Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice (soaked overnight prior to cooking, to make it easier for baby to digest)
1 cup red split lentils
1 stock cube (salt reduced)
1 teaspoon garam masala
half teaspoon turmeric
half an onion chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
2 cm ginger grated
1 knob butter or ghee

Method:
First cook the brown rice using absorption method – add 2 cups water, bring to boil then simmer about half an hour until cooked.
Wash lentils thoroughly in cold water, drain and set aside. Add butter or ghee to a medium saucepan, and once melted add garlic, ginger and onion and cook for a couple of minutes. Add turmeric and garam masala and stir for one minute. Add the lentils and stir for one minute. Add stock cube dissolved in roughly 2 cups of boiling water, stirring continuously. Keep some water handy – whenever the water starts to become absorbed, add some more until the lentils start to lose their shape and come together.
For a younger baby, add the dahl to the rice and puree. From about 10 months you can mash it together thoroughly with a fork instead.
My 10 month old loves this and the best thing for me is that it’s easy, it’s cheap, and I usually have the ingredients on hand. You will get a few serves out of it, so make sure to freeze into portions and label with the date you made it!

1) Mash bananas and whisk with wet ingredients until combined.
2) Stir together dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients.
3) Pour into muffin tray (makes about 6 large ones). Bake at 180 for 25 minutes.
4) Enjoy!

Risoni with Mixed Vegetables
1 red capsicum, 1 zucchini, 310g can corn kernels, 400g crushed tomatoes, 2 tablespoons risoni

1. Cook capsicum in medium heated frying pan with a little bit of butter. Add zucchini and corn; cook stirring for two min.
2. Add can of crushed tomatoes stirring occasionally for 15 min or until vegetables have softened.
Cook risoni in small saucepan of boiling water until tender.
3. Mix risoni with vegetable mixture.

This is a great recipe to get the little ones used to something with a bit of texture Always a hit with Emmy and i have even used the sauce in cooking chicken parma for me and my husband.

When ready to progress to the next step we can get more creative:
Tiny Mushy Meatballs with Mash- to make meatballs combine mince (finely squised with above fork) and grated zuchinni, carrot, capsicum, garlic, cumin, ginger and turmeric. Roll into 10cent piece balls. Sauce- mashed tomatoes, mushrooms, basil, corriander, tiny bit water. Add balls to sauce and cook/boil til soft. Serve with potato, pumpkin and sweet potato mash!

And lastly a nice healthy, sensory and explorative meal- cous cous and vegies! Boil carrot and beetroot with spinach. Set aside. Cook cous cous. Once cool add vegies and stir in! The softness of veggies combined with softness of couscous makes an extremely yummy meal!! Good to squish between fingers (an apparently good to throw on floor)!