Feeding first liquids to babies is always more exciting. As the initial input to the lil tummy is very less, be wiser in choosing highly nutritious portions.
Being a newbie, it is a challenging chore for the tiny digestive system to digest new stuffs. To help the lil one, we introduce liquids first(just for 2 to 4 days) and then gradually move to fluids and finally to solids.
Clear greens soup is a good choice to start after Apple soup and Lentils soup. Being rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, just a small portion of greens soup provides the needed nutriments for your baby. I always recommend growing greens @home for babies. I have used my home-grown Thandu keerai for this recipe.
Greens Soup for babies Recipe – Ingredients
Greens – Handful
Cumin Seeds/Jeeragam – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Water – 1/2 cup
Preparation
1.Pluck/Buy greens and wash well. 
2.Cut them roughly and add to pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and turmeric powder.
3.Add water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
4.Strain the soup through a filter. Squeeze out till the last drop.
Clear greens soup is ready. Feed it warm !
Tips/Tricks
- Instead of pressure cooking, you can just cook in a vessel for 5-10 mins in medium flame.
- Any variety of fresh greens can be used in this recipe.
- If you buy greens outside, pls follow these steps(click) to clean.
- Adding salt in food for babies below 1 year is not recommended.
- This soup can be given from 4 months. Warning! Mother’s milk is sufficient for babies till 6 months. Think twice and discuss with your Paed before starting other food!
- A spoonful of washed moong dal(Paasi paruppu), a pinch of asafoetida or a garlic pod can be added along with greens and other listed ingredients. In such case, allow to cook for an extra whistle. This recipe is called paruppu keerai thanni(dal+greens soup).
- Refer here(click) to know how to sterilize baby feeding utensils.
Nutritional Benefits
Thandu keerai – Protein, Fiber, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Potassium, Vitamins B & C
awesome and full of life picture presentations….all filled with either greens or toys….loved the pics….
Hi thanks a lot for the wonderful posts… I heard that greens should not be covered while cooking… but all the veggies can be cooked covered…Is that true…? Pls advise.
Hi Rahela, I too have heard it recently.. But couldn’t find any source to justify the same. Some ppl say, it is open-cooked to retain the color and some say that unwanted acids emit out while cooking greens. I am still searching for a good source with proper explanation. Will update in my site, if I find any.
After 6 months should i give watery form food or before 180 days ?
Pls check this video https://youtu.be/q1ZtjPIL5vY