Baby / Toddler Food - Khichdi

Two years back at this time when I introduced my son to vegetables, I was indeed fortunate that he took to them easily. Now that he has grown up a little bit and has experienced tastier food in life (read chocolates, chips and cheese), it can sometimes be a challenge to make the vegetables look good. However, he seems to like khichdi and eats it with (usually) no fuss. Is it the ghee, I wonder. No complaints there. Ghee is good, say the elders and don't hesitate to drizzle a generous amount on baby food. I have to admit ghee adds a great flavour to this dish, which otherwise can be pretty bland with just rice, dal and some veggies thrown in.  After my son was comfortable with spices in his food, I started adding some of them. I sometimes add roasted whole jeera, powdered ajwain etc.You may want to avoid the spices if your baby is too small. Also, If your baby is not able to bite properly, mash well before feeding.

Ingredients :
[This quantity usually lasts him for two meals.]

1/4 cup rice (uncooked)
2 tbsp moong dal
1/2 cup chopped carrots / beans / frozen (cooked) green peas, thawed or a combination of veggies of your choice
2 tsp ghee
Salt
1 pinch turmeric (optional)
1/4 tsp jeera powder (optional)
1 pinch chilli powder (optional)
[Adjust the spices according to your child's preference]

Method :
Combine all the ingredients and add 2 cups water. Cook in a pressure cooker for 3 to 4 whistles or until completely cooked.

Drizzle some more ghee on top if desired.

Carrot Bajjis (Fritters) / Carrot-a Bajo

I've had 'bajjis' of different vegetables, however, surprisingly, I've never had carrot fritters exclusively. I've had them as a part of a mixed vegetable fritter dish. Infact a few days back, I had them (once again, as a part of a mixed vegetable fritter dish) at a restaurant and made a mental note to batter-fry carrots for my son who loves both carrots and fritters.

Since I made these for my son, I used just one carrot and went very easy with the spices. Feel free to add more spices and increase the quantity of the fritters. My M-I-L adds ajwain which gives a nice taste to the fritters (and has several health benefits) so I added some.

Ingredients :
1 large carrot
2 tbsp besan
1 tbsp maida or cornflour
1 tsp rice flour
1 pinch ajwain
1 pinch jeera (cumin seeds)
1 pinch chilli powder
Salt to taste.

Method:

Wash, peel and chop carrot into 1/4th inch slices. (Mine turned out too thick, next time I will chop them thinner).
In a bowl add the rest of the ingredients. Add enough water and mix well to get a thick batter (I added about 2 tbsp water).
Dip carrot slices one by one and deep fry.

My son looked at the plate and smiled. 'Smiling bajo, smiling sauce', he said.