Homemade Instant Baby Cereal

One of the best parts about transfers and relocations is the opportunity it brings to know and become friends with individuals from various geographies, cultures, race and religion. In 2005 we moved to Kuala Lumpur with our twins who were 2.5 years old twins at the time. It was here that we became friends for life with our immediate neighbours, the Misras. Mrs Misra at the beginning and Aparnaji (because she is elder to me) and I went on to become very close friends. 15 years and our chats haven’t slowed even a bit. And like all ‘girl-friend talks,’ our chats too range far and wide. An accomplished and versatile cook, I idolise her for her ability to spread a lavish meal at a very short notice using minimal ingredients, most of which would be pantry staples. An instinctive cook, her way of cooking is ingenious that results only when the fundamentals are strong. Aparnaji often shared how as a young mother she made all foods from scratch for her daughter amidst the frequent transfers that took them to some of the most remote parts of India.

One such food she shared was Homemade Instant Cereal or Cerelac, the humble dal and rice porridge she made and fed to her daughter, nephews, nieces and now her granddaughter. It is a simple recipe mix consisting of moong dal and rice, nuts and some spices to aid digestion. Over the period she has gone to add oats to it. The recipe shared here is for babies between 6 to 9 months, more ingredients get included into this basic mix with progression in the child’s age.

Native rice helps prevent “micronutrient malnutrition”

Here we must remember that it is not just “rice” as a source of carbohydrates that matters for the health and growth of our children, but also rice as a source of essential nutrients and fatty acids. Ray et al. have demonstrated the presence of essential fatty acids that are necessary for normal brain development in infants, particularly in 12 native landraces — “not reported in any modern HYV” (2021: 660). These varieties are grown only by small and marginal farmers, and are on the verge of extinction:

This is in addition to other studies that have shown “that many forgotten rice landraces contain high levels of B complex vitamins, metal micronutrients and various ranges of antioxidant potential, phenols and flavonoids.” They conclude that “In situ conservation [and, we add, active home use] of these neglected and vanishing landraces, considerably rich in crucial nutrients, is a cheaper and more rational option than industrial fortification of nutritionally inferior HYVs” (2021: 665).

We are right in feeling the increased need for non-processed, homemade and unpackaged foods and this recipe perfectly fits the bill. Your rice choices will help further enhance it❤️

sources

1. Ray, Sandipan, et al. “Rare and neglected rice landraces as a source of fatty acids for undernourished infants.” Curr. Sci 121 (2021): 660-666.

Baby Cereal for 6-9 month-olds

This is a special way for you to cut through the crowd of commercial baby products and make a basic cereal for your child right at home—with almost no fuss, and good, healthy, trusted ingredients> Easy to prep, easy to store, easy to use in a pinch. So good for your baby. Plus the first scents and tastes of Indian spices! All every desi mother could ever want! Native rices to use for this: jeeraga samba, gandasale, krishna kamod, ambamor, or any other rice that comes as kanki (broken bits)

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Ingredients

  

• 1 cup yellow moong dal
• 1/2 cup small grained or broken rice
• 1/4 cup oat meal
• 2 tablespoons ragi flour
• 1 teaspoon ajwain/carom seeds
• 1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
• 1 pea sized piece of nutmeg
• 2 almonds

Instructions

 

• Wash the moong dal and rice separately and sun dry them.
• After the grains have dried well, roast them separately.
• Roast until they release pleasant aroma.
• Cool the completely.
• Dry roast the oats and cool completely.
• Also dry roast the ajwain and jeera seeds and almonds. Chop the almonds.
• Grind each grain separately. The moong dal, the rice and the oats.
• You may choose to grind the cumin, carom, almonds and nutmeg along with the rice.
• Grind to a coarse powder.
• Mix everything together.
• Store in an airtight container.
• To prepare the porridge using this cereal mix you will need to mix 1 tablespoon of cereal powder with 1/2 cup of water or toned milk.
• Cook until it thickens like a halwa.

Notes

1. Take care of the cleanliness and hygiene while making this food.
2. To wash the grains well and sun dry them covered with a cheese cloth/thin mulmul cloth is advised.
3. Store in a sterilised air tight container.
4. You don’t use milk for this porridge as it is quite heavy and filling. Making the porridge in water works best.
5. I would recommend you to take your pediatrician’s advice before commencing to feed this recipe to your baby.