5 Healthy And Yummy Solid Food Recipes For Your Infant

Babies are solely dependent on their Mother's milk and/or Formula during their initial months. In India, solid foods are introduced to babies anytime in between 4-6 months, depending on various factors. Transitioning an infant from liquid to solid food is very tricky and has to be done with utmost care and patience.

Few babies will take solid food with much enthusiasm as they will like the new taste, but few babies may not take this transition well. Completely healthy and tasty food can help the infant take a liking to try out solid food and make this process easy for the baby as well as the parent. We have listed a few recipes here to help all the parents looking for such recipes.

1. Veg-Rice Puree

* Boil a few pieces of vegetables like potatoes, peas, and carrots. Keep aside.

* Wash a small bowl of rice a few times, and soak for around 30 minutes. Boil it in Pressure Cooker for 4-5 whistles.

* Now grind both of these using a mixer-grinder. If you wish to, please add a small sprinkle of salt and pepper.

* Also add ghee to this puree. This is a very easy recipe and also this can be used as the first solid meal for an infant.

2. Ragi Porridge

* Sprout Ragi millets along with any other millets that you would like to add such as Jowar and Bajra for a few days. Dry them well.

* Grind this to a fine powder. Cardamom powder and Roasted Channa Daal(Pottukadalai) powder can be added to this too.

* Store this powder in an airtight container. It can also be refrigerated.

* To prepare the porridge, put a few spoons of this powder and mix a few spoons of water or milk to make a lump-free paste. Then add some more water/milk and boil it for a few minutes. 

* Keep stirring gently and keep an eye out, as this may burn quickly if unsupervised or unstirred for even a few minutes.

* You may make the consistency as per your wish. To make it more watery, just add more water or milk. Once the desired consistency is reached, you can remove the vessel from the stove.

* Add some organic palm sugar and a dollop of ghee. This is a super-nutritious meal for infants and even adults to consume because it is power-packed with protein and nutrients.

3. Ragi-Banana Pancakes

* Follow the same steps given in the previous recipe for making Ragi millet powder.

* Mash one Banana and add the Ragi powder to it and blend well. The paste must not be too thick. If too thick, then boiled and cooled milk can be added in a limited quantity. The paste must not be made too watery also, as the pancakes will not come out well.

* Add a dollop of butter to a Dosa/Roti Tawa and once it is hot, add a ladle full of the pancake batter to it.

* After one side is cooked well, flip the pancake and cook the other side as well

Tips

* A well-ripened banana can be used for this recipe, as it is easier to mash.

* Since banana is already sweet in taste, no extra sugar has to be used in this recipe.

* Egg can also be added to this recipe if needed. If Egg is added then adjust the Banana and Ragi powder accordingly to get a thick pancake batter.

4. Potato, Peas, and Paneer Balls

* Boil one Potato and some Peas in the cooker.

* Mash them well together with very little salt and pepper.

* Grate some fresh Paneer and add to the Potato Peas mix.

* Roll this into small bite-sized balls. A very simple, yet delicious and nutritious meal.

Tips

* If desired, these balls can also be shallow fried or baked and given to infants.

5. Besan Chilla

* Take some Besan flour, and add some grated Carrot and Paneer to it.

* Add water to make a fine paste. If needed, add very little salt and pepper.

* Same as Ragi pancakes, fry this batter on a buttered Dosa/Roti Tawa till both sides are cooked well.

Tips

* If desired, grated cheese can also be added to the Besan batter. If cheese is added, then salt can be skipped altogether as cheese has a salty taste by itself.

General Tips

* All completely solid foods like Pancakes, chillas, and Potato balls, should be given in very small bite-sized portions to infants, and only under parental supervision. Kids are known to choke on food, so never give big portions to them, and don't leave them unsupervised while eating.

* Sugar and Salt addition to the food of infants must always be consulted with their Paediatrician. Do not give without consultation. If the Doctor does not approve of it, please do not give them to your child. Each child is different, hence only their Doctor will know what they should consume or not consume.

 * Instead of sugar, mashed banana or boiled and mashed apple or pear can be added to any recipe as a substitute as they are naturally sweet.

* Instead of giving refined white sugar, infants and toddlers can be given Organic Palm Sugar or powdered Jaggery. This is a better option even for adults.

* Do not use Honey to sweeten any foods for infants, as it is not advised.

* Always check for any allergic reactions for the first time a solid food is given to an infant, as few kids may be allergic to certain foods. Please note what all ingredients were used, so that it will be helpful for the Doctor to find out which food may have caused an allergy.