Recipe: Spinach Pongal (6 months - 12 months)

You can introduce spinach in your child’s diet as soon as they are 6 months old. Being a superfood, it is loaded with essential vitamins, iron, folate and fibre. The green leafy vegetable is low in calories and high in antioxidants. The texture is soft and can be adjusted according to your baby’s age. While buying spinach, make sure it is fresh. The leaves should be green and crunchy. You can also check the freshness of spinach by looking at the stem, which should be flexible.  If you wish to store spinach, keep it in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

Total Time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Rice

• 2-3 tablespoons Roasted Green gram dal

• 1/4 cup fresh Spinach leaves (or 2-3 tablespoons chopped frozen spinach)

• Salt to taste

• 1 teaspoon Fat/Oil (e.g., ghee or oil)

Servings: 1-2

Recommended Serving Size: 3-4 tablespoons (45-60g) per serving

Nutritive Value:

Method:

Step 1: Clean rice & dal. Soak for some time in water. Using the same water, cook the rice and dal.

Step 2: Wash spinach leaves, cut and steam. Mash the leaves and sieve.

Step 3: Mix the sieve spinach soup with boiled rice & dal. Add salt to taste, mix thoroughly and serve.

About Expert:

Ms. Jyoti Pachisia is a highly experienced Consulting Dietitian, Content Writer, Certified Diabetes Educator and Certified Renal Nutritionist. She currently serves as an Adjunct Faculty at the Institute of Management Studies, Mukundpur and as a Guest Faculty at the Dolphin School of Hotel Management, Kalyani.