Baby food recipes containing Dalia (Broken Wheat) as the main ingredient

Dalia (broken wheat) porridge Recipe for babies / Dalia recipe for Babies

Dalia is a part of the whole wheat grain. Therefore, it is a good choice to add to the baby food chart. Sweet Dalia increases appetite because of its delicious taste. Dalia is not processed after refining therefore a nutritious choice for the baby health.

It is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B3, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium. Dalia is a powerhouse of energy and is filled with fibre. This baby food recipe is one full meal to serve in breakfast/lunch with the fullness of the little stomach for another 3 hours.

Recipe Time: 25 mins

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Powered Dalia (broken wheat) – 2 tbsp.
• Mishri sugar/Jaggery – to taste
• Almonds (powdered) – a pinch
• Black/Green Cardamom (powdered) – a pinch
• Milk – 120 ml
• Water – 120 ml

Note: Milk and water to be taken in equal proportion.

How to Make

• Dry roast the Dalia until fragrant and is slightly brown (rust) colour. It takes around 7 to 8 mins for roasting being a broken whole wheat grain.
• Crush the roasted Dalia in a grinder.
• Soak the powdered Dalia in warm water (120 ml) for around 15mins before starting with the recipe. This step can be skipped, but as per personal experience, porridge prepared from it is soft and fluffy.
• Take the soaked Dalia along with water in a cooking pan and add the milk.
• Stir continuously to avoid lumps of Dalia. add misri sugar, almonds and cardamom.
• Medium the flame on the first boil and continue stirring for 5 mins till the porridge is getting thick.
• Add the misri sugar, almonds and cardamom to the recipe and stir for a while.
• When the porridge starts leaving the walls of the pan, close the gas stove.
• The hot and sweet Dalia porridge is ready to serve to the baby.

Consistency of baby food

The first and primary question that arise in all mothers mind, as the baby is about to introduce to the world of solids, is “what should be the consistency of food to feed to the baby?”  The obvious reply to this question from different sources is food should have flowing consistency. To be more precise consistency of baby food to keep when feeding depends on below mentioned factors:

• Age of the baby
• 9 to 12 months: Flowing consistency (liquid enough)
• 12 months and above : Soft and thick consistency (not flowing)

Consistency should be easy to swallow, and this will increase the liking of the baby towards the food.

Useful Tips

• Do taste the recipe so prepared before feeding it to the baby.
• Avoid cow milk if your baby is under a year old.
• Cardamom helps in easy digestion and reduces constipation in babies. Cardamom goes hand in hand with Dalia. Further, it enhances the taste, and its fragrance makes the baby food recipe mouth-watering.
• Store the roasted powered Dalia, roasted almonds and powdered cardamom in an airtight container for longer use and instant use.
• Avoid adding the almonds during the summer season because of the excessive heat capacity (taasir) of it in the body.
• In winters, dry roast and crush almonds (10), cashew nuts (2), walnuts (1/2), pistachios (2) altogether and keep the mixture in an airtight container. Avoid adding the mixture to the recipe during the summer season.
• Try to serve warm porridge; otherwise, it will get thick. If serving with more interval, do make the porridge warm before serving.
• Alter the proportion of the ingredients gradually.
• Always check with your paediatrician before giving any new food to the baby.