Monday 19 September 2011

Ajwain Rice Cereal | Baby Food

Pranav's Annaprasanah ( function to introduce semi-solids to LO) was held on 4th September 2011. My mom prepared the traditional pal payasam and my LO loved it. :)

After his annaprasanah, we started to slowly introduce him to semi-solids. The docs advised to introduce semi-solids only after he completed 6 months. But I started about a 10 days earlier. I decided to only give him homemade food instead of the commercially available food like cerelac, farex or nestum. Preparing food for him is a enjoyable task on its own :) And feeding him is even more fun :D



I have read in articles on the net and in some books that till the age of 1 year, no salt or sugar need to be added to the baby's food. So I have not used salt. If you wish, you may add just a pinch of salt.

Also, when first introducing the food, it is advisable to start with rice. Wheat is not recommended as it may cause some allergies. Always mix the food with either breastmilk or formula. Once the baby is comfortable with this food, you may progress to the recipe given below. For my LO, I directly used the ajwain-rice cereal and did not mix with formula or breastmilk. My LO accepted the food without any fuss and enjoyed having it. :)

Always remember to continue giving the same food for atleast 2-3 days. See if he is comfortable. If he is not accepting the food, withdraw the food and try re-introducing after a few days. Also try giving the food at the same time on all days so that the LO gets used to the food. When introducing veggies, fruits, continue giving them for 3-4 days. If you find LO being allergic to some food, withdraw it.

In the following recipe, I'm first giving the method to prepare the rice rava and ajwain powder. You can store these powders in air tight containers and use as required.


Ingredients


  • Rice - 1 cup ( I used sona masuri)

  • Ajwain / Omam / Vaamu - 1/4 cup

  • Ghee - 1/2-1 tsp
Procedure
1. Roast the rice on a hot pan on a low setting till nice aroma spreads and the rice turns pink.
2. Cool and pulse the rice to get fine rava. Sieve and store in air tight container.
3. Roast the ajwain in a pan on a low setting for few minutes.
4. When done, cool and grind to fine powder. Store in a air tight container.

To prepare the food -
1. In a small wok/pan/vessel, add a little water (pre-boiled and cooled).
2. Add a tsp of the rice rava and 2 pinches of ajwain.
3. Cook well on a low setting till done and is soft. If the previously added water seems to be less, add a little more. The amount of cooked rava should become double or triple of the uncooked amount.
4. Add ghee. Mix well and your rice cereal is ready.

Give only about a small tsp amount of the prepared food once in a day to the LO in the initial days. Slowly increase the amount of the food. I've been told that the LO can be given the second feed of semi-solids when he is about 8 months old.

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3 comments:

Kalyan said...

looks so healthy and easy to prepare recipe!

Maria said...

Nice recipe buddy ..... thanks for sharing I will bookmark as will require it in some years ;)also nice to see my blog on your site thanks a ton

Pavitra Venkat said...


@Kalyan: thank you :)

@Maria: Thanks maria...
sure :) keep watching the space for more baby recipes :) am glad it would be helpful in future :D

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