Has it ever happened to you that you are so late to work that you could not whisk up something to eat? Morning hours are always action packed at my place.
Every minute is important. However, some ready mixes make life easier. Instant Breakfast Mix is one such solution.

Once you make this mix ready it can be stored in an air-tight container for upto a month. Whenever you need to eat it just moisten it with some warm water, stir in a spoonful of ghee and mix well. Thats the maximum you need to do for a delicious breakfast. No need to even turn on the stove! Just warm 1/2 a cup of water for 20 s in a microwave. If you dont have a microwave use water from your geyser ( Ohh! JUST Kidding!! )

Different ways in which this can be eaten :

1. Simplest is as a Namkeen (Savoury mixture) with tea
2. You can add finely chopped cucumber, onion, tomato, coriander leaves and eat it like Bhel.
3. It can be moistened and eaten as a regular breakfast

Advantages of this mix :

1. Time saver – When you cant prepare breakfast in the morning rush hour
2. Any place meal – Useful while traveling with a baby and you dont want to give him outside food

In fact, thats how I came up with this recipe. I am going for a week long holiday and I dont want to give my one year old girl any train food. I am going to prepare this mix, moisten it with regular water and feed her at least one meal with this mix. You dont really have to use warm water, even normal room temperature water will work. Just that we all like to have food thats a little warm hence the recommendation.
Mixing of ghee before eating is important because while roasting we have not added any oil. That makes the masalas settle at the bottom of the poha, not mixing well into the dish. Once you add ghee the masalas will coat the poha evenly, making it tasty.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup beaten rice (poha – thin flakes)
• 2 teaspoons ground chutney dal powder
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon Channa dal
• 1/4 teaspoon white Urad dal
• Few curry leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon Red chillie powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry Tamarind powder
• Pinch of turmeric powder
• Pinch of hing

Procedure :

1. Heat the kadai. Add the mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal and allow them to splutter (although there is no oil the hot kadai will crack them)
2. Add curry leaves, ground chutney dal powder and roast well.
3. Now Add poha and continue to stir till the Poha is crispy.
4. Add hing, turmeric powder, red chillie powder, dry tamarind powder and salt. Mix well.
5. Dont cook much more as the masalas will settle at the bottom of the poha and get burnt.

Variation :

If you want to improve the taste (and reduce the shelf life!) this is what you can do. To the mustard seeds and curry leaves add some roasted and ground groundnut powder. Instead of tamarind powder use Amchur / Dry Mango powder. Follow the remaining procedure in the same way. This mix will be tastier but will last for about a week.

To Store :
Store this mixture in an air tight container. Use a dry spoon while taking it out.

To Eat :
No need to turn on the stove.
Just dampen the poha mix will some warm water and add a spoonful of ghee. Mix well. Be careful not to pour water in as poha might become soggy.

Now that the baby is more than a year old everything we make for ourselves can be given to him with the exception of things that are too spicy or oily.

Paneer is a rich, yet easily digestible milk product that you can try out for your baby.

Ingredients :

• 2 teaspoons of ghee
• Pinch of hing
• Pinch of haldi powder
• 1/2 teaspoon jeera powder
• 1 teaspoon dhania powder
• 6 paneer fingers
• Juice of lime

Procedure :

1. Heat ghee. Add hing, haldi powder, jeera powder, dhania powder and stir for a few seconds.
2. Add paneer fingers and stir well till the ghee coats the paneer.
3. Add a pinch of salt, few drops of lime juice and mix well.

Please NOTE :
You can use a sandwich griller to cook the paneer fingers so that it needs lesser ghee to cook.

This is a tasty snack that you can make even for adults. In fact, people on a diet should definitely try this out.

Ingredients :

• 3 cups of wheat flour
• 1/2 cup par-boiled vegetables (finely chopped beans, carrot, peas)
• Few pieces of paneer (scrambled)

Procedure :

1. Make a dough of wheat flour like you make for roti.
2. Mix the par-boiled vegetables with paneer. Add salt and jeera powder.
3. Roll out dough like a roti and fill it with veggies and paneer mix.
4. Fold the roti in and seal it by applying water. Trim away excess dough.
5. Boil stuffed patties in water for 10-15 mins.
6. Gently mash with hand while feeding the baby.

Variation :
You can even stuff vegetable dalia inside the pattie.

I just love to have Gulgule when its being freshly prepared. This is not a dish that tastes good even one hour later, so be ready!
Well, we cant give it hot to the baby so let it cool off slightly but please don’t go for a re-heat.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup wheat flour
• less than 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 banana (Big one)
• Elaichi powder
• Jaggery (upto taste)
• Roasted Kaju, Badam powder

Procedure :

1. Make a paste of flour with milk.
2. Mix in jaggery, mashed banana, dry fruits powder and elaichi powder.
3. Fry this batter in hot oil into tiny dumplings.

Please NOTE :

1. Do not fry more than 5-6 at a time. Let oil heat up again before you fry the next set.
2. If batter consistency is unmanageable add more flour.
3. We use less than 1/2 cup flour because we are adding mashed banana. If you don’t add banana, increase the quantity of milk by a few teaspoons.

This is the age when kids become very smart and start examining everything that they eat. A paste is made to cook vegetables so that kids cant fish out things like onions, tomatoes, dhania leaves and other things that they dont like.

Ingredients :

• 2 Tomatoes
• 1 Onion
• 1/2 teaspoon of Jeera seeds
• 1 teaspoon dhania powder
• 1/4 teaspoon haldi powder
• Few springs of mint leaves
• 1 cup of chopped vegetables (carrot, beans, peas, cabbage)
• Lime juice

Procedure :

1. Make a paste of tomatoes, onion and pudina leaves.
2. Heat oil. Add jeera and mixed vegetables. Saute well.
3. Add tomato, onion, pudina paste and fry well. Now add dhania powder, haldi powder, salt and cook till vegetables are done.
4. Add some lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Back in my dieting days I used to eat Vegetable Dalia everyday for dinner. Well, dalia or broken wheat is an extremely nutritious cereal. Its high is fiber and helps relieve you from constipation and other stomach disorders.

This can be given to the baby about once a week to ensure a happy stomach.  Adults can have this everyday for lunch/dinner in order to shed some excess weight. Read here for more details on that.

Ingredients :

• 1 tablespoon Oil
• 3 tablespoons dalia (broken wheat)
• 1/2 teaspoon jeera
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tomato
• Pinch of hing
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables: carrot, beans, peas

Procedure :

1. Heat oil. Add jeera, hing and fry onions for a few minutes.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, dalia and continue to fry.
3. Now add vegetables carrot, beans, peas and saute for a few more minutes.
4. Add salt, water and pressure cook in the same manner as rice.
5. Before serving you can add some lime juice and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Please NOTE :

Use sprouted broken wheat to make this dish even more nutritious.