Masala Chai Oatmeal
A mother of two, Leena was inspired to make baby food better using spices and diverse global ingredients.
Cardamom is one of the spices used to make masala chai, the popular Indian tea drink. Translated literally, masala chai means tea (chai) mixed with spices (masala). Chai is drunk several times a day in India. It is typically prepared by boiling milk, water, tea and a variety of seasonings including cinnamon, clove, cardamom and other spices (depending on the region in India).
But my baby can’t (and shouldn’t) drink tea, you say. No worries, because mine can’t either! I thought, however, it would be a great idea to take some of the chai spices and mix them into a yogurt and oatmeal combination.
- Servings Serving size depends on the amount of oatmeal you use.
Ingredients
- Organic baby oatmeal cereal, flakes or homemade
- Formula, breast milk or organic whole milk
- Organic yogurt, when allowed by your pediatrician
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground cardamom
- 1 pinch ground or ⅛ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Preparation
1. Prepare baby oatmeal according to directions. This is usually done with breast or whole milk. Alternatively, you can use a few spoons of organic whole milk yogurt mixed with formula, breast milk or a little water to reach your desired consistency.
2. Add one pinch each of ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and ground ginger. I have used a tiny amount of fresh ginger root as well. Check with your baby! Stir well and serve.
Leena Saini
A former lawyer, after her daughter refused to eat anything bland as a baby, Leena was inspired to make baby food better by using spices and diverse global ingredients. Nurturing tiny taste buds became an obsession that led to a blog www.masalababyfood.com and a baby food cookbook Around the World in 80 Purees: Easy Recipes for Global Baby Food (Quirk Books). Leena lives in New Jersey with her husband, and two “masala babies.”
Courtesy photo
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