Vegetable & Coconut Korma for Baby

I starting making this curry for Cooper when he was about 10 month's old. The coconut and milk help to make this a mild curry, with the flavour of spices, but not the heat.

I think it is a really good idea to introduce herbs and spices into baby food really early. If a baby is only given bland food, then you could have difficulty in introducing new tastes and more flavour later on. Just be careful to make the spices you add quite mild. You have to remember a baby's palate is really sharp and new flavours are powerful on a baby's tongue, unlike our palates that have become jaded as the years go by.

This is a great curry for everyone to enjoy. You can spice it up a bit for older children and adults. You might prefer to serve it with rice. I like making it with couscous because it freezes well and there are not safety issues with reheating couscous, like there is with rice.

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Vegetable and Coconut Korma for Baby

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum

February 24, 2012

I started making this korma for Cooper when he was about 10 months old. I serve it with couscous instead of rice,which he prefers.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 large field mushroom, chopped
• 4 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried coriander or a small handful of fresh corainder, finely chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 medium potato, very finely diced
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1⁄3 cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup couscous
• 1 cup milk or soy milk

Instructions

1. Saute the onion and carrots until soft, then add the mushroom and cook for another couple of minutes.2. Add the tomato puree and herbs and stir.
3.
Add the potato, chickpeas, coconut and water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the vegetales are tender. Check to see if it needs a little more water as it is simmering.4. Add the couscous and milk and leave to simmer for another 10 minutes until the couscous has fluffed up.

Details

Total time: 50 mins Yield: 5 portions for a 10-12 month old baby

Sweetcorn Bites

Cooper loves sweetcorn. He has done since he was weaned. We hadn't tried him on corn on the cob because we didn't think he would manage to eat it, that is until we were sent some Sweetcorn Bites to try.

Sweetcorn Bites come in a sealed bag, you can pop in your fridge and the bites are just right for little hands. The Bites are 100% natural and grown with love on the UK’s Barfoots of Botleys’ farms. Each bag contains eight bite size pieces, which can be microwaved in the bag for added convenience, cooked on the stove or even eaten raw.

Cooper now loves corn on the cob. If he is having a light meal of dippy egg and toast soldiers, I now give him a couple of these cobs to eat while he is waiting and of course I have a couple too, just to make sure they are good you understand.

Sweetcorn Bites are available to buy in Tesco and Waitrose stores nationwide, along with online retailer, Ocado.

Disclosure Statement: I received Sweetcorn Bites free from the company to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Lentils with Onion & Watercress

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I made this lentil dish for Cooper way back in June last year. Unfortunately, he was going through a suspicious phase, so he wasn't much interested, but I really enjoyed it. Graham and I have had it a couple of times since with extra spice added. It really is a great family dish and so healthy. I am planning to cook it for Cooper again soon, I think he would be more willing to try it now.

If you are weaning your baby, you could try the lentils with some spinach whizzed in. Make sure it is nice and smooth. Don't add salt and go easy on the black pepper as it can be quite harsh, but you could add a little grated nutmeg. I liked to add a little spice to Cooper's dishes when he was a baby, so he would get used to the flavours.

If you are making this for a toddler, you could add a little spice, just a pinch of each, but leave out the chilli powder.

If you are cooking this for adults, add the optional spices I have suggested.

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Lentils with Onions & Watercress

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum with kind permission.



Originally published in River Cottage Baby & Toddler Cookbook by Nikki Duffy.
Originally posted on Tinned Tomatoes

February 9, 2012

A dal that is just gorgeous layered up. Rice, the dal, then watercress or baby spinach, finished off with a layer of carmelised onions. Make the dal mild for babies and toddlers, but add some spices for adults.

Ingredients

• 100g/ ½ cup red lentils
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 200 - 250g watercress or baby spinach
• 2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• a good grinding of freshly ground back pepper
• ½ tsp ground turmeric (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
• a pinch of chilli powder (optional)

Instructions

1. Put the lentils and chopped garlic in a saucepan with 400ml/2 cups water. Bring to the boil, turn down to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring often, for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is thick and the lentils are starting to break down, adding a little more water if necessary. If you are adding spices, add them at the start of the cooking process.2. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil, drop in the watercress and cook for a minute or so, just until it's completely wilted. Drain and leave to cool in a colander. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze out all the water, then chop fairly finely. (I like to put the watercress or spinach in a colander and a kettleful of boiling water over them. Which wilts the leaves perfectly)3. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion fry for about 10 minutes, stirring often and keeping the heat at medium. The idea is to get the onion to start to caramelise and brown just a little.4. Combine the cooked lentils with the chopped watercress and cooked onion. Season and serve hot with rice or naan bread.

Details

Total time: 35 mins Yield: 3-4 adults servings or 4-6 toddler servings