If your baby is getting a bit older and past the jar baby food stage, here is something that may interest you. Try this delicious Cracked Wheat (aka Daliya) Khichdi. Cracked wheat, a wheat product made from whole raw wheat kernels that are crushed or cut into smaller pieces, has a great deal of nutrition and fiber since it includes the fiber and nutrient rich outer bran and germ of the wheat. Pair this with some protein (mung daal) and veggies and you have a well balanced (and don’t forget, flavorful) meal for your growing child.
Ingredients:
Cracked Wheat (Daliya) – 1/2 cup
Mung Daal – 1/2 cup, washed and drained
Ghee (Clarified Butter) – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1/2 tsp, finely grated
Garlic – 1/2 tsp, minced
Peas/Carrots (or your choice of veggies) – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Turmeric Powder – 1/8 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) – 1/8 tsp
Water – 4 cups
Method:
1. Heat Clarified Butter (Ghee) in a pressure cooker.
2. Add Cracked Wheat (Daliya) to the hot ghee and roast until fragrant (approx 2 minutes).
3. Add washed and drained Mung Daal, Water, Peas/Carrots, Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric Powder, Asafoetida, and Salt.
4. Mix and pressure cook for 1 whistle, turn off stove and allow the pressure to go down by itself.
5. Serve with yogurt or ghee.
Hi, your recipes are really awesome! really liked this one! Would you be able to post similar recipes for a one year old? I’m at a loss as to what to give, especially to pack to give at day care. Thanks!
Please tell me how to make cracked wheat at home . Tell me how to make chira, chida from unbroken wheat.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Just like Preethi, my baby is also 8 months old and I was looking for some good indian recipes for babies. I am slowly trying to move on from plain tasteless food to something we all enjoy. If you can give some ideas on your “Tip Tuesday” it would be great.
Thanks.
Stephanie.
Hi can I make this for my 8 month old baby?
Hi Preethi,
Its been a long time since we had our babies so am trying to remember… I think you should probably wait until 1 yr before introducing solid foods like this.
I’d say this is not just baby food, but it makes a filling meal even when I am sick and not able to cook something elaborate. Thanks to both of you.
realy tasty n easy recipe, can u give some more recipies like dis?
Yes Shalini. Fada is the one …
Hi!
Had a question….Is daliya also called Fada or Kansar? The Indian grocery store had only this…and the ingredients said cracked wheat…..
Hello: I’m about to prepare this recipe for my little one who is 10 months old. Thanks much for posting. I had one question however, should you boil the daal to make it mushy before you add it to the roasted wheat? I heard that you said only wash and drain but in the video it looks mushy.
Hi Anuja & Hetal,
thank for you respond. well i try it your way, and work out good. but its too much for infant to eat. thanks!
hi Anuja n Hetal,
If I can’t find cracked wheat, can I use plain rice? Also if someone does’t have a pressure cooker can we use pan with lid and cook until its smashed?
Hi Sonal,
Yes, you can! Use rice as a substitute and use a pan (instead of the pressure cooker). Water quantity and the cooking time may vary :0
Hi Anuja & Hetal, Today I made this khichadi for myself with extra chilles. Excellent 6 tasty. Thanks for the great receipe
or may be camera was so near that the daal looks in round shape rather than oval shape. Can possible.
Hi Suchita,
🙂
It is (very good looking) Mung Daal 😉
Hi Anuja & Hetal, This is a wonderful receipe. But the daal you have shown is Toor daal and not Moong dal.
Hi Anuja/Hetal,
I have been following your recipes since quite sometime now. You really make good dishes. Thanks a lo for our effort.
Just a quick question, can i skip this moong daal and just make it using Daliya alone or is it kinda mandatory. Please let me if there will be any variation in the recipe. Thanks.
Cheers,
Chandna
Hi Chandna,
Khichdi is technically rice and daal cooked together so that is why we added the mung daal. Besides that, it softens the texture so that it is more palatable for babies and toddlers. You can definitely leave it out if you like…the texture will be more grainy.
Hi Ladies
do you have the recipe for Daliya (cracked wheat) breakfast porridge. I tried it at an ashram and loved it. please tell me if it is possible to cook this in a slower cooker overnight and have a hot breakfast in the mornings. I will appreciate the recipe and any advice on the best way to make it. thanks
Dear Hetal and Anuja,
You have such an awesome cooking website…I love it and use it all the time.
I really like your daliya recipe and would like to try it for my toddler. However he has allergy to lentils/dals. Can you please suggest any other protein source instead of mung dal..like maybe minced meat or anything else?
Thanks in advance.
Priya Raj
what variety of cracked wheat do you recommend – fine or coarse.
Hi Pallavi,
For this recipe, a little course works well. If however, you will be serving it to a baby, then you can use the finer variety.
hi very nice recpe, very nutrious too
Hi,
Hetal & Anuja,
i really like the receipes u’ll post. I had made aloo methi from the receipe u guys had given. My husbad loved it n since then m still stuck with the same receipe 🙂
Well, i wanted to know that the moong daal that has been used in the dalia, is it suppose to be with the skin or without?? coz the one that i hve is “with” the skin…is it fine if i use it??
Thanx n Tk cr!
Shivani Jain
Hi Shivani,
We used the mung daal without the skin. It is easier to digest for small babies and children. The daal with the skin can also be used if you are not making this for really small babies. The texture and taste changes a little but the skin is a great source of fiber.
HI Hetal and Anuja,
Very healthy recipe.I cannot find cracked wheat and am wondering if I can use bugur instead? Bulgur is also cracked wheat but it is steamed and dried before packaging unlike cracked wheat. Will it affect the taste?
Thanks heaps,
Shina
Hi Shina,
Honestly, we have never tried this recipe with bulgar wheat so not sure how it will react. My gut thought would be that it should be just fine…the only thing I’m not sure about is the amount of water that bulgar wheat takes in versus cracked wheat. If you do try it out, we’d love to hear your feedback.
I tried this recipe with organic red lentils and it came out very well. the taste and texture was very good. completely new aroma and flavour. now i make this daliya quite often.thanks to you both once again.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Hetal,
Thanks you so much for all your suggestions and tips. i made this Daliya yesterday for my little one and to my surprise she liked it! Now i have another variety in her diet. And we had it for lunch with some picke and pappad, yummy it was.I see this recipe a healthy diet for people with diabetes.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I finally managed to get cracked wheat and i would like to know whether i can use toor dhal or masoor dhal instead of moong dhal.And another thing is the cracked wheat that i bought is not that fine in texture as shown in your video.It looks a bit like the brown rice cut into smaller pieces. do i need to grind it to get the texture soft , or is it fine to cook as is.
sorry for asking too many questions. your suggestions will be of great help to me.
thanks
Hi Lacy,
Cracked wheat does come in a variety of textures. Since you are going to be pressure cooking it, the variety you bought should be fine. You may have to cook it a bit longer to break it down.
As far as the daal you use, you can substitute either toor or masoor. We use mung daal because of all the daals, it is the lightest on the tummy for little ones.
I too am a new mom (to a 7 mos old) and would appreciate baby/toddler friendly Indian recipes!
With reference to my earlier post on July 10th, would like to know if Wheat Germ and cracked wheat are the same? i really want to make this for my 2 year old. please do let me know. Thanks
Hi Lacy,
Sorry for the delay…somehow missed your question.
Wheat germ is not the same thing as cracked wheat.
Wheat germ is only a very small part of a wheat kernel, approximately 2 ½ percent. The word “germ” does not mean bacteria, it refers to germination. The germ is the reproductive part that germinates and forms the wheat grass.
Cracked wheat is made from raw wheat kernels that have been crushed to varying sizes.
We have never made this recipe with wheat germ so cannot really give you an opinion about it. If you try it, we’d love to hear your feedback.
Thanks!
Hi Hetal,
Thanks a lot for taking your time off to reply to my query.i will try searching again for cracked wheat. Hope i will be able to get it.Can you post more recipes for kids.Some breakfast ideas? Oat meal recipies etc would be great.
Looking forward to it.
Thanks to you both for those wonderful, easy to make recipes.
Where is the spice coming from? Do we need to add green chilli separately??
We have made this recipe geared for toddlers. For adults who’d like an extra spice, add some green chillies or just serve with some pickle.
Can you girls please share your receipe for Couscous as well.
Can you ladies share your recipe for couscous as well. You both are doing a great job. I have learnt quite a bit watching your videos
Thanks!
Hi Hetal & Anuja
Thanks for the information. i tried searching for cracked wheat here in singapore but i couldnt find it. I saw Organic Wheat Germ and would like to know if both are same. Please advise.
Thanks a lot.
Hi Hetal-Anuja!
I tried this khichdi and itcame out great! My 21/2 year old loved it. I loved it too:-) Thankyou both for such wonderful and helpful recipes! You guys are awesome! I have one other question though..not related to this. These spoons you use, the ceramic white soup spoons i am guessing, to show the measured spices, where do you get these? We had got some from India long back..but left with 1-2 now. So,I wanna get some new ones. They are the best for soups right?.Do we get these here in U.S? Can you pls let me know? Thanks a bunch!
Hi Bindu,
So glad you liked the khichdi! 🙂
We got our soup spoons at a Chinese market (here in the US). They usually have a section with household items. They are great for soups.
Cheers!
Thankyou very much this really helps I wish you could post some baby food recipes -indian – I am a new mother and it really helps.
Keep it up and a big thanks.
Have you tried our Mung Daal Khichdi? It was a staple in our homes while our kids were growing up. Here is the link:
https://34.233.61.50/2007/04/14/mung-daal-khichadi/
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
This recipe looks very healthy for kids, especially for fussy eaters. And my child is very lazy to chew food, i always mash the rice for her. I really want to make this for her, but am wondering where to buy cracked wheat.. will this be available in any indian stores. is there any particular brand that i should look for. please help.
thanks
Hi Lacy,
Cracked wheat can be found in Indian stores (it may say Daliya on the package). The brand should not matter. You can also find it in whole foods type stores.
hi,
in this receipe can i use lapsi, or have to buy craked wheat???
some one said i can but i am not very sure.
please let me know.
and your websitre rocks…..
all my friends are also using your this site….
thanks for helping us so much…..
sheenal
Hi Sheenal,
Lapsi is made from cracked wheat as well, though it is usually sweet.
SO GOOD…..
THANKS
Very healthy meal in a pot recipe!! Great for lazy kids like mine who hate chewing 🙂
Thanks for sharing…!!
Hetal,
Theres a gujju recipe with dalia – OOrmu (fada lapsi)
that is really yummy too! My grandma used to make it at every special occasion!
yummm! My mom used to make it, too!
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Help me!! bcz i m not able to view this video, pl help!!
The video is working fine on our side and we have not had anyone else complain. Pl. check again.
LOvely recipe!!!
Great receipe. Will try it out for my 18 months old princess. Thanks!