Sprouted Ragi Porridge

Ragi (or nachni) is an excellent source of nutrition and I recommend all mothers to try it out in their recipes. Here is one method of preparation of ragi porridge which can be fed to babies right from 6 months -

Soak the ragi overnight and in the morning, drain the water and put it in a closed vessel. The ragi would have sprouted by next morning. Put the ragi in a mixer and grind it with a little water till it becomes a thick paste. Put this paste through a coffee filter or a muslin cloth. Leave this liquid for a while and the ragi 'paste' will settle down.

Take some spoonfuls of the 'paste', add water/milk/ vegetable broth and sugar/salt and cook on low heat with constant stirring till a thick porridge consistency is reached. Add some ghee if required.

As the baby grows, you can add other pulses like green gram, wheat, channa, etc along with the ragi and follow the same method. You can also soak badam, cashew and dates and grind along with the ragi.

Sprouting makes the porridge easily digestible and improves the nutritional content.

Though the process looks elaborate, it is only about 10 minutes of effort to grind and filter the paste. You can refrigerate and use it later.

Weaning foods

One of my friends told me about this wonderful weaning food that her sister used to make. Of course, by the time I had my kids, I did not remember the original recipe but I did remember the gist of it, and made this for both my kids. My kids' paediatrician found it a very healthful recipe and has been recommending it to her other weaning mums. This is supposed to be a traditional Karnataka recipe.

Ingredients: 1 cup each
Plain rice
Wheat flour
Ragi
Moong Dal
Almonds

Dry roast each of the ingredients and keep aside to cool.
Grind it all into a fine powder and mix to ensure all the ingredients have blended well together.
You can store it in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

When making it for the baby, simply boil with plain water, soup/ veg stock or milk until it becomes a porridgey looking dish. You can serve this plain or add mashed vegetables and a dash of ghee.