Category Archives: Foodie

Lito: Nutritious Nepali baby food

Posted on February 29, 2016 | 5 comments

Living overseas, I always miss small things from home. When I had Chhori one of the things I wanted to feed her was Lito, a nutritious baby food used in Nepal. Luckily for me there are many Nepali grocery shops in Sydney and I finally found some Lito. I was happy as I didn’t need to make it but unfortunately, in a premade lito, they add powder milk making it sweet.

Chhori is not into formula so she didn’t like the store bought lito that much. So, I decided that it is time for me to make some lito at home for her which will be very high in nutrition and organic as well.

So here is my first attempt at making the Lito.

Ingredients

  • Rice 160 gm
  • Beaten/Flattened rice (Chiura) 160 gm
  • Corn 80 gm
  • Whole wheat 80 gm
  • Brown soybeans (bhatmas) 80 gm
  • Brown chick peas 80 gm
  • 6 Cashews
  • 6 Almonds

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Methods

  • Dry roast rice, beaten rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, chickpeas, cashews and almonds seperately on a pan.

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  • Grind each of them separately as they have different textures.

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  • Once done use the strainer to make sure that the powder is fine.

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  • Mix everything together and Lito is ready to be cooked.

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  • You can store the Lito in an airtight container for a few months.

To cook lito, just add hot water and mix well.

If you want it to be more flavorsome, heat a pan and, add 1/2 teaspoon of ghee, 1/2 teaspoon of ajwain. Now add lito and water and let it boil. Salt is optional. You can choose the consistency of the Lito according to the age of the baby and how your baby likes it.

Hope you will enjoy making this nutritious food for your little one.

Chhori is happy to eat Lito so I am happy to make an effort 🙂

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate your favourite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2015

5 Comments

Posted in Nepali food, Recipe

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Newari Gwaramari

Posted on February 23, 2016 | 3 comments

In Kathmandu most of us have happy memories of eating Gwaramari and tea for breakfast during cold winter months.

In Newari “Gwara” means round and “mari” means bread so Gwaramari literally means round bread but to people who have eaten it, it is not just ordinary bread but a very yummy one with a distinct flavour.

I was craving for some Gwaramari for a while so I decided to try making it with a friend. It took us a few attempts to get it right but I am very happy with the end result. It tasted really good.

Ingredients

  • 250 g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • Salt to taste
  • 300 ml water
  • 500ml vegetable oil (for deep-frying)

Method

  • In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cumin, coriander and salt.

Nepali Gwaramari (2)

  • Add water slowly stirring continuously to make a thick paste.
  • If you have time, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight otherwise for at least 2 hours.

Nepali Gwaramari (3)

  • In a deep pan, heat the vegetable oil. The oil is hot enough, if you drop small amount of batter and it quickly rises and becomes brown.
  • Once the oil is hot enough, take a table spoon of mixture and place it gently on the hot oil. The dough will puff up and rise to the top of the pan. You can add multiple balls at the same time.

Nepali Gwaramari (4)

  • Fry them until golden brown.
  • Take it out and use paper towel to soak the extra oil.

Nepali Gwaramari (1)

  • It is best served hot with some Masala tea.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

3 Comments

Posted in Foodie, Nepali food, Newari Food, Recipe

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Jaulo : Nepali baby food

Posted on November 11, 2015 | 15 comments

Since I started solid food for Chhori, I have given her Jaulo, Nepali rice veggie puree which is high in nutrition and quite filling too. It is so easy to make and versatile that I thought it would be helpful for any mum so I’m sharing the recipe here.

Ingredients

  • 4 table spoon of rice
  • 2 table spoon of red lentils
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)(optional)
  • 100 gm of broccoli (replace with any veggie your child likes)
  • Pinch of salt (optional)

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Methods

  • Heat the pressure cooker on medium heat and add ghee. Let it get hot and add turmeric powder.

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  • Wash rice and red lentils.
  • Add the rice, lentils, broccoli and salt to the pressure cooker.

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  • Add 2 cups of water, close the lid and let it cook.
  • Let it press for 5-6 whistles.
  • Once done, check if the rice is soft.

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  • Put the mixture in a blender and make it a fine puree for baby under 7 months and coarse for baby between 7- 10 months. Older kids can be given the jaulo mashed using a spoon.

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  • This can be made with any other veggies or lentils so it will be very versatile options for the baby and easy for the mum.
  • Store in container and can be used up to 3 days when store in the fridge.

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Take care,
M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO

15 Comments

Posted in Being Mum, Recipe

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Homemade purée

Posted on August 12, 2015 | 11 comments

Chhori had her pasni just before my parents left; it was a fun event and I will post about it soon.

Chhori (2)

She was just over 5 months old when we did her pasni. In Australia, the midwives advise exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and that was what I was aiming to do. But after pasni, every time we ate anything, Chhori would look at us with puppy eyes, with the innocent look as if saying “I want some of it too.” So we decided that we would start solid slowly.

First we went out and bought a few varieties of organic purée. I discovered that she loves the taste of apple, banana and mango.

These days as I am staying home looking after her, I decided it would be a good idea to give her some homemade purée. It was so easy to make one so here is how I did it.

  • Skin 3 apples and cut them into cubes.
  • apple puree (3)
  • Add half cup of water and apple cubes into a pressure cooker. If you don’t have pressure cooker, use a saucepan.
  • Cook until 3 whistles or if using a saucepan check with a fork and if it goes in easily then the apples are done. Let it cool down.
  • Use a blender or food processor to blend it. If you find the consistency too thick, add a little cooled boiled water.
  • I bought bpa free freezer and microwave safe containers to store them.
  • apple puree (1)
  • The purée is good for 3 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezers. Mine finished in a week as she loved it.
  • apple puree (2)

Please share other food ideas for a baby. It will be a great help. Thanks in advance.

Take care everyone till my next post.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

11 Comments

Posted in Baby food, Being Mum, Our daughter, Recipe

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Jwano ko Jhol (Thyme Seeds Soup)

Posted on June 12, 2015 | 8 comments

As I mentioned in my previous post, Jwano ko Jhol is a traditional Nepali soup which is given to new mums to increase their supply of milk. I wasn’t very sure about it before but I now swear by it.

Jwano ko Jhol (1)

Initially when I started drinking it, I had an over supply of milk so I needed to decrease the amount I drank. Then after a while when I stopped drinking it completely, I could feel the supply of my milk went low as well. So I started drinking it in again but in small amount.

Jwana ko jhol is also believed to have lots of health benefits like helping to heal the wounds, relieve body aches and help with cold and cough. Thyme also has potassium, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium for the well-being of our body.

The soup is very easy to make.

Ingredients for 2 cups of soup

  • 2 tea spoon Jwano (Thyme seed)
  • 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 1 tea spoon of fresh ginger garlic paste
  • ½ tea spoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)
  • Salt as per taste
  • 2 ½ cups water

Method

  • Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add ghee when hot.
  • When ghee is melted, add jwano, turmeric powder, cumin powder, ginger garlic paste and salt and stir them together.

Jwano ko Jhol (2)

  • After about a minute once you smell the ginger garlic flavour add water and let it boil for a few minutes.

Jwano ko Jhol (3)

  • Jwana ko jhol is now ready to serve
  • Enjoy!

Take care everyone till next post.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

8 Comments

Posted in My pregnancy, Nepal, Nepali food, Newari Food, Recipe

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