Food children will eat
Children usually like mild flavours, soft textures and food they can hold. This collection gathers dishes that tend to win over young eaters: homemade chicken nuggets, baked chicken kebab bites, potato smileys, chicken macaroni, egg fried rice, aloo cutlets, chicken patties, stuffed parathas, Turkish gözleme and kumpir, and South Indian idli and uttapam.
Making desi food child-friendly
- Hold back the chilli. Cook the base mild, take out the children’s portion, then add chilli or a for the adults.
- Use cream, butter and yogurt. They soften heat and make gravies familiar. Paneer butter masala and butter chicken are favourites for this reason.
- Make it hand-held. Rolls, cutlets, parathas and mini kebabs are easier for small hands than curry and rice.
- Hide vegetables. Grate carrots into uttapam, add spinach to paratha dough, and blend vegetables into soups.
Our guide to mild desi food for kids has more ideas by age.
Treats
Shakes made with real fruit, such as banana, mango and strawberry, are a good way to get milk and fruit into children. For dessert, fruit custard, kheer and kulfi are always popular.
For school mornings, see our kids’ breakfast collection; for school lunches, our school lunch box collection.