Ten easy, healthy Indian recipes children actually eat

Breakfast

1. Vegetable oats chilla — 15 minutes. Mix 1 cup powdered oats, 1/2 cup besan, 1 grated carrot, 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander, 1/4 tsp ajwain, salt, and water to a pouring batter. Rest 10 minutes. Cook on a tawa with 1/2 tsp oil per chilla until golden both sides. Makes 4. Contains: gluten (oats may be cross-contaminated), and besan is a legume. Swap: replace besan with rice flour for a lighter version.

2. Ragi banana pancakes — 15 minutes. Mash 1 ripe banana, whisk with 1 cup ragi flour, 1/2 cup curd, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 tbsp jaggery powder and milk to a thick batter. Cook small pancakes on low heat with ghee. Makes 8 small. Contains: dairy. Ragi is one of the best calcium and iron sources in an Indian kitchen. Swap: coconut milk for dairy-free.

3. Paneer and vegetable paratha — 20 minutes. Crumble 100g paneer, mix with 1/2 cup grated bottle gourd or carrot squeezed dry, 1/4 tsp jeera powder, salt, and a pinch of chilli if they take it. Stuff into whole-wheat dough, roll and cook with ghee. Makes 4. Contains: dairy, gluten. Swap: mashed rajma or crumbled tofu for the paneer.

Lunchbox

4. Vegetable pulao with peas and paneer — 25 minutes. Sauté 1 tsp jeera in 1 tbsp ghee, add 1 chopped onion, 1 cup mixed chopped vegetables and 1/2 cup peas, then 1 cup soaked rice and 1.75 cups water with salt. Cook covered 12 minutes, rest 5. Fold in 50g cubed paneer. Serves 2. Contains: dairy. Packs well and stays good until lunch in an insulated dabba.

5. Moong dal and vegetable idli — 20 minutes plus batter. To 2 cups idli batter add 1/2 cup cooked moong dal, 1 grated carrot and 2 tbsp chopped coriander. Steam 12 minutes. Makes 12 small. Contains: none of the common allergens. The added dal roughly doubles the protein of a plain idli.

6. Rajma and cheese wrap — 15 minutes. Mash 1 cup cooked rajma with 1/2 tsp jeera powder, salt and a squeeze of lemon. Spread on a chapatti, add 2 tbsp grated cheese and finely chopped cucumber, roll tightly and cut in half. Makes 2. Contains: dairy, gluten. The lemon is not optional — vitamin C substantially improves the iron absorption from the rajma.

After school, no-cook, and cook-with-me

7. Roasted chana and peanut chaat — 10 minutes, after school. Mix 1 cup roasted chana, 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, 1 chopped tomato, 1/4 chopped onion, coriander, lemon and a pinch of chaat masala. Serves 2. Contains: peanuts. Swap: roasted makhana for a nut-free version.

8. Curd with fruit and til — 5 minutes, no cook. Whisk 1 cup thick curd with 1 tsp jaggery powder, top with chopped banana or pomegranate and 1 tsp roasted til. Serves 2. Contains: dairy, sesame. Sesame is one of the best non-dairy calcium sources available cheaply in India.

9. Sprouts and cucumber salad — 10 minutes, no cook. Toss 1 cup sprouted moong with 1 chopped cucumber, 1 chopped tomato, lemon, salt and coriander. Serves 2. Contains: none of the common allergens. For young children, steam the sprouts 3 minutes first — raw sprouts carry a higher risk of foodborne illness.

10. Banana and date energy balls — 10 minutes, no cook, children can make this one. Blend 10 deseeded dates with 1/2 cup roasted oats, 2 tbsp desiccated coconut and 1 tbsp peanut butter. Roll into balls with clean hands. Makes 12. Contains: peanuts, oats. Children of five and up can do the entire recipe apart from the blending. Swap: sunflower seed butter for nut-free.

Storage: cooked items keep one day refrigerated; energy balls keep a week. Reheat thoroughly rather than warming.

Note on photography: these recipes have been written and quantities set out for testing, and this page currently carries no original photographs. It has not been reviewed by a dietitian.

Frequently asked questions

Q: My child will not eat vegetables in any of these. — Reduce the visible vegetable rather than removing it, keep offering, and do not make it a condition. Acceptance often takes ten or more calm exposures.

Q: Can these be made ahead? — Chilla and paratha dough, idli batter, sprouts and energy balls all keep. Pulao and wraps are better fresh.

Q: Are these suitable for a lunchbox in Indian heat? — Curd-based items and cut fruit are not, without a cold pack. Pulao, paratha, idli and wraps are.

Q: What about nut allergies at school? — Recipes 7 and 10 contain peanuts. Both have swaps listed, and many Indian schools now ask for nut-free boxes — check yours.