How do I make rasam, soup or rice dishes (like idli) tasty for my baby without spice or salt?

Moms make mild baby versions of family dishes - rasam with homemade spice powder and a date instead of sugar, idli softened with ghee and mild chutney, and rice dishes like curd rice and coconut-milk rice - keeping salt minimal until 1 year.

Community Answers from Moms(4)

Here's what moms in our community shared based on their own experience.

1. 1

   Rasam: dry-roast and powder cumin, peppercorns and coriander seeds (roughly 2:0.5:1 ratio). Cook one deseeded chopped tomato with coriander, curry leaves, a bit of hing and turmeric and water until mushy, temper, then add half a teaspoon of the powder. Use a date in place of sugar; salt isn't recommended until age 1.

2. 2

   Idli: add ghee to it; give with jeera and pepper powder; or with a non-spicy chutney of roasted Bengal gram, jeera, hing, a pinch of salt, a little tamarind and very little (or no) green chili, blended smooth.

3. 3

   Rice dishes: tomato rice, coconut-milk rice with veggies, curd rice, kadhi, pulav - all mild and baby-friendly.

4. 4

   Soup at older ages isn't essential - prefer more texture; but veggie soups (e.g. spinach, tomato, carrot) are fine earlier.