Dry Fruits enjoy a special place in baby diets. No matter how old you are, whether you are doing PG, when you move to a hostel, have exams coming up, or getting engaged, mothers always give you dry fruits. It’s a secret superpower. The earlier you start this tradition for your babies, the better! We’ll tell you why.

THE GOODNESS OF DRY FRUITS

Dry Fruits and Nuts are a powerhouse of concentrated calories. They are a dense snack, with high fat and fibre. Dry fruits and nuts are great in satiating hunger for longer times, calming fussy little ones by giving them more stamina. They are also rich in many vitamins, minerals and proteins, making them a great choice for growing babies. Dry Fruits are a saviour for underweight children and help them gain healthy weight.

DRY FRUITS POWDER RECIPE

What you need

• ½ cup Almonds
• ¼ cup Cashews
• ¼ cup Pistachios
• ¼ cup walnuts
• A pinch of saffron
• 2 cardamoms (Optional)
• Nutmeg (Optional)
• Dry Ginger (Optional)

HOW TO MAKE DRY FRUITS POWDER

Different nuts have different cooking times (to turn golden brown). Putting them in all together will burn some and leave others undercooked. So dry roast all the nuts separately and let them cool well. In the meanwhile, get your optional ingredients ready. Cardamom, nutmeg and dry ginger add a touch of delicacy to the powder, but not all babies welcome the extra touch. So use them with caution. Maybe you could separate the batch into two, one with added flavors and the other plain, and switch between them for a variety.

If you choose nutmeg, grate it until you have a teaspoon of shredding. If you are using dry ginger, pound it into a pulverised coarse powder and take about a teaspoon from it. Both nutmeg and dry ginger help in digestion of the heavy dry fruit meal.

When the roasted nuts are completely cooled to room temperature, bring on your blender jar. Wipe the jar thoroughly – moisture is a big no-no. Add all the nuts, saffron and the optional spices and lock the lid on. Mixer grinder motors give out heat when used for long durations, and the heat then forms sweat inside which will make your powder clumpy. Also, grinding everything in one go with your mixie running for 20 minutes straight will also make your powder turn into a paste. For the right consistency, switch on the mixie and off in 5 seconds flat. Open the jar, stir everything from top to bottom, put the lid back again, run for another 5 seconds and stir and grind. If you feel the mixie jar heating up, stop immediately, pour everything into a large plate, spread apart to prevent lumps and start again.

Repeat the steps as many times as necessary until you get a fine smooth powder. Now the powder is ready. Spread the powder again on a dry plate for some time if it is warm. Choose an airtight jar to store it once it cools down, preferably steel or glass. Use a dry spoon when scooping it for use.

Now that your dry fruits powder is ready, you can make laddoos, halwas, flavoured milk, desserts, porridges, breakfast cereals or kulfis with it.

Let us know how the powder turned out! Stay tuned for more tips and tricks for your baby!