Healthy Indian Dishes to Boost Your Child's Health and Provide Proper Nutrition

Introduction

One of the biggest concerns for parents is making their children eat healthy meals that are properly balanced. Now that kids are surrounded with so many unhealthy options, such as packaged snacks and junk foods, it can become a bit tricky for parents to convince kids to eat healthy.

Additionally, growing kids can have specific requirements about the type of food that they like to eat. Considering all these parameters, parents have to constantly devise effective strategies to ensure that the child gets proper nutrition. However, this can be made super easy by picking up the right recipes and using healthy yet yummy ingredients. There is a plethora of options in Indian cuisine for parents to choose from. Most of these dishes can be made from commonly available ingredients at home.

Healthy Indian Dishes for Kids to Promote Better Nutrition

Here is a list of some healthy Indian dishes for kids that perform the dual function of providing flavor and nutrition.

• Multigrain Bread Upma

A little different from the conventional upma recipe, this bread upma is a scrumptious mix of some healthy vegetables, multigrain bread pieces, and a handful of spices. To prepare this at home, you have to simply take some multigrain bread slices and cut them into small cubes pieces. Now you may heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and simultaneously chop vegetables like capsicum, carrots, and onions. Once the oil is heated, sauté the vegetables followed by adding spices like cumin, seed powder, red chili powder, and turmeric. Now add a little bit of water followed by adding the bread cubes. Let everything cook properly and serve it fresh to your child.

• Vegetable Semiya

A healthier alternative to making noodles, vegetable semiya is quick to make and is also very nutritious. While these can also be used to make a dessert, the savory option is equally delightful. To prepare this, you may need some chopped vegetables, grated ginger and garlic, a cup of roasted semiya, and other ingredients like peanuts, curry leaves, lemon juice, and vegetable oil. In a pan, you may add some oil followed by peanuts. Then you may add grated ginger- garlic, curry leaves, and other spices that you may like. The next step will be to add the chopped vegetables followed by adding roasted semiya. Now simply add salt and red chili powder after adding some water and let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

• Palak Roti with Curd

For a fulfilling and delicious lunch meal, you could serve your child palak roti with a cup of fresh curd. To prepare this roti, you would need to first boil some spinach leaves in water and then transfer them into a grinder to make a fine puree. This puree will be added to wheat flour along with a little bit of butter, salt, and red chili powder. After preparing a nice dough out of the mixture, you may start rolling the palak rotis and cooking them in a pan. Then you may serve these rotis with a cup of fresh curd.

• Paneer and Vegetable Paratha

For days when you do not want to put a lot of effort into cooking but wish to prepare a nutritious meal for your kid, a vegetable and paneer paratha could be the right choice. It is stuffed with the goodness of paneer that offers a substantial amount of protein to the child, along with fresh vegetables for vitamins and fiber. One has to simply prepare wheat dough and roll it in the shape of a roti. Now into the rolled flatbread, you can add a mixture of crumbled paneer, chopped vegetables, and spices evenly. Then you may roll the paratha again and cook it on a flat pan with some butter until it gets crispy.

• Ragi Dosa

Ragi dosa is a great way of making your child eat those extra vegetables without even making them realize it. To prepare this crispy and fulfilling dosa, you would need to prepare a batter made from ragi flour, wheat, and sooji. Into this batter, you may add a spoonful of curd, water, chopped vegetables, and spices as per your choice. Once you get the desired consistency, you may transfer the batter to a heated pan after applying some oil to it. Let the dosa cook properly from both sides before serving it to your child with some fresh coconut chutney.

• Moong Dal Cheela

Moong dal cheela is a powerful vegetarian source of protein. This can be prepared by grinding soaked moong dal in a grinder with water. The next step is to add freshly chopped onions, tomatoes, capsicum, and carrots to this mixture. Now you may add fresh coriander leaves, salt, red chili powder, and cumin seed powder to the mixture. Once the batter is prepared, you may heat the pan and apply some oil to it. Transfer the batter to the pan and let it cook properly from one side before flipping it. To make it more nutritious, you may also add a stuffing of paneer or chicken into your moong dal cheela.

Conclusion

These are mouthwatering recipes that offer optimal amounts of nutrition and flavor. The best part is that most of these recipes can be easily prepared and don't require parents to spend a lot of time in food preparation.