For T’s first birthday, we wanted to have a small intimate celebration with all of his toddler buddies and some ‘mum-made’ food. We’d planned a pool party with inflatable pools set up in the balcony. The water baby that he is, he was the first one in and the last one out, making it quite a fun ‘splashy’ first birthday!
The menu was fairly simple and everything on it was as much for the adults as it was for the babies.
On the menu:
- Strawberry yogurt smoothie
- Sour cream, spinach and onion dip
- Nachni/Raagi (finger millet) chips
- Cheesy potato and onion bake
- Strawberry, kiwi and feta cheese salad
- Cheese and chocolate spread sandwiches
- Cream cheese and whipped cream frosting double layered chocolate cake
Here are the recipes to a few of the items on the menu:
A) Sour cream, spinach and onion dip (Thank you Ramya Kapadia for this wonderful recipe!)
- Home made sour cream
- Blanched spinach
- Diced onions
- Salt and cracked pepper
- Mustard powder
- Olive oil
Method:
- Finely chop the spinach and the onions, then sauté them in olive oil
- Once cool add the mix to the sour cream
- Add salt, pepper and mustard powder to taste
- Serve cool
Sour Cream:
Method:
- Take liquid whipping cream or fresh cream and bring it to room temperature
- Heat the glass jar in which you will make the sour cream for about 30 seconds in the microwave
- Add a spoonful of yogurt to the jar and then pour the fresh cream into it
- Cover with a muslin cloth and let it set for about 24 hours
- The sour cream you could get will be a little runny, though the dip should set well once you pop it in the fridge
B) Raagi Chips (Thank you Revati Jathar for inspiring me to make these!)
- Raagi flour
- Wheat flour
- Olive oil
- Water
- Salt
- White and black sesame seeds
- Oregano leaves or powder
Method:
- Prepare a dough with the wheat, raagi flour, salt, oregano, water and olive oil
- Make small balls with it and roll each one out with a rolling pin sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and gently roll over
- Careful not to embed the seeds too deep
- Once done cut into desired shapes and bake them in the oven at about 220ºC for about 15 minuets, keep a watch intermittently so as to make sure they don’t burn
- Store in a air tight container
C) Cheesy potato and onion bake
- Potato chopped into small cubes
- Onions chopped small
- Fresh oregano
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Cracked pepper
- Mustard powder
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Fine bread crumbs
Ingredients for the sauce
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
- Wheat flour
- Cracked pepper
- mustard powder
- Olive oil
- Milk
Method:
- Par boil the chopped potato cubes
- Sauté the potatoes and the onions in olive oil until the onions turn pink
- Add in the salt, pepper, mustard powder and the oregano
- Prepare separately the white sauce
The sauce,
- Sauté the wheat flour in a little olive oil and add milk
- Whisk vigorously so that no lumps are formed. Alternatively you could mix the oil, flour and the milk and bring to a boil. Don’t forget to keep whisking
- Once it starts to thicken a bit add the shredded cheddar cheese and all the seasoning
- Add milk if required to achieve a slightly runny consistency
The dish,
- In a bake dish add the veg and pour out the white sauce on the top
- Top it off with more cheese and bread crumbs
- Bake for 20 minuets on 220ºC or until the cheese and crumbs turn crisp and brown
- Serve warm
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