10 Easy Porridge Recipe for Kids

Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears.

Kate Winslet

We all mothers would agree with this above quote, wont we? I believe that motherhood has been the ultimate blessing that has bestowed upon me till date. The last 6 years has been the most rewarding years of my life ever since I got pregnant with Ayaansh. This year too, despite of corona hitting us, making us all secluded at our respective homes, I was blessed again with a child in my womb. The past 8 months had been tough with morning sickness, dizziness and managing household with no maids to support the chores. But it has also been a pleasure to share these precious pregnancy moments with Ayaansh, who is not only elated to welcome his sibling but also very much curious to know the tiny developments of the baby too.

Having said all these, I have been thinking a lot about how I managed raising Ayaansh for the first initial years. Right from breastfeeding, changing nappies, sleepless nights, feeding solids, weaning off, playing with him, buying him books and toys, it seemed to happen just yesterday yet remembering certain details about all the first’s seems like a tough task.

Hence, I have decided to write this blog in which I will be sharing the 10 porridge recipes that I made for Ayaansh after we crossed his first 6 months of being exclusively breast-fed. These recipes are all tried and tested, easily digestible and tailor-made for our little one’s tummy. These are the recipes, I have curated as per all the nani’s nuskas, pediatrician’s advice and according to my little one’s taste buds.

1. Rice – Moong Porridge:
   This had been the first solid (sweet version) that Ayaansh was introduced. I used to give him Organic Rice and Moong, as I wanted him to have his morsels totally chemical-free. The saltier version of this mix – the khichdi was loved by him, so trying this recipe was easy for me.
   
   For preparing the rice-moong mix:
   1. Wash and rinse rice and moong (separately) under running water.
   2. Spread it on a cloth to dry.
   3. Dry roast them separately and let it cool down.
   4. Grind it into fine powder and keep it in an airtight jar separately.
      
      For preparing the porridge:
   5. In a small pan, add 1.5 tablespoon of the above rice powder and 1 tablespoon of moong powder. Mix it.
   6. Add half a cup of water and mix it well without any lumps.
   7. Now in medium heat, cook the porridge by stirring continuously and till it reaches the right consistency. Switch off the flame and add any fruit puree or add 1 teaspoon of organic jaggery powder (for toddlers) and 1/2 teaspoon of ghee and mix.
   8. Your little one is ready to be fed!
2. Dalia / Broken Wheat Porridge:
   One of the most healthiest and wholesome cereal is dalia or broken wheat. Ayaansh still loves to eat this (now, the texture and consistency is obviously different as compared to the version mentioned below).
   1. Wash and dry roast Dalia.
   2. Grind it into fine powder.
   3. For making porridge, add 2-3 tablespoons of dalia powder in a pan and add 1/2 cup of water to cook the porridge. You can also add a pinch of elaichi powder, 1 teaspoon of almond powder to it for additional taste and nutrition.
   4. To make it sweet, add a fruit puree or 1 tsp of homemade dates powder or home made dates syrup and give it a quick mix. Switch off the flame and the yummy porridge is ready.
3. Ragi Porridge:
   One of my favorite superfoods is Ragi and I personally can vouch for the benefits of ragi, as I have experienced the benefits of ragi for Ayaansh and as well as after recommending it to other kids.
   1. To prepare sprouted ragi powder, buy the Organic Ragi Millet available in the supermarket.
   2. Soak it for about 12-14 hours.
   3. Wash it thoroughly under the running water and put it in the sprout container and cover it with the lid or alternatively you can use a white cotton cloth potli and keep it aside. Let the sprout container or potli be untouched for about 12-14 hours more.
   4. The next day you will see the ragi kernels sprouting. Dry roast it in a kadai.
   5. Once cooled grind it into a fine powder. Use the sieve to remove the husks.
   6. Store it in an airtight jar.
   7. To prepare the porridge, take 2-3 tablespoons of ragi in a pan. Add water according to required consistency. Mix well.
   8. In a low-medium flame, cook the ragi porridge by continuously stirring it. You can add ghee, elaichi, dry-fruits powder, or soaked and blended dates too.
   9. If you have started with cow milk, you can also add milk plus water to cook the ragi.
      
      The yummy-calcium-rich, fibre-filled-tasty ragi porridge is ready to be consumed.
4. Oats Porridge:
   The next favorite, fibre-rich food that can be given to babies is Oats. This oats porridge is not only healthy, tasty and nutritious for your infant but can be consumed by all age-groups. The oats porridge not only helps babies to gain weight but also aids in building immunity.
   1. To prepare the oats porridge, buy an Organic Packet of Instant Oats or Rolled Oats.
   2. Slightly dry roast it and allow it to cool. Grind it into fine powder and store it in airtight jar.
   3. In a pan, add half cup of water and 2-3 tablespoons of Instant Oats. Let the oats get cooked evenly.
   4. You can add homemade mashed or pureed carrots, sweet potatoes or any fruits of your choice to enhance the taste. Alternatively add dates syrup or organic jaggery if you prefer adding more sweetness to it.
5. Fruits Porridge:
   Ayaansh as a baby could do well with fruits. With every food group that I introduced, he would happily eat it and by God’s grace we never had any food allergies except for the Pear fruit. That is when I decided to make him fruits porridge. I will advise you to start this porridge after you know the preferences and the suitable fruits for your child.
   1. Take a combination of fruits like apple + banana, apples + papaya, bananas + avocadoes, etc.
   2. In a cup, chop the fruits into tiny pieces or blend it well.
   3. In a pan, add a teaspoon of any cereal powder of your child’s preference. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water to cook the cereal. Take the water as per the choice of cereal and allow it to cook completely.
   4. Immediately add the blended fruits, lower the gas and cook it for a minute or more.
   5. You can add homemade dry-fruits powder, homemade almonds powder or even moong powder along with the cereal of your choice.
   6. Add a teaspoon of ghee before you can feed it to your little one.
6. Sooji / Rava Porridge:
   1. Buy Organic Sooji or Rava from the supermarket.
   2. To make the porridge, take the half cup rava and dry roast it in a pan with a teaspoon of ghee.
   3. Once the rava slightly changes the color and the aroma spreads, add one & half cups of water to cook the rava. Immediately mix it to avoid any lumps.
   4. Stir continuously while cooking.
   5. Add a pinch of elaichi powder, 2 teaspoons of dates powder and give it a mix.
   6. Switch off the flame once rava has cooked well.
   7. The nutritious sheera/ rava porridge is ready to be fed to your infant.
7. Popped Rice Porridge:
   1. To make this porridge, buy a branded and well sieved packet of popped rice. Check for husks or impurities.
   2. In a pan, dry roast the popped rice till it turns slightly golden. Keep aside to cool it.
   3. Grind it to a fine powder and sieve it several times to remove the coarse bits. Store it in an airtight jar.
   4. In a pan add some ghee, and half cup water. To this add 2 tablespoons of popped rice powder. Add a pinch of elaichi powder, dryfruits powder and homemade natural sweeteners like banana puree or dates puree. Cook it well.
   5. If required, add some cow milk and adjust the required consistency.
8. Makhana Porridge:
   1. Buy a packet of organic makhana. Cut the makhana into 2-3 parts to check for worms.
   2. Dry roast them till they change the color. Let them cool
   3. Grind it into fine powder and sieve to remove the coarse flakes. Store in an airtight jars.
   4. In a pan, add a teaspoon of ghee, pinch of elaichi powder and allow it to mix well.
   5. Add half cup water and milk each. Add 3-4 tablespoons of makhana powder in it and mix well.
   6. Let it cook. Switch of the flame. Add cooked and mashed fruits to it. Garnish with dryfruits powder. The tasty-healthy porridge is ready to be fed to your child.
9. Sabudana Porridge:
   1. To make this porridge, soak sabudana overnight if the kernels are big. Alternatively, if you buy the small sabudana, soak it an hour before you want to prepare the porridge.
   2. In a pan, add a cup of water. Bring it to a boil.
   3. Add the soaked sabudana in the pan and allow it to cook.
   4. When the sabudana turns translucent or glossy, add a teaspoon of ghee, dryfruits powder, dates powder/ jaggery powder / mashed fruits.
   5. Add milk if needed to adjust the consistency.
   6. Switch off the flame and feed it to your child.
10. SproutedSathumaavu Porridge:
    Wash, soak and allow the below mentioned ingredients to sprout.
    Dry roast them separately and grind them into fine powders:
    1. Brown Rice – 1/2 cup
    2. Wheat – 1/2 cup
    3. Roasted Gram -1/2 cup
    4. Green gram – 1/2 cup
    5. Sabudhna – 1/2 cup
    6. Black gram – 1/4 cup
    7. Groundnuts – 1/4 cup
    8. Horse Gram – 1/4 cup
    9. Ajwain – 1/2 tsp
    10. Elaichi – 6/7 pieces
    11. Almonds – 1/4 cup
    12. Pista – 1/4 cup

Mix them all together and store it in an airtight jar. In a pan, mix 1 cup of water with 2 tablespoons of Sprouted SathuMaavu powder. Mix it well to avoid any lumps. In medium heat, let it cook. Stir it continuously so that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Add a teaspoon of ghee, or fruits purees for sweetness. Switch off the flame and add any other sweeteners as per your preference. Add cow’s milk if your child has already started consuming it to adjust the consistency.

I hope these recipes help all the new mothers like the way it helped me feed Ayaansh. I also hope that in the coming few months, my second baby will also share the same love for food as Ayaansh did and together we have a very pleasant and healthy food journey.

If at all, you know any new mothers or moms-to-be or fathers too, please feel free to share this post with them and I would love to hear their experiences as well. Additionally, if anyone of you have other amazing recipes for infants and toddlers, kindly share it with me too. I will be too happy to try it out and share our experience of devouring it with you.