Indian Supermeals: Baby And Toddler Cookbook – A Review

When it comes to eating and especially with trying to get them to eat new foods, my boys can be……..well….challenging! They know what they like and they like what they know! Therefore when I was asked if I would like to review a new cookery book Indian Supermeals : Baby & Toddler Cookbook, I accepted with some intrepidation. I mean, how embarrassing if I reviewed a recipe from said cook book and then my children refused to eat any of it!

Indian Supermeals : Baby & Toddler Cookbook is written by Zainab Jagot Ahmed a mum who wrote the book after her experiences of weaning her own daughter and introducing spices and Indian cuisine into her eating experiences. The book is the UK’s first Indian cookbook for babies and toddlers and not only is it full of tasty sounding recipes for little taste buds aged from 7 months to 3 years, but Zainab also lists lots of useful and informative nutritional advice about the use of spices and how to introduce them gradually into your children’s diet.

I don’t make curries very often so its not a meal the boys are used to eating. Its not that I don’t enjoy them, its just that it isn’t a meal I always think about cooking. So I was excited, aswell as a little apprehensive, about cooking my first one from scratch.  I chose a curry recipe that had a tomato based sauce as opposed to a cream one, as the boys are used to this as I dont make many creamy dishes. I thought it would look familiar to them on their plates and therefore be more appealing. Well that was the plan anyway!

The recipe I selected is a favourite of Zainab’s as its her Mum’s own recipe for Chicken Karahi and this is how you make it.

Serves 2 adults and 2 children

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, diced
(I used turkey as it what was what I had in my freezer)
75ml vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
300g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
salt to taste *
red chili powder to taste *
fresh coriander for garnish *

*I didnt use these ingredients, although next time I will add some chili powder to mine and OH’s portions (I cannot stand fresh coriander)

To Make It:

Put the oil into a deep saucepan and add the onions and stir fry on a medium heat for about 5 minutes
Then add the garlic and ginger and continue to fry for a minute
Add all the spices and cook for another minute

Pour in the tomatoes and puree, stir and and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes on a low heat so that the tomato sauce thickens

Add the chicken, stir and cover with a lid and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes until the meat is cooked right through.

Meanwhile cook your rice (I added peas and sweetcorn to mine for colour and extra vegetable allowence!)

Then serve and enjoy

(if adding the salt and chili, serve up your children’s portions first and then add these to the sauce for the adult servings, and garnish with the coriander)

It was really easy to prepare and quick too, as it was made and served within about 40 minutes. And is low fat too great for those of us trying to curb our eating but still looking for flavoursome meals.

However, my toughest critics are my boys …….what would they make of something new and a meal which contains white meat and served with rice!!!!!???

Eeeeeeeeek!!

Welllllllllllll………. let me show you

It was a HIT!!!!!
I could not believe my eyes to be honest.
So it looks like I have a new meal that I can cook regularly. And it has given me the confidence to try another recipe from the book.

This great value for money cook book is a great read, filled with 60 delicious looking and sounding Indian cuisine recipes that are made using super spices and superfoods which are healthy and nutritious and aimed specifically at little mouths. Created by another Mum who has been through all the fussy eating stages too with her own little one.

Trust me, if my two faddy toddlers ate this curry, then I am sure yours will too.

Indian Supermeals : Baby & Toddler Cookbook is available to download from Amazon and Waterstones  from just £3.99

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Thank you xx