Being a mother of two, I’ve had to master the art of taking dull, boring food and making it interesting and flavourful!
Breakfast, being the very first meal of the day, needs to be filled with proteins and vegetables. And eating a well-balanced breakfast is thoroughly important, especially for kids, since they need to stay sharp and on their A-games every day! So, a plain dish like sambar idli or parantha wouldn’t suffice. You’ll have to let your creative juices flow on this one and give your breakfast meals a simple, traditional twist!
These out-of-the-box breakfast recipes for kids hit the right spot with Rian and Shalakha and so I’m happy to share them with you all.
Carrots Oats Dosa
There are multiple ways in which this dish can be prepared. The one mentioned below is loaded with proteins, carbs, and veggies! Moong dal is the protein source and oats makes up for the carbs and fibre.
Ingredients
- Oats – ½ cup
- Moong dal – ½ cup
- Carrots – 2 (washed, peeled, and grated)
- Roasted ground cumin seeds (¼ tsp)
- Salt – to taste
- Black pepper powder (a pinch)
- Asafoetida – a pinch
- Chaat masala – a dash
- Coriander leaves (for garnishing)
- Vegetable or almond oil
Recipe
- Wash the moong dal thoroughly.
- Roast the oats in a pan (till golden brown) and soak with the moong dal for about half an hour.
- Grind the oats and moong dal to a paste in a blender.
- Throw in the grated carrots and chopped coriander leaves and mix with this paste to give it a smooth consistency (like a pancake batter).
- Add the spices – cumin powder, chaat masala, salt, asafoetida, and black pepper powder. Mix well.
- Brush a pan or griddle mildly with oil and start heating it.
- Proceed with the dosas now, take a large ladle, fill it with the batter and spread it on the griddle in concentric circles.
- Sprinkle oil thereafter and cook for about 3 minutes till the dosa turns brown.
- Flip it over and cook from the other side.
- Serve hot with mint chutney or sambar.
Dal Parathas
If you loathe those mornings when you open the fridge and a bowl full of dal is just sitting there waiting to fade into oblivion, then this recipe will be a saving grace for you, just like it was for me.
Ingredients
- Cooked dal (any dal is good)
- Wheat flour (2 cups)
- Onion (washed and finely chopped)
- Green chillies (Washed and chopped)
- Gram flour (½ cup)
- Salt – to taste
- Fennel seeds (optional)
- Ghee – for frying
Recipe
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl along with the wheat flour and knead a soft, pliable dough.
- Make small balls out of the dough and start rolling them into circles.
- Heat a pan properly and place the rolled dough on it.
- Sprinkle ghee evenly around the paratha, make sure the edges are soaked in oil.
- Flip it over and fry the other side until the paratha turns brownish (a soft brown) in colour.
- Serve hot with coriander or mint chutney or ketchup!
Mini Coriander-Carrot Idlis
When you take idlis and throw in the goodness of coriander and carrots in the mix, you have yourself a wholesome breakfast that your kids are sure to love!
Ingredients
- For the batter
- Idli rice – 1 cup
- Urad dal – ⅓ cup
- Salt – to taste
- For the vegetable idlis
- 1 onion (washed and chopped)
- 2 carrots (washed, peeled, and chopped)
- Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
- Dry coriander powder – ½ tsp
- Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
- Salt – to taste
Recipe
- Soak the rice idli and urad dal separately for about 5 hours.
- Grind both the ingredients separately with enough water.
- Now, mix the two batters and sprinkle salt for taste.
- Allow the batter to sit and ferment (takes up to 10 hours)
- Saute the onions, carrots, and rest of the spices in a pan.
- Throw this mix in the idli batter.
- Grease the mini idli makers with enough oil.
- Add a tsp of the batter in each space of the idli maker.
- Steam for at least 12 minutes. To check if it’s done, insert a toothpick in one of the idlis, it should come out clean.
Aloo and Paneer Paratha
My kids love this recipe! I throw in the paneer to add a little protein to the whole deal.
Ingredients
- For the dough
- Wheat flour – 2 cups
- Salt – to taste
- Water
- For the filling
- Paneer – ¾ cup (crumbled with hand)
- Potatoes – 3 (washed, boiled, and mashed with hand)
- Onions – 1 (washed and chopped)
- Cumin seeds
- Red chilli powder
- Salt
- Coriander leaves (chopped)
- Oil – 1 tbsp (for frying)
Recipe
- Knead till the dough becomes soft and pliable. Cover it using a muslin cloth and keep it aside.
- In a large pan or kadhai, heat the oil and throw in the cumin seeds, onions, mashed potatoes, paneer, red chilli powder, and coriander leaves. Fry for about 2 minutes.
- Remove and let the mixture cool down.
- Take a large ball from the dough and roll it into a circle.
- Place one portion of the filling in the circle’s centre and seal it properly (make sure the filling doesn’t tear through it).
- Dip it into the flour and roll into a perfect circle. Do not apply too much pressure while rolling.
- Fry the parathas in a pan or griddle until they turn brown from both the sides.
- Serve hot with curd.
Cooked Rice and Veggie Pancakes
The best part about these pancakes is that they look like omelettes and literally take less than 10 minutes to put together!
Ingredients
- Cooked rice – 2 cups
- Onions – ½ cup (washed and chopped)
- Cabbage – ¼ cup (grated)
- Carrots – ¼ cup (grated)
- Moong dal flour – ½ cup
- Whole wheat flour – ½ cup
- Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
- Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
- Green chillies – 3 (chopped)
- Curd – 2 tbsp
- Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
- Salt – to taste
- Vegetable or olive oil
Recipe
- Throw in all the ingredients in a large bowl except oil. Mix thoroughly with a large spoon.
- Add some water and knead a soft dough.
- Divide the dough into 10 parts.
- Place one portion (One at a time) on a damp muslin cloth and roll them into circles.
- Heat oil on a non-stick pan and spread out the circle on it.
- On medium flame, cook till the base turns brown and flip it over.
- When the other side turns brown as well, remove the pancake from the heat and let it cool down.
- Serve with coriander or mint chutney.
These are some of the mind-boggling breakfast recipes for kids that have been styled to meet the dietary requirements of kids! You can always modify the recipes and carve multiple shapes to give your food an interesting visual twist.
And do let me know if you’ve got a few unconventional breakfast ideas up your sleeves!
