Tricks and treats

My seven-year-old finds rotis, paranthas and puris boring. According to him, they are similar in taste and only sport different avatars and therefore, aren’t exciting!

*One of the first things I did to combat his ‘boredom’ was to come up with exciting shapes. I am terrible at art but I manage a decent ‘bear’  or ‘star’ with a spoon and some dosa batter. When his dosa morphs into a teddy bear, my son is rather thrilled and suddenly ravenous! Using a cookie cutter or playdough moulds (make sure you wash, clean and sterilise the moulds first), you can make shapes out of atta too: aeroplanes, flowers and butterflies are instant hits! The only problem with this is it is a time-consuming exercise.

*Make small rotis, stuff them with vegetable subzi, seal them with a little atta and water at both ends and deep fry them. Serve these veggie rolls with ketchup and watch them vanish!

*Make phulkas. Spread a little ketchup on each phulka and fill a little subzi. Roll up the phulka and serve or pack into tiffin boxes using cling wrap.

*Here’s a desi version of a quesadilla: Make a roti and cook it on both sides. Then, spread some ketchup, fill up the roti with subzi or rajma. Add lots of grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Fold and put it in a sandwich maker till the cheese melts.

*‘Dosalings’ or tiny dosas are easy to make and easy to eat with a fork. Using thick dosa batter make small dosas (about one or two centimetres in diameter). These dosalings remain soft and spongy and are a definite improvement over the usual dosa which tends to go  dry by lunch time.

*If you have some leftover subzi, add it to dosa batter and make thick dosas. Add a slice of cheese over the dosa once it is cooked well on one side and fold it. It is an instant hit with kids.

*Wash and cut potatoes into thin, oval slices. Place the slices on a hot tawa and add a bit of oil over each slice and roast well. Once cooked and roasted, sprinkle salt and powdered parmesan cheese on the potato slices. Kids love this snack and what more, it is healthy as it is not deep fried. With a little creativity, food can be made interesting and healthy for kids.