Yesterday, we carried this excerpt from Neelanjana Singh's Our Kid Eats Everything!
Today we bring you yet another excerpt, this one has three recipes that'll cheer up your tiny tots!
Spinachips
Spinach leaves prepared this way are so crunchy and tasty that kids love them.
They could add the crispy leaves to any dish or eat them as a snack. The same recipe can be followed for kale leaves to make a nutritious snack.
Makes 25 pieces
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Ingredients
- 20–25 spinach/kale leaves
- (small-sized)
- 1 tsp olive oil/sesame oil
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
Method
- Wash and dry spinach/kale leaves by wiping them with a cloth. If the leaves are not dried well, the chips will turn out soggy.
- Preheat oven at 175 degrees C for 10 minutes.
- Brush the leaves with a thin layer of oil and place on a baking tray.
- Bake for 7–10 minutes, turning the leaves over (halfway through the baking) so that they are evenly done.
- Sprinkle salt and a spice of your choice, which could be black pepper, curry powder or chaat masala and sesame seeds.
Tip: If the kale leaves are large, the main rib should be removed and the leaves torn into 1–11/2 inch pieces.
Jaggery Nut Chocolate
This homemade chocolate is healthy.
Children enjoy the goodness of jaggery and also stay off the not-so-healthy sweeteners added to commercially prepared products.
Makes 12 pieces
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins
- 1 bar dark chocolate compound
- 1/2 cup jaggery, crumbled
- 1/4 cup almonds or any other nut, chopped coarsely
- A pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Method
- Grate the chocolate compound coarsely.
- Put the grated chocolate in a microwave-safe glass container and heat for 30 seconds at full power.
- If you find that the chocolate has not quite melted, you could heat for an additional 10 seconds.
- Melt the crumbled jaggery on the stove on low heat. It takes about 1 minute to melt completely.
- Add the melted jaggery to the slightly melted chocolate compound.
- Add chopped nuts and stir well. Add nutmeg for a hint of spice, if you like.
- Spoon this mixture into silicone moulds.
- The batter should not overflow the moulds.
- Place the moulds in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to set the chocolate. Remove from moulds and serve.
Tip: This recipe is so simple that your kids would love to make it too(under supervision)!
Noobro Soup
Noodles and broccoli combine to make a dish you never thought your kids would love!
Makes 4 cups
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
- 1 cup chopped broccoli (head along with peeled soft stems)
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tsp butter/olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup boiled noodles (any wholegrain noodles)
Method
- Heat 1 tsp of butter/olive oil in a pan. Add the chopped broccoli and cook for 7-8 minutes till the broccoli is slightly soft.
- Add the milk to the cooked broccoli and cook for a few minutes again.
- In a separate pan, heat 1 tsp butter and add the finely chopped onions.
- Cook till slightly brown and add to the broccoli–milk mixture.
- Grind this mixture in a blender for two minutes till it is of a soupy consistency.
- Top with boiled noodles, add salt and pepper, and serve hot.
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Excerpted from Our Kid Eats Everything by Neelanjana Singh, Rs 350, with the permission of the publishers, Hatchette India.
Photograph (used here for representational purposes only): ShutterFerret/Creative Commons