Mava Makkhan Lassi

Dusshera, the festival of lights, the victory of good over the evil, and in my language, a day meant for celebration just after the freaking and crazy dandia nights. Oh, you can make out from this that how much am I in love with dancing and dandia, but more than that it is the soul satisfaction that you get after Mata ki Aarti and the loud Jagrans in Navratri.

Well, this Dusshera we were out on an Art and Craft Exhibition with family, and believe me this was no less than what we call 'Mela' in desi language; earrings n bangles ki chhoti chhoti stalls,pickles/achaar ki dukaan, bachho ke khilone, khane ki thadi, dry flowers ke bunch, kurta payzama on display, aaah....what not...n ya, not forgetting the porcelain pottery corner from where I instantly grabbed a small cup set. Since something new was on the cart, it was meant to be used, soon, sooner, no, actually soonest!

So here I was with this cup set in hand, beautiful brown shades tempting me to ramp in the kitchen and do some justice with them. I didn't make anything great or big, but it was something that the whole family adores, and was equally easy too. This recipe also gets piled up in my 'Just 10 Minutes' Menu List.

MAVA MAKKHAN LASSI
 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: Nil

Serves: 2

Health Meter:

Yogurt/Curd contains helpful “good bacteria” that your digestive tract needs to run properly. Without enough good bacteria in your system, food does not digest properly or go completely through your digestive tract. When this happens, such problems as boating, gas, and in severe cases, stomach cancer can occur. Eating just one cup of yogurt/curd that contains “active cultures” each day can help to keep your digest system working properly. Seventy percent of your immune system lies within your small intestine. If you keep the levels of good bacteria high in your intestines then you are more likely to maintain a healthy immune system.
Eating yogurt is a good way to get your calcium, vitamins and good bacteria to keep your body working properly.

Ingredients:

1. Yogurt/ Fresh Thick Curd: 2 bowls

2. Mava (Khoya)/ Milk Powder prepared Mava: 1/2 a bowl

3. Kesar/ Saffron Strands

4. Sugar: 3 tbsp or as per taste

5. Cardamom/ Elaichi Powder: a pinch

6. Sliced Pistachios, Almonds and Cashews

Method:

1. Beat the fresh curd to make it smooth and soft. Remember, if there is any water in it, please strain it out first.
2. Add sugar, cardamom, dry fruits and saffron to it. Mix well.
3. Now take mava, crumble it well, and add to the curd with a stir.
4. Finally deck it up with beautifully sliced dry fruits and spoon it out.

Suggestions:

1. The curd should be fresh, and not sour.
2. If you do not mava/khoya with you, you could even add Mava/Khoya burfi to the lassi, provided it is fresh. 
3. Remove the excess water from the curd if any. 
4. If the curd is slightly sour, add in some milk, though it will make the lassi a little flowy. 
5. Serve in Porcelain/Earthen Cups. 
6. Refrigerate for a few minutes to get the chill. 
7. Since the lassi is thick, it can be easily spooned. 

Submitting this recipe to:
My event: Cooking Made Easy With Yogurt,
 Cakes, Cookies and Desserts

Diwali Special Sweets by Tickling Palates,
Serve it - Festival Potluck by Krithi's Kitchen,
Diwali Sweet Recipes by Sameena
Any One Can Cook by Ayeesha

Introduction to Baby Foods

 September in real is the month I love the most, not because Bangalore is showering rains in this while and the mercury is balanced, but because this month holds two very important dates; one is when my hubby was born and the second when our little princess was born. Though it's the beginning of October and I'm about 10 days late in posting this, but I guess you all understand how that happens. ;) This post is especially for my daughter who turned 'one' on Sep. 25th, one of the most awaited days for the whole family to celebrate.

I'm not a poet, not even a person good at reciting and writing, but pouring my heart out for my doll, there's something I wrote.

Your first glimpse and my eyes were wet,

Holding you in my arms, felt like life was all set.

You blinked and you cooed,

You smiled and you moved, 

You crawled and you babbled,

You stood and you tumbled.

Those smelly diapers and those sleepless nights,

I can never forget our kiddo-mumma fights;

From 'pa pa' to 'mum mum',

From lullabies to 'tam tam',

Time just flew and

I had no clue;

Your tiny miny fingers and little little feet,

have grown so big that it calls for a treat.

Oh my Princess, you have turned one!

You are just so naughty, but that's the real fun.

Life is so beautiful, and special is this day,

when mumma says to Gappu

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :)

The birthday special post of course needs something relevant with her, and what more could I write today than what she loves to eat, perhaps how she started to eat, and slowly moved on. 

Here's a simple chart I've prepared listing how to introduce baby foods month-wise. I hope this would be of great use to moms with newbies, moms-to-be, and moms-want -to-be. :))

6-7 months: First introduction to solid food

1. Daal ka Paani/ Chawal ka Pani ( Lentil soup/ rice extract)

2. Cerelac or any other cereal based packed food - Stage 1

3. Aate Ka Halwa/ Raab: Take 2 drops of ghee, add 2 tbs of aata, roast it well, add in some water to make a batter like consistency. Add little sugar if required.

4. Sooji Ka Halwa: Same as aate ka halwa, just keep it a little liquidy, unlike our adults ka tight halwa. 

5. Mashed banana/ banana pulp

7-8 months: Introduction to Vegetables and fruits

1. Boiled daal/khichdi with carrots/spinach/lauki/taroi: Boil them together and give in pureed form. You can even make combinations like carrot beans/ spinach carrot/ multi veg.
2. Boiled and mashed potatoes: I used to give this every alternate day.
3. Boiled and mashed Sweet potato: He'll fall in love with this one, if he likes sweets. This will have long fibres too; just remove them before dispensing.
4. Carrot soup/ Veg soup: Just boil the veg. and blend it. Sieve if required.
5. Boiled/steamed pureed apple (without outer skin)

6. Banana peeled and mashed. Also u cud add this with cerelac and give.

7. Dry Fruit Powder: Roast makhana, almonds, pista and kaju in little ghee. On cooling, run them in a mixer to make fine powder. You can add this powder to the halwa or anything u like. This acts as a health and immunity booster. If you wish you cud start with makhana alone at first and slowly introduce nuts one by one in every 15 days to avoid nut allergies.

You should give 3-4 meals to a baby in a day, but start with one meal, then 2, then 3 and so on.
Breakfast: Cerelac or some cereal food
Lunch: Halwa/ Khichdi
Evening: Soup or fruits
Dinner: Potatoes/daal/khichdi/ or anything u like.

  Do not start with everything at a time. Introduce one new food at one time and see if he's fine with that. After 2-3 days, start with a new food. Be experimental but slow with new food introduction. Make sure he's not allergic to any food. If he starts having rashes, hives, loose motions or breathing difficulty after having a new food withing the next 2-5 hrs, stop that food and contact your doctor. You can restart with that after 15 days if he's not severely allergic to it. New foods can generally cause increased motions(3-4 a day) but that does not mean loose motions (8-10 a day).

8-9 months:
1. Curd/yogurt

2. Finger foods, like biscuits, chopped soft fruits, chawal ki fulli/murmure ( Be sure nothing gets choked in the throat, coz babies don't know how big or small to bite and then swallow. )

3. More of nuts in form of powder only.
4. Add in more veggies and fruits.
5. Increase the quantity of ghee a little.

9-10 months:

1. Introduction to fresh fruit juices, like sweet lime juice, orange juice, grape juice, apple juice, anaar juice. U just need to squeeze a sweet lime or orange like how you do it with a lemon. Add in a little sugar and give. Start with a small quantity and then slowly take over with 1/4 cup or so. Grapes, anaar and apples need to be juiced in a juicer and then given. Sieve the anaar juice before giving.

10 months onwards:
1. Start giving a little from your plate, whatever you eat, except very fatty and heavy things.
2. Doctors never recommend sugar or salt before age 1, but Indians normally do that. :) So, it depends on you, but use it sparingly. 

3. Continue with the baby foods, and in addition start introducing adult foods in small quantities.

My daughter has crossed the age 1 barrier now, and luckily she eats almost all the spices and condiments which I use in my kitchen as flavor enhancers. I see a lot of kids, in fact adolescents at times, who can't take up spices and prefer bland food. I agree it is good for them till a particular age but being unable to try on them after some time makes it difficult for their moms to cook for them separately. I never advise too tangy, too oily and too spicy food for small kids, but a little of everything would never harm, rather make them acquainted.