Foxtail millet-Wheat Coin Pancakes

Category: Kids Breakfast

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Servings: 2

Foxtail millet coin pancakes

Foxtail millet is a powerhouse of nutrients! It’s packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and B vitamins. These nutrients are essential for a child’s growth and development. Plus, it’s easy for young children to digest, making it a great choice for their meals.

And guess what? It’s especially rich in iron, which helps prevent anemia in kids. Plus, the calcium in foxtail millet helps build strong bones and teeth. So, if you’re looking for a healthy and nutritious option for your child’s diet, foxtail millet is the way to go!

Foxtail Millet

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

• Foxtail millet flour - 1/4 cup
• Whole wheat flour - 1/4 cup (I used white whole wheat flour /whole wheat pastry flour)
• Cane sugar - 1-2 tsp
• Baking soda - 1/8 tsp
• Salt- a pinch

Wet Ingredients:

• Milk -1/2 cup
• Butter, melted - 1.5 tsp
• Water - as needed (depends on the consistency)
• Vanilla Extract - 1/4 tsp

Yummy Coin pancakes with blueberries :)

Method:

• Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl.
• Add the wet ingredients one by one.
• Gently mix everything together until you have a smooth batter.
• If the batter is too thick, add a little water.
• Heat a dosa tawa (griddle) over medium heat.
• Pour the batter onto the pan in the shape of a coin.

• Flip the pancakes over when the top starts to bubble.

• Cook the other side until it’s also golden brown.

• Remove the pancakes from the pan and repeat the process with the remaining batter.

• Serve the pancakes warm with butter and your favorite toppings, like honey or maple syrup.

Enjoy the coin pancakes with fresh fruits!

Mapillai Samba Rice Idiyappam (Red rice string hopper)

Category: Idiyappam / Breakfast recipes
Preparation Time: 15 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 3-4 servings

Mapillai Samba Rice Idiyappam

Mapillai Samba Arisi or “Bride Groom Rice” is a traditional and native variety of rice, which is red in colour and is grown predominantly in Tamil Nadu. In ancient period, the newlywed bridegroom would be asked to lift the rock in front of everyone to display his mental & physical strength and bravery. To improve the physical and mental power, they would be  served this rice which is high in nutritional value. Mappillai samba is one such native rice which has got a high nutritional value that will help them to stay focused while lifting the rock as well as give them the power to lift. Hence, this red thick rice got its name as “Mappillai Samba” and was often cooked and served to newlywed bridegrooms. 

Mapillai Samba Rice

Even though the name of the rice is “Bride Groom's Rice”, it is meant for all who wants to get good energy and strength.

Idiyappam with Mixed Veg Curry

Mappillai samba rice has great amount of iron and zinc. Iron protects the production of myoglobin and haemoglobin. They carry the oxygen to tissues and muscles which keeps the energy level high of the body. It also consists pro-anthocyanins which assist in reduction of the cholesterol level and hyper glycemia. Good for diabetics since it is has a low Glycemic Index. Children will achieve better growth.

Here I used home made Mapillai Samba rice flour. Wash and soak rice for about 2 hours; then drain the rice and spread it on a clean cloth; let it dry in shade until it gets completely dried. Then grind it to a fine flour in the flour mill. If making in small quantities, we can grind it in batches in the mixie.

Ingredients:

• Mapillai Samba Rice flour - 1 1/2 cups
• White rice / Idiyappam flour - 1/2 cup (optional and can be replaced with Mapillai samba rice flour)
• Water - 2 cups (Adjust as needed)
• Salt - to taste
• Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp

Vegetable stuffed Idli

Category: Kids Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2-3 servings 

Vegetable stuffed Mini Idlis

Idli is one of the popular and healthiest Indian dish. In South Indian homes, we usually stock up Idli and Dosa batter in our refrigerator. To make it more interesting for the kids, I usually stuff vegetables and make these Stuffed Idlies.

So soft and Yummy!

These are tasty, easy and more healthy with the added veggies. Kids too love these Idlis and it can be a great finger food for them.

If we are making mini stuffed idlis, we can even toss them up in idli podi and serve with skewers :)

Veg Stuffed Mini Idlis

Ingredients:

• Idli batter - 3 cups
• Big Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Tomato - 1 big, pureed
• Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/2 Tbsp
• Carrot - 1 big, finely chopped
• Green beans - 10, finely chopped
• Green peas (I used frozen peas) - 1/3 cup
• Sambar powder - 1/2 Tbsp (adjust to taste)
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Chilli powder - as required (Optional)

Mushrooms and Black Olives Omelette

Category: Breakfast / Kids Recipes
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Servings: 1-2 servings

With eggs on hand, we can make a quick and easy breakfast on week days or a filling brunch for weekends. I have already posted mini omlette muffins here: Mini Omlette muffins. 

Omlette with Mushrooms & Black Olives

If  your kids love mushrooms and black olives combination, they will surely love it. This is a very easy recipe and I'm posting this just to give an idea or an option for a quick-fix breakfast :) 

Hot & Tasty

In this one, we can also just mix the sauted mushrooms and olives into the egg mixture and cook it to make it easier. We can also add some sweet corns or spinach to look more colourful:) 

Since eggs & milk products dont go well together as per the food compatibility, I am not using cheese here.

 Ingredients:

• Eggs - 3 nos (at room temperature)
• Mushrooms - 1/2 cup, sliced
• Whole Black Olives - 4, sliced
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Pepper powder- to taste
• Garlic powder - to taste
• Italian seasoning - to taste

Quinoa Fruit Salad

Category: Quinoa recipes / Salads
Preparation Time: 5-10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2 servings

  Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an excellent complete protein source for vegetarians. It is not only healthy but also very easy and quick to cook. 

Quinoa with fruits

This quinoa salad is a quick fix breakfast option if we have the cooked quinoa in hand. Quinoa can be cooked in stovetop or pressure cooker.   

                                           

Please refer my detailed post on how to cook quinoa in instant pot and stovetop here: How to cook Quinoa in Instant pot & Stovetop?

For this quinoa fruit salad, we can use any seasonal fruits available. Here I have used apples, raisins, pomegranates and walnuts. We can use any fresh fruits, dry fruits and nuts. The type & amount of fruits can be altered as per our liking :)

                                        

I haven't used any dressing in this salad but if we prefer, we can add honey-lime dressing. 

Ingredients: 

• Quinoa, cooked - 1 cup 
• Green apple, chopped - 1/2 cup
• Red apple, chopped - 1/2 cup

Banana Chocolate chip Pancakes (Eggless, Whole wheat & Vegan option included)

Category:  Breakfast
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Pancakes are always the favourite breakfast not only for the kids but for the entire family.  I have already posted few pancake recipes in my blog and all those were made from whole grain flour only, strictly no to the refined white flour. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

You can check those here:

• Whole Wheat Eggless Pancakes
• Whole Wheat Pancake Mini Muffins
• Pancake Doughnuts with Peanut butter chips

Nowadays, whenever I have got over ripen bananas, either I prepare these banana muffins or banana bread or pancakes.

Banana chocolate chip pancakes - These are eggless pancakes and made with whole wheat flour. Since banana and milk are not compatible foods together, I have used coconut milk here instead of regular milk. We can use unsweetened coconut or almond milk; if we are not having any of these, we can just grind some coconut and extract milk and use it. We can also use plain water but the taste will differ.

            

Dairy-free & Vegan option: This can easily be adapted to a vegan recipe by replacing the chocolate chips with vegan/dairy free chocolate chips or even chopped nuts and we can use coconut oil for toasting instead of butter.

                       

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat flour/ Atta - 1 3/4 cup
• Baking powder - 2 tsp
• Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - a pinch

Semiya Vegetable Pulao (Vermicelli Pulao)

Category: Breakfast / Dinner
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: Around 30 mins
Servings: 2 Servings

Semiya Vegetable Pulao

Ingredients:

• Semiya/ Vermicelli- 1 cup (I used the pre-roasted variety)
• Mixed Veggies, finely chopped - 2 cups*
• Coconut, fresh grated - 1/3 cup tightly packed
• Onion, finely sliced - 1 no
• Green chilly, slitted - 1 no (Optional)
• Ginger-Garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 tsp**
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp+ 1 tsp
• Bay leaf - 1 no
• Cinnamon - 1 small stick
• Cloves - 2 nos
• Cardamon - 1 no
• Star anise - 1 no
• Mace - 1 strand
• Salt - to taste
• Water - as required
• Cashews, broken - few (for garnishing)

*Mixed Veggies - I used Orange&White Carrots, Beans, Cauliflower florets and sweet corn

** Masala Powders - I have used home made Pav Bhaji Masala, since its already spicy I had not added green chillies; we can also use pulao masala / just Garam Masala according to our taste

Method:

1. I have used the roasted semiya, if we are using the non-roasted variety, we need to roast them in little ghee till it turns golden brown
   
2. Finely chop the veggies and keep it ready
   
3. Take the coconut in a blender/ mixie, add required water and grind to a smooth paste. Using strainer, extract the coconut milk. We can grind and strain the extract 2-3 times until we extract all the liquid. Make sure the extract comes to about 2 cups
4. Heat Oil and 1 tsp of Ghee in a pan, add Bay leaf, Star anise, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamon and Mace strand; fry for 30 secs
   
5. Add the sliced onion, sprinkle a pinch of salt, saute till it becomes golden brown. If using green chilly, we can add now
   
6. Add the Ginger-Garlic paste and saute well for 3-4 mins in medium flame
   
7. Add the finely chopped veggies and saute well for 5 mins
   
8. Add salt and around 1/3 cup of water to the veggies; cover and cook for few mins till it becomes soft
   
9. Now add the Pav Bhaji Masala / any Spice powder of our choice, mix well
   
10. Add around 2 cups of coconut milk extract to it and check for salt
    
11. Keep the flame low and once it starts to boil, add the roasted semiya / vermicelli to it, mix well and allow to cook till all liquids gets absorbed
    
12. In another small pan, heat 1 tsp of Ghee and roast the cashews till golden brown
    
13. Once the Semiya gets cooked, add the cashews over it
    
14. Serve hot!