Preparation time
10-15 mins
Cooking time
25-30 mins
Serves
4-6 baby portions
Can babies eat curry?
Yes, they can! It's not necessarily true that babies don't like a little spice - this healthy veggie curry is the perfect introduction to stronger-tasting ingredients and is enjoyed by babies and adults alike!
by Miguel Barclay
Baby curry Ingredients
50g red split lentils
1 potato, about 110g, peeled and chopped into bite-sized chunks
1 carrot, about 120g, chopped into bite-sized chunks
400g can chopped tomatoes
125g canned peaches in fruit juice, drained and finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp mild curry powder
black pepper
By now it'll be fun to give your baby a spoon themselves - you will want to be on hand with your own to make sure some makes it into their mouth!
Method
- Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse them really well under a cold running tap. Tip the lentils into a medium saucepan with the potato and carrot. Pour in enough hot water from a kettle to cover and bring to the boil.
- Turn down the heat a little, part-cover the pan with a lid, and simmer for 12–15 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and the lentils become mushy. During the cooking time, spoon off any foam that rises to the surface.
- Drain the vegetables and lentils over a bowl, saving the cooking water, and return them to the pan. Add the canned tomatoes and peaches, olive oil and curry powder and bring to a simmer. Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes until cooked through.
- Season with pepper, and using a potato masher or the back of a fork, roughly mash. Add some of the saved cooking water if you need to.
Tip - For older babies, mash the mixture a little less. You could also try adding mashed hardboiled eggs or stir in some spinach when you add the tomatoes and peaches. Any leftovers can be frozen for up to 1 month or kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. You could serve with boiled white rice or slices of warm naan bread as a finger food.
Talk to baby about how it tastes 'spicy' and 'yummy'.
