sugar.
I am not a jam aficionado so the end result according to me is 'quite good'. Am waiting to see what DH has to say. Till then, here's the recipe. You will find the measurements are all very vague, and actually I am not sure it will turn out the same way the next time. But hey, this is the first time I have made something like jam, you think I will resist blogging about it? :-)

Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
2 handful strawberries
honey or sugar to taste
juice of 1 lemon

Method
Remove the stalk and other green parts from the strawberries. Put in a bowl and mash. Transfer strawberries to a large saucepan. Add juice of lemon. Heat until it starts rapidly boiling. At this stage add the honey or sugar. I would suggest adding some sugar in any case, since I am not certain if it would set otherwise. Keep stirring while it is boiling until it reaches setting consistency (see note below). Turn off heat. Cool and transfer to sterilised bottle. Refrigerate.

(Note: To check if jam has reached setting point, place a plate in the freezer. After 10 mins of boiling, spread 1 tsp of jam on the plate and put it backin the freezer for a minute. Take it out and run ur finger thru the middle. The jam should stay and the sides should not flow back to merge. If not, keep boiling for some more time and repeat.)

Simple vegetable pulao

Pulao is not one of my favorite meals to cook because I have never been happy with the result, no matter how many various recipes I have tried. I was pleasantly surprised then, when this method, that I just put together as I went along, turned out very well. My daughter has been eating mainly wheat and potatoes the last few days and so I was happy when she polished this off in no time, and fell asleep right after! While the list of ingredients may seem long, I call it simple because it is a one-pot meal and was done in under 20 mins.

Simple vegetable pulao
Age when introduced: 13 months

Ingredients
1 cup Basmati rice, washed and drained
2 1/2 cups of water
2 baby carrots, chopped
1/4 small cauliflower, separate florets
1 tsbp green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 small green chilli, chopped fine
2 cloves
1 cardomom
1 small bay leaf
1 small piece of cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
juice of 1/3 lemon
salt to taste
oil or ghee for frying

Method
Heat 1 tsp oil or ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the whole spices (clove, cardomom, cinnamon, bay leaf). Add the washed and drained rice and saute on high heat till u hear a cracking sound from the rice, about 3-4 minutes. Remove and keep aside. Heat 1 tsp oil or ghee in the cooker again. Add cumin seeds, when they pop, add green chillies and onions and saute till onions begin to turn brown. Add the vegetables (carrot, peas, tomatoes, cauliflower). Since cauliflower cooks easily you can add that last. Add the turmeric and garam masala and mix well. Fry for 2-3 mins. Add hot water and bring to a boil. Add the rice, lemon juice and salt to taste. Cover and cook. Instead of putting the weight on the pressure cooker, I just placed an inverted cup, so that I could open and check whether it was done or more water was needed, etc. Cook until the rice is done. Serve with plain yoghurt and cucumber.

Stewed apples

Yeah, not the most original or complex recipe, but it's useful to note, nonetheless. Stewed apples were one of the first foods I started to wean my little one on. She loved it until we moved to London, when, like with many other foods, she developed a sudden aversion to it. I tried it again today, after months, and was surprised to watch her eat it all. She still cant eat raw apples so this is going to be my preferred way of feeding her the fruit. Hope her interest continues.

Stewed apples
Age when introduced: 6 months

Ingredients
1 sweet apple
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of powdered nutmeg or cinnamon

Method
Peel and chop apples into bite size pieces. Put it in a small vessel (something that will fit inside a pressure cooker). Sprinkle the sugar and nutmeg or cinnamon on it and mix. Place this vessel in a pressure cook and put some water in the pressure cooker. The idea is to steam the apple and not boil it. Close the lid, and cook without the weight until a steady steam comes out. Apple cooks quick so keep checking from this stage onwards, to prevent it from getting too mushy. It should be just soft cooked. Let it cool and serve.