Baby Food - Carrot Apple Porridge - Introducing Solid Food

When's the right time to introduce solid food to your baby? The official guidelines say you should wait until your baby is six months. But normally many of us starts to feed them at their 5th month. Some of my readers requested to share baby food recipes and I thought this is the correct time to share those as I started weaning my boy . Here is what I am feeding my baby and I believe this will help other new moms.

I started feeding solid food to Srivathsan at the mid of his 5th month. Each baby is different and unique. My elder one is completely different from my younger one. No one knows their baby better than their mother, so feed him/her if you feel they get ready to take solid food. If you are not sure then better consult your doctor about starting solid food for your baby. But never start weaning before they complete 18 weeks.

Initially I started with store bought organic baby rice and moved to Banana porridge & Apricot porridge . He liked the different tastes. Then at the mid of his sixth month  I started making home made purees. Slowly he started having them. Now I am giving Apple Banana porridge / Carrot Apple Porridge / Carrot Banana Porridge. My boy showed much interest in mixed up purees so I started mixing apples & carrots and other fruits and pureed them. As I said each baby is different, so if you wish you can also also puree the apples / carrots / banana  separately . And  I am thinking to introduce some other different  tastes to my little one and will sure share with you all soon.

I never add any extra sweetener or salt to my baby food as per my mid wife suggestion. And this can be followed till they are 1 year old , but I understand this can’t be possible as we switch to rice&dal,idlis etc.. so try to follow at least for few months initially. Now lets see how to make the porridge .

Pavakkai Masala Varuval / Bittergourd Masala Fry

This is a super healthy and delicious side for those who loves bitter gourd. First time when I heard the name of this recipe  from my mom , it sounded different as I never used coconut masala in bittergourd fry. But really this pairs wonderfully with rice items like sambar/rasam/curd rice. As you all know this veggie is loaded with vitamins , minerals and anti oxidants and is so good for diabetes . We enjoyed this dish thoroughly . Try this Masala Bittergourd Fry and let me know how it turned out for you.

கொத்து பரோட்டா / Kothu Parotta

Hi Friends and Readers , hope you are all doing good. Now-a-days I’m busy with my little one , so finding very little time to update my blog. But I can’t leave my passion so hope to post more lovely dishes in the future. Thanks for your support.

And coming to the recipe Kothu Parotta is a very famous South Indian street food . It is widely available in small road side food shops . The Parotta Salna is a wonderful combination. I just loved the taste of the kothu parotta which my dad gets from nearby road side shops . And this recipe also tastes close and I’m sure if you try once , this will turn to be  your favourite dish too. It is made from eggs, spices & chicken salna and finally pounded with a metal skillet. I skipped the pounding part as I tore the parotta to tiny pieces and I am happy with the outcome. I used Chicken Kulambu / Curry here in this recipe. But I have a recipe for chicken salna too, If you want to try the typical salna check this link . Both the curries tastes awesome. Lets go to the recipe.

Traditional Poori Masala / Poori Masal / Poori Kizhangu

Restaurant menu  for breakfast starts with Idli ,Dosa ,Puri ,Vada , Pongal etc…. it goes like this…  If there is Poori then there should be Poori masala , this combination is fantastic. I do love my pooris with Kurmas as well as Coconut chutney . But hubby dear and  kid likes traditional side so I mostly go with this masal . You can also use this masala for making masala dosa or a stuffing for sandwich. Lets learn how to make traditional poori masala…

Amma’s Chicken Briyani / Kozhi Briyani

Briyani is a special treat on most of the special occasions. Dindigul Thalappakatti Briyani is very famous ,and I’m from that place , so obviously my favourite are Thalappakatti and  Venu Briyani . Besides these hotel taste I’m a big fan of my mom’s version . The Chicken and Mutton Briyani made by my mom is the perfect one to me. It tastes delicious and loaded with lots of flavours. This one-pot meal catches its place often in our sunday menu. Moreover this Briyani is made using the pressure pan and I swear this is so easier to prepare.  The key ingredient in this Briyani is the homemade Briyani powder (Refer the notes to prepare this powder). Please give it a try and let me know your views.

Chicken Fry / Kozhi Varuval

Today I am here to share a fantastic tasty chicken recipe  - Kozhi Varuval / Chicken fry . This dish is so easy to make and needs no marination. This is so flavourful and pairs up perfectly as a side with both rice & rotis . It can also be made as a gravy depending upon your taste. We liked it very much and  I am pretty sure you are also going to like it. So here comes the recipe and  do try this yummy fry and let me know your views…

Rava Kesari / Semolina Kesari

Rava Kesari is one of the popular Indian sweet which we make for most of the festivals . Not only for festivals I will make whenever I crave for something sweet and moreover I am a diehard fan of this semolina kesari . This is one of the easiest sweet preparation . Hubby got a pineapple last week so I tried this yummy kesari with pineapple and it was really a big hit  . I recommend  you to make this recipe with ripe pineapples that will add some more sweetness to the kesari . Be generous in adding ghee that will make the kesari melt in your mouth , the more the ghee added will make the kesari more tastier. Lets go to the recipe…

தக்காளி சட்னி / Tomato Chutney

Tomato Chutney is a very delicious combo for Idlis and Dosas . Chutney recipes are staple side dishes for breakfast in South India and this is my mum’s version which I like most . I have already posted Onion Tomato Chutney without coconut , click on the link to check it . In this tomato chutney , my mum used to add a little coconut and that really enhances the taste . This is so easy to make and tastes wonderful .  Hope you all love this simple chutney . Lets see how to prepare it….

Mutton Chukka varuval / Mutton Fry

Mutton Chukka is a famous item that attracts most of our (non-veg lovers) attention in hotels . My father used to buy mutton chukka whenever we buy briyani from outside . It will be pretty dry and tastes awesome . This is the way my mother makes chukka at home  . Mutton is not in our regular menu , we used to buy once in a month .The only thing that annoys me is the mutton I am getting here at Leeds is not as much good as we used to get in my home town .  But I can say that its not much bad as I used to it now . I love it more spicy so adjust as per your taste. Try it if you crave for something more spicy and enjoy this with your family . Don’t forget to let me know your views about this recipe . Lets go to the preparation….