Cocktails and Cuisine

By Rajni Hatti

South Asian Cuisine for Kids, or the Kid in You

As most parents know, getting kids to eat nutritious and well-balanced meals can be tricky business. Not to mention, it can be especially challenging to get children to develop a taste for South Asian food, as it is often spicy and highly seasoned. Given the wide variety of cuisines in the United States, most kids grow up eating many different types of foods and don't eat South Asian food everyday. Yet, South Asian cuisine is an important part of our cultural heritage, and many parents would like a way to incorporate at least some of it into their children's meals.

Rather than forcing a child to eat certain foods, it is best to modify dishes to suit his or her individual palate. A mildly flavored South Asian dish with a vegetable or meat that your child already likes would be a good place to start. Or, introduce your child to new flavors by adding a common South Asian ingredient to a dish your child already eats. For example, add a little cumin to scrambled eggs or rice, or add some mango to a fruit salad.

Here are two kid-friendly recipes that taste great to adults too! Akoori is the South Asian version of scrambled eggs, and Mango Lassi is a delicious summer drink. These recipes would also be great for any of your friends or acquaintances that are new to Indian food and want to give it a try!

Akoori (Spicy Scrambled Eggs)
Makes 4 servings

I like to make this dish for breakfast on the weekends. It is simple to make and very filling.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped green chilies
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 medium tomato, seeds removed and finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
6 eggs
¼ cup sour cream

Tip: To make this dish less spicy, omit the green chilies, or, remove all the seeds from the green chilies before chopping.

Instructions:

1. Heat medium size pan over medium heat. Add onion, green chilies, cumin, salt, pepper, and turmeric. Sauté until onion begins to brown, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add tomato and cilantro and sauté until tomatoes cook down, about 5 minutes.

3. Beat eggs and sour cream together. Reduce heat to low and add eggs to pan.

4. Stir occasionally until eggs are soft and cooked, making sure not to overcook.

Serving Suggestion: Serve over buttered toast.

Mango Lassi (Mango Smoothie)
Makes 4 servings

This simple drink tastes best when you use very ripe and sweet mangos. Alternatively, you could also use canned mango pulp available at Indian grocery stores.

Ingredients:

2 mangos, peeled and sliced into chunks
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup water
2 cups ice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
4 teaspoons sugar, adjust to taste


Instructions:

1. Add mangos to blender and puree until smooth.

2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

3. Pour into four serving glasses.

Copyright © 2006 Rajni Hatti. All rights reserved.

Rajni Hatti is a freelance food writer and is currently writing an Indian cookbook which focuses on simple and delicious Indian cooking. She lives with her husband and son in the Washington D.C. area. Email askrajni@yahoo.com with comments or questions about this column.

Back to Top