Spinach Pulses Mash

Packed with Vitamins & Minerals, Spinach provides strength not only to Popeye, the sailor but also to your pint-sized crawler !

To enjoy the full benefits of spinach “leaf by leaf” without the influence of harmful pesticides, do grow organically at home. You just need the seeds(Get it from any Agro food shop), soil(You shall take in your street) & a shopping cover .. Thats it ! Grow organically, feed naturally and feel the difference ! Below pic is from my kitchen garden..

This recipe is apt for babies from 8th month onward. If you have completely breastfed for 6 months, you would have introduced soups and purees in 7th month. From 8th month, along with other alternatives, you shall gradually introduce this recipe. For few months, you shall mash the rice using Potato masher and then gradually change the texture by just mashing with ladle or mathu as in this post.

Preparation

1.   Peel onions and garlic. Chop onions and tomato. Crush garlic using pestle or just turn your knife and crush it with the handle. 2.   Clean and chop carrots and Spinach leaves. Refer this link to know how to clean veggies and greens.. 3.   Wash yellow moong gram twice in water and add to a pressure cooker. Add chopped veggies & palak. 4.   Add asafoetida(Perungaayam), powdered Jeera & turmeric powder. 5.   Add water and cook for 3 whistles. 6.   Once pressure releases, mash it with mathu. Take cooked rice(preferably the rice from the bottom of the cooker/pan as it will be softer than the rice in the top) and mash it using a ladle or wide-bottomed spoon. 7.   Add palak gravy and ghee. Mix well.      Feed it warm and fresh !

Tips/Tricks

• If required, you can finely grate and add carrots. Carrot is anyways optional in this recipe.
• As I have repeatedly mentioned, I don’t prefer adding salt for babies below 1 year.
• You shall mix it with rice, idli, dosa & pongal.
• Do not give this food in the night as it might not digest properly. Grannies add not to give greens when baby had a hair bath as that might inhibit digestion.
• Moong dal can be substituted with Toor/Masoor dal.
• The same recipe can be used with an addition of salt and sambar powder after 1 year. But after 1 year, you no need to cook spinach so longer with dal. Just cook dal with other ingredients and 1/4tsp sambar powder. In a separate pan, add some virgin coconut oil and mustard seeds. Once spluttered, add spinach and cook covered for 4 mins. Then add cooked dal mix & salt and let it boil for 2 mins. Thats it!