I am always short on snack options for Sarah, so I keep looking for various types of recipes which would make her eat nutritious food (smiles)! I bought a new recipe book on Oats by Neeta Mehta recently. I thought of trying out one of the recipes but while working on the raw material for the recipe, I changed my mind and made something else out of it. Creativity has no boundaries, be it in cooking or some other niche!

To me, this recipe was a hit from nutrition perspective. It had Moong Dal, Oats, Amaranth and Curd. If Sarah likes it, what else would I want?!  So I went ahead and tried it to check if it is a hit tastewise also. Thankfully, everyone liked it and yes, Sarah too (smiles)!

Health Benefits

Lentils(dals) are very good source of protein. As per wikipedia,  with about 30% of their calories from protein, lentils have the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any legume or nut, after soybeans and hemp. Lentils also contain dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B₁, and minerals.

Moong dal is one of the most easily digestible dals and so is good for toddlers’ digestion too.

Oats and Curd are no less when it comes to health benefits. I mentioned earlier about some of their benefits in my post on Oats Idli.

Coming to Amaranth. Although I always ate amaranth laddo during fasts but I never knew what it was till I got introduced to this grain through my sister-in-law and since then I am a big fan of it. I keep adding it to idlis, Uttapam and added it to this recipe as well. Use of Amaranth adds to the nutritional value many folds.

• It is high in Calcium and provides more protein than wheat.While the protein in amaranth is not complete, it is rich in the amino acid  lysine. Lysine is an essential amino acid necessary for proper growth, calcium  absorption and collagen production. Combining amaranth with beans, peanuts or  lentils creates a complete protein.
• A  cup of amaranth provides 5 mg of iron, 160 mg of magnesium and 364 mg of phosphorus. It also provides more than 100 percent of the daily value for the  trace mineral manganese. One cup of amaranth is a source of six different  vitamins. Most notably, it provides 54 mcg of folate, necessary for red blood  cell function and fetal development, and .3 mg of vitamin B6, essential to your  ability to convert food into energy and proper functioning of red blood cells,  as well as the immune and nervous system.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Moong Dal
• 1/4 Cup Oats
• 1/4 Cup Amaranth
• 1/2 Cup Curd
• 1/4 Cup Water
• 2-3 Green Chillis (can be altered based on need, I did not add any for Sarah)
• 1 1/2 Tea Spoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Coriander Leaves

Preparation Steps

1. Soak Moong Dal in water for an hour. Just keep enough water to soak the dal.
2. Grind Moong Dal, Green Chilli and Coriander leaves in a grinder and make a thick paste.
3. Add Oats and Amaranth, Curd and Salt and keep mixing.
4. Add water to bring the batter to required consistency. It should be similar to cake batter.
5. Heat up a non stick pan on medium flame, add some ghee/oil and spread the batter in small circles or one big circle as you like.
6. Let it cook for a few minutes and then turn the pan cake upside down.
7. Once the pan cake turns golden brown from both the sides, take them off the pan.
8. Serve with Chutney/Sauce of your choice. I liked them with Corainder and Mint chutney and also with Maggi hot & sweet tomato chilli sauce!

Tip : You can add the ingredients of your choice to make it even more nutritious and delicious like grated carrot, chopped onion, chopped capsicum. Adding some spices like “garam masala” will also enhance the taste.

This recipe goes to the “Legume Love Affair 47″ hosted by Priya and Susan. Also to “Healthy Food for Healthy Kids – Toddler lunch”

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