These 6 Easy Khichdi Recipes Can Double Up As Yummy And Nutritious Baby Food

Wondering what to start your baby on as the first food? Try these khichdi recipes, which promise soft, easily digestible, nutritious, and yummy baby foods.

We all wait for the moment when our little babies start having their first food. Definitely we have to struggle a lot with the consistency, taste and sometimes the presentation too, so that the baby gets tempted to eat it.

Well, we have lots of varieties in baby food but there is one food which is accepted easily by all the babies in their weaning phase and that food is ‘Khichdi’. It’s a blend of dal and rice, which can be given to babies by 7th month. It’s such a super food which can also be mixed with many veggies and thus can be a dish full of nutrients. It’s not only yummy in taste but also easily digested.

I always love to do lot of experiments with khichdi as my 21 months old girl loves to have different taste with colourful ingredients. I usually make a few easy & quick recipes for her which are as follows-

Plain khichdi

Ingredients – 1/2 cup moong dal, 1/4 cup rice, a pinch of hing, 1/2 tsp cumin seed, a pinch of salt, pinch of turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp ghee, 1-2 cup water.

Method – Wash and soak dal & rice for half an hour. Heat ghee in pressure cooker and add hing and cumin seed. When it crackles add moong dal, rice and water. Now add turmeric powder, salt and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Add ghee while serving.

Masala khichdi

Ingredients – 1/4 tsp Ghee, 1/4 tsp cumin seed, 1 clove, 1 small cinnamon stick, 1 small bay leaf, pinch of salt and turmeric powder, 1-2 garlic , small onion, 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup moong dal, 2 cups water, coriander leaves.

Method – Wash and soak dal & rice for half an hour. Heat ghee in pressure cooker and add cumin seed, clove, cinnamon stick. When it crackles add onion and garlic. Now add moong dal, rice and water. Add turmeric powder, salt and coriander leaves & pressure cook for 4 whistles. Add ghee while serving.

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Tomato khichdi

Ingredients – 1/2 cup moong dal, 1/4 cup rice, a pinch of hing, 1/2 tsp cumin seed, a pinch of salt, pinch of turmeric powder, half cut tomato, half cut onion, 1/4 tsp ghee, 1-2 cup water, coriander leaves.

Method – Wash and soak dal & rice for half an hour. Heat ghee in pressure cooker and add hing and cumin seed. When it crackles add onion fry it a little and add tomatoes and fry till they get soft. Now add moong dal, rice and water. Now add turmeric powder, salt, coriander leaves and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Add ghee while serving.

Spinach khichdi

Ingredients – 1/2 cup moong dal, 1/4 cup rice, a pinch of hing, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of salt, pinch of turmeric powder, spinach leaves, half cut onion, 1/4 tsp ghee, 1-2 cup water.

Method – Wash and soak dal & rice for half an hour. Heat ghee in pressure cooker and add hing and cumin seed. When it crackles add onion fry it a little and add spinach and fry till they get soft. Now add moong dal, rice and water. Now add turmeric powder, salt and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Add ghee while serving.

Vegetable khichdi

Ingredients– 1/2 cup moong dal, 1/4 cup rice, a pinch of hing, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of salt, pinch of turmeric powder, small tomato, potato, carrot, peas, French beans, bottle gourd, half cut onion, 1/4 tsp ghee, 1-2 cup water, coriander leaves.

Method – Wash and soak dal & rice for half an hour. Heat ghee in pressure cooker and add hing and cumin seed. When it crackles add onion fry it a little and add all vegetables and fry till they get soft. Now add moong dal, rice and water. Now add turmeric powder, salt, coriander leaves and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Add ghee while serving.

Oats khichdi

Ingredients – 1/2 cup oats, a pinch of hing, 1/2 tsp cumin seed, a pinch of salt, pinch of turmeric powder, half cut tomato, half cut onion, 1/4 tsp ghee, 1-2 cup water, coriander leaves.

Method – Heat ghee in frying pan and add hing and cumin seed. When it crackles add onion fry it a little and add tomatoes and fry till they get soft. Now add water, turmeric powder and salt. When water starts boiling add oats and coriander leaves. Cook it for 2-3 minutes.

Some tips worth noting

1. Add tomato only if your child is not allergic to them, as tomatoes may cause rashes in some babies.
2. Adding salt and turmeric powder is optional.
3. You can take vegetable combination as per your child taste.
4. Adding hing not only enhances taste of khichdi but is also good for babies digestion.
5. You can also use arhar dal or masoor dal instead of moong dal if your child has started taking dal nicely.
6. Wash vegetables properly before adding to khichdi specially green leafy vegetables.
7. Masala khichdi should be given to 1 year or above babies.

Image source: By tigerpuppala_2 (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons, for representational purposes only.

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