A couple of weeks ago I posted some lentil recipes and I had so many to that I love that I decided to split them in two and keep you all hanging for the second lot. Well here they are – more “Lots of Lentils”! These 3 recipes are totally delicious and the first is great for baby’s first taste of protein as its a very simple tasting dish. The second is actually something I make all the time for the MyMiniMeals family and something that even The Boy will eat. The third is a delicious curry-esque recipe that is packed full of protein and iron as it has spinach in it and again is really good for babies who are just starting to taste more flavours and ingredients.
Cheesey Lentil Mash :
This is a great, very easy recipe for spoon fed babies. It’s a great way to introduce lentils and the cheese gives it a delicious taste. This can be served on its own or I have served it with rice, couscous or baby pasta. You can make it as smooth or lumpy as you like dependent on your baby’s taste and ability to manage lumps.
50g uncooked dry red lentils
500 ml water
1 large carrot
1 large onion
50g cheese (the stronger the better)
Chop the onion and carrots finely and add them to a saucepan with the lentils and water. Bring the mixture to the boil then cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until the lentils are nice and soft. Grate the cheese and add to the lentil mixture until it is melted. Depending on your baby’s ability to eat lumps you can either puree this or simple mash it. This can be frozen in individual portions.
I posted this a while ago and got some great feedback. This is a really easy dish that does take a while to cook but as it’s a one pot dish you pretty much chuck everything in the pot and leave it for a while. I added in lentils to bump up the protein aspect of the dish and make it more hearty. It contains sausages but I did once leave them out and it was a delicious vegetarian meal that is full of protein.
Lentil “Curry”:
This dish is so easy to make and, because of the garam masala or curry powder, has a stronger taste than the other lentil recipes but you can tailor the strength of this flavour to suit your baby’s / child’s palate or even leave it out completely if you wish.
1 large potato
75g dried uncooked red lentils or dried uncooked green lentils (green need to be soaked in cold water for 30 mins prior to adding to this recipe)
4 button mushrooms or 2-3 larger mushrooms
Handful of frozen peas
1 medium onion
A handful of fresh spinach or 2-3 cubes of frozen spinach
2tbsp tomato puree
200ml water or stock made from 1/2 baby stock cube or 1/4 low salt stock cube
2tsp garam masala or mild curry powder
Chop the onion finely and fry in some oil with the garam masala / mild curry powder for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Cut the mushrooms into small pieces and add to the onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are soft. Add the lentils and the water / stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes (for red lentils) OR 25-30 minutes for green lentils. Stir in the tomato puree and then peel the potato and cut it into small chunks then add it to the mixture and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the potato is soft. Add the peas and the spinach and leave to cook for a few minutes. You can puree this is you want it to be smoother. This can be served on its own or with some rice and like the above recipes this can be frozen in individual portions. PS This is yummy for adults too and we often have this with some naan bread.