This is a new recipe in the baby food series and its called Oats & dates kheer!
I hope my friends liked the first recipe in the series Wholesome veg soup.
Todays recipe is a delicious kheer and believe me, the dish is as good as it sounds. Of course it also fulfills our main criteria of feeding our toddlers with wholesome nutrition!
I've used packaged oats for this recipe and the dates used are common seedless red dates.
Dates are available in red and black colour in the market and it is believed that black dates tend to be more nutritious than red ones but I use either of the variety thats available.
A couple of facts about oats-
1) Oats boast of a healthy nutritional profile. They are actually a whole grain cereal so they are a good source of proteins.
2) Oats are a good source of dietary fibers so it aids in digestion.
3) Oats are known to lower the cholesterol and are helpful for people with diabetes. (Though it wouldn't matter for children as much!)
Some interesting things about dates-
1) Dates are the fruits of palm tree and are packed with minerals and vitamins.
2) Dates are an excellent source of iron .
3) Dates also contain potassium and calcium. Also they are a good source of energy because they contain 80% of natural sugar.
Also when you are giving any food to your baby for the first time, do make sure to feed very little quantity - a spoon or two - in the first go. If your baby likes and digests this well.. increase the quantity next time.
I've given this kheer to Aarya as breakfast, as evening snacks. I've also given it to him with roti for lunch or dinner. He loves it just about any time!
I hope this comes in handy for you someday..
So.. the second recipe in the baby food series is -
Oats & dates kheer (Porridge)
 | Ingredients Oats - 4 T-spoons Dates - 3 nos - soaked in water overnight Milk - 1 cup Desi ghee - 2 t-spoons Sugar - 1 T-spoon Saffron- for garnishing |
- Dry roast the oats in a pan but be careful to stir it because it gets burnt very quickly.
- Cool the roasted oats by spreading them evenly on a plate. Once cooled, they will become a bit crispy. Ground them in mixer. We want a bit of grainy texture so do not make it very fine.
- Grate the soaked dates very finely. Do not throw the water in which the dates were soaked. We'll use it later to cook the oats. If your baby can not chew still then you might want to run the dated through mixer and get a soft puree.
- Put ghee in a pan and heat it up.
- Lower the flame and put the oats powder in the pan while stirring continuously.
- Put in sugar and the dates water. Mix it properly and let it boil.
- After a minute or so or when the oats have soaked the water completely, put in milk and grated dates.
- Stir it for a minute or two and thats it!
- Garnish it with some saffron strands and watch your baby enjoying the fruits of your Labour!!!
This is a good recipe to give your baby a filling food thats great for his health and tongue alike!
once your baby adapts to external foods, try this recipe with fresh grated fruits like banana, Apple, pear or other dry fruits like almonds or apricots to create a new flavour each time!
Bon appetit to your little one!
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