Mixed sprouts pessarattu

I always run out of ideas for increasing the protein intake of my daughter. My oft repeated gameplan for now is to create dosa-like dishes for easy acceptance since dosas are her favorite food. So when I came across a pack of mixed sprouts at the grocery store my mind began to run wild with vivid visions of her slurping down a mixed sprouts dosa or pessarattu (yeah right!) Well, well, always worth a try.

Ingredients:
A small pack of mixed sprouts
A couple of coriander leaves
A pinch of asofoetida (hing)
Salt to taste
A spoon of freshly ground coconut (optional)

Method:
Coarse grind the ingredients in a blender. The batter should be thick (not pourable but spreadable -- makes sense?) Heat the griddle and take a spoonful and spread it like a dosa but make sure not to spread it thin. Leave it to cook on a medium flame after spreading a few drops of oil around and in the center. Each side of the pessarattu takes longer to cook than a dosa. Flip it over and cook the other side and then you know what to do -- pray hard that your little one accepts this humble, tasty and nutritious offering.

Pineapple honey jam

I've been mulling a no-sugar jam for a while. My husband's aunt is a fantastic cook and she came over once to make us a mixed-fruit jam, which my little girl loved. But the amount of sugar that went into the fruit pulp along with the food flavoring and coloring made me really sad because the delicious tastes of the fruit were exterminated by the flavoring and what remained was mere texture.
Given that pineapples are in season, I decided to blend my daughter's love for jam with my penchant for honey. Unable to rein my imagination, I ran to the vegetable and fruit shop to pick up a pre-cut pack of pineapples soon after lunch to make this delicious spread for her. A google search later, I found this easy recipe on cooks.com that fit my bill. I used my own estimates of the quantity though...here goes.

Pineapple Honey Jam

Ingredients:
6-7 small pineapple slices
4 tablespoons of honey
juice of half a lemon

Method:
Finely chop the pineapple, add the lemon juice to it and transfer to a saucepan. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes under a lid on a low flame. After the pineapple is cooked, add the honey to it and cook for another 10 minutes. That's it, the jam's ready. I used an empty jam bottle as a container after sterilizing it. I didn't put it in a water bath etc. as most jam makers do because I intend to use it within a week.