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How to make Sunnipindi Recipes for all seasons

Baby Sunnipindi versions for different seasons... Baby skin hygiene is more than cleaning with lather and moisturising for hydration. In a sub-tropical, humid country like India, protection against fungal and bacterial infections is also important. The Sunnipindi snanam or Herbal Bath Powder Bath is a procedure that is certified as “anti bacterial, anti fungal, anti odour, body temperature regulating while ensuring that skin stays balanced” by the  knowledgeable white haired grandmoms in the family. ‘Snanam’ or bath with ‘sunnipindi’ flips the contemporary bath process, that of ‘cleansing with lather’ followed by ‘hydration using moisturiser’. When using sunnipindi powder, the skin is drenched and massaged thoroughly in oil first. Mustard oil, peanut oil, gingelly oil and nowadays Olive oil are all considered serious good. If nothing is at hand, good old coconut oil will do. After baby skin drinks deeply of the oil, wet sunnipindi is scrubbed in till the oil and powder
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Simple Cheese Omelette for Kids, by Kids...

'Egg love' is an inherited trait in the family. We love them scrambled, poached, sunny sides up, boiled and curried and all sorts, Omelette being the simplest of the list. I give my son an omelette or two every day and the best part of the evening omelette exercise is that my son participates in it. He likes to cook, (is a proud owner of the 'Sheetal Plastic Complete Kitchen Set') and breaking eggs gives him untold gratification. Any breaking activity does that to a boy I guess. Anyways, coming back to our story, Rudra arrives in the kitchen, hands washed, hair combed, holding two eggs, cheese block from the fridge and the mechanical egg beater. He sits coolly on the kitchen counter and recites the ingredients: - Two eggs - One spoon milk - One pinch salt - One pinch chilli powder - Cheese block We break the two eggs into a bowl and Rudra adds the milk, salt and chilli powder and goes at the egg batter with the beater till its frothy looking. Then mummy qui

For babies who don't eat vegetables and curries

"If you don't eat your vegetables, how will you grow up into big, strong dinosaurs?", Sid gently reprimands (elephant sized) baby dinos in Ice Age - Dawn of The Dinosaurs. That must be a standard meal time line for every mom. I am no exception. For the first three years of his existence, Rudra depended on tomato rasam with rice or Pappula podi with chapati or dosa for survival. Being a highly self critical mom, I couldn't bear it. Many would agree there am sure. Consequences of nutritional deficiencies looming large on our consciences isn't exactly comfortable. I must have tried curried vegetables, boiled vegetables with sauces mixed into them, boiled, roast and seasoned veggies...but nothing works. After a morsel, they are relegated to the dustbin. Finally, we are now skirting the problem thus. Veggie Rice: - Wash rice of required quantity, soak and keep aside. - Pick a selection of vegetables (leafy greens also can go into this) keeping compatibil

Pappula Podi for idli, dosa et all

My best friend and one of the amazing mom's I know, Sandhya, suggested this recipe when I told her that am at a loss for a dosa/ idli accompaniment for my son. I was sure I did not want sauce or ketchup on my son's plate this early. Neither did I prefer curry or chutney as he has only begun learning of tastes. Sandhya adviced Pappula Podi and its a huge hit. Rudra, my son, has it with most south Indian breakfast items as well as with rice at times. Pappula podi is mildly spicy, contains ingredients that aid digestion and is a handy serving accompaniment even for adults. Ingredients: Jeelakarra(Cumin seeds) - 1 tbsp Miriyalu (Pepper corns) - 1/2 tsp Dhaniyalu (Coriander seeds) - 1tbsp Dried red chillies - 5 Menthulu (Fenugreek seeds) - a pinch Putnala pappu (Roasted bengal gram) - 1 cup Salt to taste Process: Roast all the ingredients separately, except the putnalu and grind them together in a mixie. Add putnalu at the very end and run the mixer once again. Adjust salt as per p

Poached egg for infants

I live by the golden rule that 'An egg a day keeps every illness away'. And someplace, I did read an ad released by the National Egg Co-ordination Committee which said, 'Tasty treasure of mighty minerals'. Rudra ate his first egg when he was about seven months old. Some of my mommy friends felt its too young an age to eat egg. But it's done now and the boy is three plus years of age and three and a half feet tall. Am only happy about my son's progress upwards and across, but is it because of all the eggs? Can't assure an answer there. Well, I did not boil the egg. I poached only the albumen (egg white) in water. The result was extremely soft, firm and jelly like egg that was easy to eat for the baby. Recipe: Ingredients: - One Egg of course, only the white and no yellows for babies below one year of age - Water - 2 cups - A hint of pepper and a touch of salt Method: Boil the water in a deep dish till it is bubbling over furiously. Make

Mango finale to a forgiveful summer.

Late in summer, when the first sprinkles of monsoon sign in...when monsoon is just about the corner...thats when I see these glorious orange-yellow mangoes. They have a mature, robust, full bodied flavour that lingers. These are my favourite. My son lapped up mango mash as an infant, but after a season away from the divine fruit, it took some time to get him to fall in mango love again. Here's my recipe for a Mango finale with some Cashew fanfare: Ingredients: Fully ripe mango - 1 cut into bite sized pieces Cashew - half cup soaked for about three hours Sugar - To taste Milkmaid - Two tablespoons (optional) Process: Grind the soaked Cashew first in a mixie, then add the sugar. Add mango pieces and the milkmaid to the jar and blend till silky smooth. Adjust the quantity of sugar according to taste. Those who are concerned over the sugar intake can skip adding any. What comes out is flowing mango garbed in heavenly yellow. The cashew flavour is just a hint and the milkmaid gives a fr

Apple mash all the way!!

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away. No arguments there. Which is why I fed my son Rudra a mashed apple everyday for his first eighteen months. Thanks to Ms Gamedar, my son was fortunate to have a balanced diet comprising of Uggu, properly cooked fruit and other yummy food that was very very good. Here is the recipe for ' Apple mash ': Ingredients: . 1 Apple peeled, cored and cut into tiny pieces . One teaspoon sugar . One or two tablespoons of milk Process: Take the apple pieces in a dish that has a tight fitting cover. I used a steel tiffin box. Put this box in a pressure cooker and add water to the cooker. About an inch's depth should be fine. Do not add water inside the dish with apples. The moisture in apples is enough to cook them. Pressure cook for about five whistles. Remove the apple pieces, allow them to cool a little and then blend them with the milk and sugar in a mixer or a blender. Remove the mash to a bowl, drizzle a lil honey on top and feed baby while the