Soups are a tasty, healthy and wholesome meal for your baby. Here
are a few recipes for healthy soups that your baby/children is sure to
enjoy! All these soups are healthy and nutritious. These recipes
are also suitable for children above 1 year and can be had as part of family
meals with added seasoning, flavoring and herbs. Please feel free to make appropriate
changes and additions to suit your palate and requirement.
1. Lentil soup
Ingredients
1 cup filtered water or Vegetable stock
2 tablespoon split yellow gram (moong dal) or split red
lentils(masoor dal)
A Pinch of turmeric (haldi)
Method
Boil the lentils in half a cup of water with a pinch of turmeric
(haldi) until it is completely cooked and soft. Mash the dal and add
the remaining water. Boil again for a few minutes and strain through a
wire-meshed sieve to get a clear dal soup.
You can gradually reduce the quantity of water
to the mashed dal to make it a thicker and more wholesome meal for
your baby.
2. Carrot and Beetroot Soup
Ingredients
1/4 of a beetroot; peeled and chopped
1 carrot; peeled and chopped
2 cups filtered water or Vegetable stock
A slice of lemon
Method
Add the water to the chopped beetroot and carrot. Pressure cook
till the vegetables are completely cooked and soft. Mash the mixture. Strain
through a wire-meshed sieve to get a clear vegetable soup.
Initially offer your baby the water alone, then gradually include
the mashed vegetables as well. You can also add potatoes for an interesting
variation in taste as well as to make the soup thicker.
Variations:
You can also do different veggie combinations to prepare this
soup.
Notes:
a) 1/2 cup beetroot + 1/4 cup carrot + 1/4 cup cauliflower
b) 1/2 cup bottlegourd + 1/4 cup cauliflower + 1/4 cup potato
c) 1/4 cup potato + 1/4 cup carrot + 1/4 cup French beans + 1/4
cup cauliflower
d) 1/2 cup cauliflower + 1/2 cup bottlegourd +
1/2 cup carrot + 1/4 cup tomatoes
3. Apple and Carrot Soup with Potatoes
Ingredients
1/4 cup apple; peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons carrot; peeled and chopped
1/4 cup potato; peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon onion; finely chopped
½ teaspoon oil/ghee
1 cup filtered water or Vegetable stock
Method
Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker and sauté
chopped onions for 2 minutes. Add chopped apple, carrot and potato and sauté
for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the water and cover and cook for 2 to 3 whistles.
Cool and puree. Strain and reheat. Serve warm.
Notes:
Once the baby is used to the flavors of this
soup, you don’t need to strain it. Add a dash of pepper and a few drops of
lemon juice.
4. Tomato and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
1
medium size Onion; sliced lengthwise
1/2
cup Carrots; coarsely chopped
1/2
cup Cauliflower; cut into florets
1/4
cup French Beans; coarsely chopped
2
big Tomatoes; coarsely chopped
1
tablespoon Butter (you can substitute this with vegetable or olive oil)
2 cups Water or Vegetable stock
Method
Take
a pressure cooker and add the butter/oil into it. Add the onions and sauté for
a minute on low flame, do not let the onions turn brown. Add the rest of the
vegetables except the tomatoes, and sauté for another minute. Add the tomatoes
the last. Mix well. Add water/stock and cover and cook for 10 minutes or till
done. (the veggies need to be soft and mushy) Once cooked and the pressure
dropped, open the pressure cooker and cool the mixture. Using a hand held
blender, blend the mixture into a smooth mix. You can alternatively do this in
a mixer/grinder. Adjust the water, if the mixture is too thick, make it thin by
adding water or stock, the consistency is your wish. Serve warm with breadsticks/soupsticks/toast.
Notes:
5. Mixed Vegetable Soup
This vegetable soup can be included in your
baby's diet once you've introduced a couple of vegetables to her. You can make
the soup thick or watery.
Ingredients
1/4 piece of a medium-sized carrot, peeled and
chopped
1/4 piece of a medium-sized potato, peeled and
chopped
a small piece of bottle gourd (lauki or
doodhi), peeled and chopped
1/4 piece of medium-sized tomato, peeled and
chopped
A small part of a medium-sized cabbage (patta
gobhi), chopped
3 cups of filtered water
Method
Cook all the vegetables in the water till they
are soft. Mash the mixture and strain through a wire-meshed sieve to get a
thick soup or strain only the water to get a clear soup.
You
can use the clear soup as a base for the baby's rice cereal mix as well.
6. Baby’s Little Pasta Soup
Ingredients
1 & 1/2 cups vegetable/chicken
stock
2 tablespoon
uncooked pastina
Method
Bring the broth to a
gentle boil and add pastina. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7 to 8 minutes
or until pastina is cooked well. Serve warm with breadsticks/soupsticks/toast.
Notes:
7. Chicken Soup
Ingredients
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
Chicken; cooked & shredded)
1 & 1/2 cups Chicken stock
1 to 2 cloves Garlic; crushed
2 Shallots/Pearl onions/Small onions; crushed
1 small size Carrot
3 to 4 florets Cauliflower
Salt; to taste (optional)
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Oil
Method
Heat oil in a soup pot and sauté garlic and shallots for
about 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame. Add chicken stock and water (if necessary)
and let it boil. When it comes to a boil, add carrot and cauliflower; cover and
cook for a few minutes. Once the veggies have been cooked, add the cooked
chicken along with pepper and salt and cover and cook again for about 1 minute
on a medium flame and 1 or 2 minutes on a gentle sim with the lid open.
Notes:
8. Creamy Onion and Chicken Soup
Ingredients
1 small size Big Onion; finely chopped
1 teaspoon Butter
1 teaspoon Cornflour (optional)
1 soup bowl Milk; boiled
3 to 4 tablespoon Vegetable stock (refer notes)
Salt; to taste (optional)
1/4 teaspoon Pepper (black or white)
2 teaspoon Cream Cheese
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Fresh Parsely/Coriander; finely chopped
Method
9. Roasted Pumpkin & Carrot Soup
Ingredients
1/4 portion of 1 Pie Pumpkin
1 small size Carrot; roughly chopped
2 tablespoon Onion; finely sliced
1 cup Vegetable/Chicken Stock
1 small piece Cinnamon stick
1 Clove
Salt; to taste (optional)
Cracked pepper; to taste
1/2 teaspoon Brown Sugar (optional)
A little Olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Cut pumpkin into medium
sized chunks. Scoop out seeds. Clean carrot and cut into medium size chunks.
Place pumpkin (cut side up) and chopped carrot on a greased baking tray.
Drizzle with olive oil and salt and bake until golden and roasted through.
(best way to know if the pumpkin is cooked – check and see if fork tender)
Once the pumpkin has cooled slightly, scoop the pumpkin and
keep aside.
Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté cinnamon and clove for a
few minutes. Add sliced onion along with brown sugar. Sauté till onion turns
golden brown and is caramelized well. Add the roasted pumpkin and carrot and
stir for a few minutes. Now add the vegetable/chicken stock to the saucepan and
bring to a boil. Puree with a stick blender or a normal blender/liquidizer.
Place the saucepan back on the stove and turn onto a medium heat. Heat through
for a few minutes. Add enough salt and cracked pepper.
Serve warm with breadsticks/soupsticks/toast.
Notes:
1. To lift up this soup a little, you can add a little milk to
it. A mixture of milk and cream cheese will also taste yummy!
10. Creamy Tomato Soup
Ingredients
For Tomato Soup
2 plump Fresh Tomatoes; roughly chopped
1/2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 tablespoon Tomato Sauce
1 small size Carrot; roughly chopped
1 small size Big Onion; roughly chopped
2 small cloves of Garlic; crushed
1/2 a Bay Leaf; coarsely crushed
300 ml Stock (veg/chicken/beef)
1/2 tablespoon Fresh Thyme leaves OR 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 or teaspoon Brown Sugar (optional)
300 ml Boiled Milk
A pinch of Salt (optional)
A pinch of Pepper
2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive oil OR any refined oil
For Croutons
Ingredients
1 slice of Bread; ends cut; cut into small cubes
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Olive oil OR any refined oil
Method
Preparation of Soup
Heat oil in a soup pot and add crushed garlic, bay leaf and
chopped onions into it. Saut'e until onions have turned transparent and light
brown. Add the chopped carrots and saut'e for a few minutes till carrots turn
soft and start losing it's colour. Add roughly chopped fresh tomatoes, tomato
paste, sauce, stock, thyme leaves (or dried thyme), sugar and salt and stir
till combined well. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Cover and cook and allow to
simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Switch off the stove and leave the mixture to
cool. Finely puree the soup in a pureeing machine or blender.
Run the soup through a sieve and return the liquid
back into the stock pot. Add the milk into it. Season with salt and
pepper. Gently bring the soup to a boil. (do not boil the soup too much) Switch
off the flame. Keep warm.
Preparation of
Croutons
Heat oil in a pan and add the bread cubes into it. Fry till
golden brown and crisp. Your yummy croutons are ready!
Photo Courtesy: google.com
Excellent, Donna....just what we all needed to know...Indeed,i was thinking of asking u to post something like this ever since my junior turned six months...Thank u so much dear......keep it up n keep it coming....lucky li'l mish mash!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jem n Ash...Glad you liked it...hope you enjoy cooking these for your little one. This section will be updated every now and then with new recipes. Also watch out for newer sections with recipes for delicious purees, cereals, snacks etc...
ReplyDeleteAwesome Donna.. Very helpful for moms.. :)
ReplyDeletethanks and glad it was helpful
ReplyDeleteSuper liked it Donna
ReplyDelete