Godhumai Paal Kanji | Wheat Milk Porridge for babies

Though there are many varieties of ready-made baby foods available in the market, none can compete the satisfaction factor rendered by home-made ones. One such fresh and healthy porridge is Godumai paal kanji..

Wheat Milk porridge is a wise choice in introducing wheat to your baby. Try this light-version first before trying whole wheat foods. Always start with small portions and check if it suits your baby. Watch for wheat allergies in babies and immediately report to doctor, if you see any.

Do introduce Finger Millet(Ragi) Milk Porridge before introducing this.

Preparation

Method – 1

1.Wash wheat kernels twice or thrice in water and soak it overnight.2.In the morning, it bulges and becomes soft. Just drain the water and add the soaked kernels to a mixie jar.3.Grind to a smooth paste. Add half cup of water and grind again.4.Filter the ground stuff to squeeze out the wheat milk(Pls see Notes section).5.Pour extracted wheat milk in a pan and cook simmer.6.Keep stirring continuously. Once cooked and starts to shine, add lil ghee and switch off the flame.

Method – 2

1.Take 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour, mix with water & form like a chapathi dough. No need to knead like chapathi dough. It can be sticky. Just make the flour wet and bring together to form a mass like chapathi dough. Soak it in 1/2 cup water. Let it soak overnight.

2.In the morning, mix the dough well with your hand so that the milk comes out of it & mixes with water.

3.Filter through a sieve. Press with spoon or fingers to extract all the milk from the dough and then discard the dough.

4.Heat the extracted milk in low flame stirring continuously. Once it thickens and looks shiny(takes 5 to 7 mins), add lil ghee, mix well and switch off. Transfer to feeding bowl.

This porridge thickens quickly. So, feed immediately.

Tips/Tricks

• Though Punjabi wheat can be used, I recommend Sambha wheat as it is more nutritious.
• Do not add sweet or salt in food for baby below 1 year.
• I use sieve(Milk/Tea filter) to filter wheat milk when I prepared for my baby. For this shoot, I used a muslin cloth as I have packed my sieves for US trip. After the shoot, I realized that wheat milk should not be squeezed using cotton cloth as it sticks heavily and doesn’t leave the fabric even after rigorous washes! So, please use normal filter and press with a spoon to extract the milk. If using cloth, do not squeeze much.
• Polished wheat flour dissolves completely in water and some organic ones do not dissolve. In both cases, there won’t be any problem in milk extraction.