Baby Food Recipe: Chicken and Chickpea Curry

The concept of giving our little one her first taste of curry raised a bunch of questions; mostly around should you give curry to a baby and what happens to their poop.

As I tentatively tried out this recipe on Adelyn, I found that she seemed to really enjoy the creamy and new flavour (I guess it’s like chicken korma), and we didn’t notice any discernible difference in her poop haha…I opted for a mild curry powder from the supermarket as a gentle introduction to the flavour.

Adelyn will have to get used to a bit of spice anyway so that she can fully appreciate the delicious Malaysian cuisine she’ll be growing up with – and we don’t plan on raising a spice-adverse bubba.

And guess what? Babies love flavour! Don’t forget that a lot of the time it’s a whole new experience for them, every time you offer a taste of something new.

Knowing that this recipe is packed with Vitamin A & C (sweet potatoes) fibre and folate (chickpeas) and protein (chicken) too means you can be reassured that it’s also good for the little ones too.

This recipe should make enough for 4 generous portions.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken thighs, diced
• 1 medium-sized sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
• 1-2 shallots, diced
• 1-2cm nubbin of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1tsp mild curry powder
• 200ml coconut milk (TIP: use a big can and save the other half to add to porridge!)
• 200ml water
• 1x 210g can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
• Generous handful of spinach, washed and finely chopped.

Lightly fry the chicken and shallots in a saucepan, then add the sweet potato. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then add the trio of flavour – garlic, ginger and curry powder to the pan and stir well to coat evenly.

Add the coconut milk and the water and bring up to the boil. Then pop in the chick peas, reduce heat slightly and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken has cooked fully and the potato is tender.

Add the spinach towards the end of your cooking time.

Blitz to the consistency your baby likes (above was half blended and half mashed). Goes great with some steamed cauliflower or pitta bread as finger food!

Freezes well.

Enjoy! Kx