So mum have you been cooking up a kitchen storm lately with delicacies that appeal to the eye and the gut too, or have you been “the kitchen queen” with an uneasy head wearing a somber chef crown?

Mums take pride and mark their territory in the household activities. Some excel at planning and spending and some others radiate with pride at their culinary skills; some are excellent entertainers and some others are unbeatable shoppers!

Whatever is your area of expertise, each day a grave question haunts most mums.

"WHAT  SHOULD BE ON THE MENU TODAY"  Something like Chatpati Recipies For Toddlers and Kids

The main course may be somewhat covered but it’s the snacking (read healthy), that always presents a catch. Kids are mostly raving about a particular dish they’ve had a friend’s and are willingly ready to gobble up food at a neighbor’s, much to your dislike!

Here I bring to you some lip smacking ‘chatpati’ recipes that will leave your kids asking for more. And you dear mum can bask in your new found kitchen glory !

Why make at home?

Today the market is flooded with ready to eat snacks. Just buy a pack, tear it open, gulp it down and that’s it! But how many of us actually bother to check in the ingredients, understand what processed foods are, know about the presence of MSG in foods, check for expiry dates of the packets or even figure out if they are fried/baked?

It is vital to introduce home cooked food and snacks to toddlers and kids alike since they can be prepared from the freshest of ingredients under cleanest conditions and you can easily customize them as per your kids taste and health needs.

Simple home-made chatpati recipes for kids:

 

1.Matri - Recipes For Kids

Whole wheat is a wonderful grain that you can offer to your kids. It is important that toddlers are exposed to whole wheat and foods made therefrom early on, to help them develop the taste of whole wheat. Matri is a traditional Indian snack. These can be eaten hot or can be stored in air tight boxes for consumption over weeks.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

Salt to taste

2 table spoons oil

3-4 tea spoons Ajwain seeds

1 cup sooji

Method:

Mix all these ingredients and knead tight dough. Roll out small round matris and deep fry them in hot oil. If they are meant to be stored make small holes on the rolled matris using a knife. Drain out the oil and your tiny matris are ready to eat hot as a breakfast food or cold as a snack. These can be easily carried while travelling too. You may also sprinkle a little chat masala for older kids.

2.Roti Chuda - Healthy Kid Friendly Recipes

There may be times when kids may be unwilling to eat regular rotis and in some cases you may be left with rotis from a previous meal. You need to spice matters up here!

Ingredients:

Rotis

1 onion

1 tomato

Any other vegetable of your choice

Salt to taste

Masalas such as red chili powder, turmeric, amchoor

Sugar

Method:

All you need to do is cut rotis in to small pieces. Take ghee in a pan add cumin seeds, green chili(optional), onion, tomato and vegetables. Sauté these until tender, thereafter add the rotis and all other masalas and sugar. You may also add a little tomato ketchup if your child is fond of the same. This roti chuda can be had as it is or with yogurt in summers.

3.Fried Idli - Quick And Easy Toddler Recipes

Idlis are generally loved by kids. And here’s a twist to the traditional idli.

Ingredients:

Idlis

Onion (optional)

Masalas such as turmeric, chili powder and salt

Sugar

Method:

Sometimes you may be left with uneaten idlis, there’s a delicious way of making a snack out of them. Take a little ghee/oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it.Add onions cut in to small pieces and roast until golden brown (this is optional). Cut steamed idlis into small pieces and put them into the pan. There after add sugar, turmeric, chili powder and salt and mix well. Your fry idlis are ready to eat.

4.Bread Chuda - Chatpati Recipies For Toddlers and Kids

Ingredients:

Whole wheat bread cut into small pieces

Tomato ketchup

Turmeric, chili powder, salt

Sugar

Butter

Method:

Kids love bread. Use whole wheat bread to make this snack that can be served during breakfast or eaten as an evening snack. You may pack this up in kids’ tiffin as well.All that’s to be done is heat butter in a pan and add cumin and mustard seeds to it. Add pieces of bread and all the other ingredients as above. You may add vegetables such as onion, tomato, peas and carrot too. Mix all the ingredients and sauté them until the bread turns crisp. Hot bread chuda is ready to be relished.

5.Thepla - Easy Cooking Recipes For Kids To Make 

Thepla is a whole wheat delicacy that not just tastes good, but has a long shelf life too.  It is an ideal travel snack that can be carried on long travels for not just kids but adults as well. There are various different types of theplas that can be made depending on the availability of seasonal vegetables.  You may make theplas out of carrot, radish, snake gourd, fenugreek etc.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup maize flour/gram flour

1 cup grated carrot and radish

1 cup curd

2 tea spoons sesame seeds

2 tea spoons fennel seeds

Turmeric, chili powder, salt, dry mango powder as per taste

1 table spoon oil

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and make soft dough. Roll out very thin round theplas and make them just as you cook parathas with a little extra oil that will serve as a preservative too.Do not use water in the dough. Store these theplas in an air tight box and they will last a couple of days. This is just one variation you may use vegetables of your choice to make theplas as you and your kid like.

6.Potato Cheese Mash - Recipes For Toddlers Indian

This is an ideal recipe for little toddlers who are still learning to eat solid food.This is the ideal dish to serve to children who are low on weight. Mums will find it easy to get little ones to eat this dish. Potato is a vegetable that is rich in carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Cheese is rich in calcium and great for kids’ bones and teeth.

Ingredients

1 Potato

1 cube cheese

1 pinch roasted cumin powder

½ cup water

½ cup milk (optional)

Method:

Pressure cook potato and let it cool completely. Peel the potato and blend it into a puree/mash it well until there are no lumps. Blend cheese, cumin powder and milk with the potato. You may add water to get the desired consistency for your child. Instead of potato you may add banana/broccoli/any other vegetable that your child likes.

7.Peas And Cauliflower Paratha - Recipes For Kids To Cook

Parathas are an ideal breakfast and snack option for kids. Parathas stuffed with vegetables become a complete meal by itself. Stuffed parathas are especially helpful when your kid refuses to eat vegetables. You can stuff them into parathas and kids will eat them easily. You can feed kids paratha with yogurt, butter or even jaggery.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled and mashed peas

1 cup cut and crumbles cauliflower

1 tea spoon grated ginger

1 green chili cut into small pieces

½ tea spoon garam masala

1 tea spoon salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup maize flour

Method:

Make soft dough using the whole wheat and maize flours. Make a stuffing using the other ingredients. Roll out small parathas with the vegetable stuffing and cook the parathas using ghee/oil. Kids will love this wholesome paratha and they taste especially delicious with home-made yogurt and white butter.

8.Vegetable pasta - Snack Recipes For kids

Whole wheat pasta is a wonderful variation from the everyday food that kids may be bored of eating. Add vegetables to pasta and you have a wholesome meal ready to eat at any time of the day.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta

Vegetables such as onion, carrot, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, baby corn, beans etc. cut into thin strips

1 grated tomato

Boiled sweet corn

Seasoning such as oregano, chili flakes, mixed herbs

Salt to taste

Cheese

Tomato ketchup and pasta sauce(optional)

Butter/olive oil

Method:

Take butter or olive oil in a pan and sauté vegetables of your choice.Add the grated tomato to make slight gravy. Add the boiled pasta with seasoning as desired.Add cheese on the cooked pasta with vegetables and serve with ketchup (if your child likes it).

9.Egg Rice - Easy To Make Indian Lunch Recipes

Protein is a very important ingredient for a child’s physical growth and development. Rice is an entire meal in itself and the two combined work out to make a delicious combination.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup chopped onion, tomato, carrot and green peas

½ tea spoon cinnamon powder

Salt to taste

1 egg

½ tea spoon chili powder

Method:

In a pan take ghee/oil and sauté vegetables. Break the egg and scramble it and let this cook. Add rice and rest of the ingredients and let it cook a while. Serve the rice hot and this is a complete meal in itself rich in protein, calcium and minerals.

10.Dal Dhokli - Chatpati Recipies For Toddlers and Kids

This quick to make healthy gujrati snack is wholesome and delicious too.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 ½ table spoon gram flour

2 tea spoons carom seeds

A pinch of asafetida

1 table spoon oil

Method:

All the above ingredients are to be mixed together and knead dough with water. Roll out this rotis and cut them into diamond shapes and keep aside. Prepare dal (you may add jiggery in the dal). Add the diamond roti strips into the dal and cook well for 5-7 minutes. Garnish this with coriander and you may add vegetables too if you like.

11.Dal Paratha -  Recipes For Toddlers Indian

Dal/ lentilsare a complete meal in itself. Its protein rich and vital to your child’s growth. But sometimes it can be tough to get kids to eat dal as it is or even with rice. Dal paratha can come to your rescue here.

Method:

All you need to do is take a cup of cooked dal (it can be any dal) and add it to whole wheat flour and knead soft dough. Add salt to the dough and roll out small parathas. Serve the cooked parathas with butter. You may add spinach to dal to increase the nutritional value of the paratha.

12.Multi grain Pooris - Kid Friendly Indian Food Recipes

Wheat flour is wholesome but you can up its nutritional quotient by adding other grains to it as well.You may either use the multi grain flours that are readily available in the market or you may have the same especially grinded by adding grains such as maize, ragi, oats etc. This makes the flour rich in protein, fibres, vitamin, magnesium, zinc etc.

Method:

Knead hard dough using a cup of multi grain flour mixed with a pinch of salt. Roll out small thin pooris and deep fry them. Kids generally love puffed up small little pooris. You may serve this with yogurt or sweet mango pickle or even jam/ketchup.

13.Multi coloured Dhoklas - Evening Snacks For Toddlers Indian

Dhokla is a light ready to eat healthy steamed snack that can be had at any time of the day. There are dhokla mixes available in the market that can make instant dhokla.

Method:

If you want to add a variation to the normal dhoklas you may do so by making vegetable dhoklas. To the dhokla mix add grated/blended and pureed vegetables such as beetroot (or carrot) or spinach to make red and green dhokla respectively. Kids will love the variation in colour and be very excited to eat these colourful treats. Since dhoklas are steamed they are healthy and can be made easily at any time of the day too!

14.Vegetable Paniyarams - Veg Recipes For Kids

You will need a paniyaram dish to make this snack. These dishes are easily available both in stores and online too.

Ingredients

Dosa batter

Finely cut vegetables such as onion, carrot, capsicum, tomato etc

Oil

Mustard seeds

Salt and cumin powder

Finely chopped green coriander

Method:

Once you have dosa batter, you can make a host of items with it; one of them being paniyaram.Mix the batter with vegetables and add a little salt, cumin powder and coriander to it for added flavour.Heat the dish and add a few drops of oil into each section of the dish. Once its hot add mustard seeds and let them crack.  Add a tea spoon of the above batter to fill only half of each section of the paniyaram dish. Cover it and let it cook for two minutes. Thereafter flip it over and let it cook on the other side.Hot paniyarams are ready to eat with coconut chutney/ketchup or even sugar!

So go ahead and enjoy these simple to cook recipes that can be made with ingredients that are easily available at home. Your kids are sure gonna love the new kitchen queen in you!

You can also read

20 Best Foods to Help Your Baby Gain Weight

WholeWheat Base Pizza Recipe – Making Junk Food Healthy

Yummy, healthy food! Can that be for real?