Weaning food recipe – 6 to 18 months Indian baby – Khichadi

Weaning is an exciting and challenging phase for mom and baby. For most moms it’s a relief from exclusive breastfeeding. Whereas for babies its a phase where they can try and taste different solid and liquid food. So having a good weaning food recipe is extremely important.

As moms we have to experiment with different food to decide on what taste our baby likes and dislikes. We also have to consider the aspect that the food we give our baby should be high in nutrition level and easy to digest. Many babies don’t have teeth around 7 or 8 months, so we have to consider the fact that the food should be easy for our babies to swallow and light on their sensitive tummies.

Being first time mom, weaning was a difficult stage for me. I always had the feeling that the food I am giving my baby may not be high in nutrition, may be difficult to digest, may not be sufficient and what not. I had once shared my concern with my pediatrician and he gave me a very simple weaning food recipe which can be given to the babies almost 3 times a day. Plus it was easy to digest and high in nutrition level as well. This recipe commonly called as kichadi is made up of four food grains. Additionally, it can be stored in powdered form and cooked whenever required. It requires a cooking time of five to ten minutes so is an instant recipe (provided the powder is made and stores beforehand) So here is a weaning food recipe for Indian baby.

Weaning food Recipe – Khichadi

Part A: Khichadi Powder.

Total prep time: 24 hours.

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal – 1 cup
• Moong Dal – 1 cup
• Rice – 1 cup
• Wheat or Nachani – 1 cup

Recipe:

1. Take Rice, Wheat/Nachani, Moog Dal and Tur dal in Equal Quantity.
2. Wash and dry all the above ingredients. Drying the ingredients might take one to two days
3. Roast and Grind the dried mixture.
4. Store as mixed powder

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Part B: Kichadi (Weaning food Recipe)

Prep Time : 12 mins

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp of Khichadi powder
• salt as per taste

Recipe:

1. Take one tbsp. of Kichadi powder.
2. Add 3 to 4 times water and cook into kichadi.
3. Add salt for taste.

Insider Tip:

1. You can add grated tomatoes, boiled grated potatoes or other boiled and grated vegetables in the kichadi while cooking.
2. Boil different vegetables. Remove the vegetables from the boiled water. Use this boiled water to cook the Kichadi and the vegetables can be used to make items like pav bhaji.

Nutrition level:

Talking about the nutrition level.

1. Raggi (Nachani) – It has high protein content. It is a rich source of iron and calcium. Sprouted raggi is easy to digest. Due to high calcium content it helps make bones and teeth stronger. Sprouted and powder raggi is considered as a good weaning food for babies especially in southern part of India where raggi is found in abundance.
2. Wheat – It is high in carbohydrates. Which provides babies energy to perform physical activates. Again wheat is easy for the baby to digest. Wheat consumption reduces the chances of nausea, pain in small or large intestines. Moreover wheat has high amount of digestive fiber which is important to keep the digestive system clean and healthy.
3. Rice: Rice is a good addition to baby food. Since rice is easy to digest it is helpful for babies as their digestive system is still not well developed.
4. Toor dal – It is rich in proteins. It is a rich source of folic acid and is essential for fetal development. So it forms an important vitamin for women’s especially for those planning pregnancy. It is an excellent source of carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are broken down by our body into glucose and blood sugar. Blood sugar is then used by the body to  provide to brain and nervous system. Again toor dal is an excellent source of dietary fiber.
5. Moong dal – Moog dal provides a good source of vitamins, minerals and protein. Again it is easy for the baby to digest. It also protects and heals liver and is a good immune system stimulant.