Vegetable Masal

This is my first post under the baby, toddler and kids category! From the day I started weaning my son on solids, I was sure I should lead him to eat family meal around one year old. One of the ways I did that was I would give him mashed version of the same vegetables we were eating for that meal. When he started accepting textured food, I started making common meals and reduced chillies in our meal. Sometimes I would cook chilli-less version on another burner. When he would come toddling to our plate, he will find the same food and express a sense of relief and satisfaction. At one stage I just had to make the food common as if I gave him anything different, he would refuse. In this dish, I was making masal dosa (savoury crapes with mixed vegetable stuffing). I made a chilli-less version for him and will be using it in different ways. Here is the basic masal recipe. As far as kid’s recipes go, the quantity of ingredients is really upto you. Some kids like one vegetable more than another and some may not like some flavours. Unless it is baked recipe, especially like bun or muffin or cake, I would suggest that you take the quantities as directions and tweak as required for your kiddo...


¾ cup boiled potatoes

1 big carrot, grated

1 onion, finely chopped

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 sprig curry leaves

½ cup peas

1 teaspoon grated ginger

Asafoetida

Optional – ½ teaspoon cumin powder and ½ teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cooking oil

In a frying pan, add teaspoon oil and once hot, add the mustard seeds. Once it crackles, add curry leaves, turmeric powder, asafoetida, onions, ginger and peas (I use frozen peas).

Once cooked, add carrot. Remember carrots can be eaten raw so do not cook for too long as some nutrients could get destroyed. Cook for two minutes and add potatoes. Keep mashing and mixing and season with salt.

If you were adding cumin and coriander powder, do so when the peas are cooking. If your child is a very young toddler (just past the baby phase), make sure you do not add a lot of salt. For everyone at any age low salt is better.