Rainbow Chapathi - Kids Lunch Box Special!

I know, I know.. its been 2 weeks since I posted anything. I just can't figure out how two weeks passed so quickly. I was busy doing nothing! You all must have been tired of seeing my Mocha picture for several days when you open my page. I actually sat down to write this post three times last week and everytime there were distractions in some way, but nothing I can remember. My thoughts were cloudy and immature. But I've been blogging in my mind :) One thought leads to another when I'm alone, but I just let it go and can't remember anything when I sit to write. This post has been sitting in my drafts for more than a week now. And, after receiving a yell from my sister today, I finally was able to post it today.

Not too long ago, I received an email asking if I would like to participate in a "Cooking for Kids" contest and my reaction was, boy that's tough! Though I didn't have time to participate, ever since I saw that email, I've been constantly thinking about making something different that can be healthy and nutritious and my daughter can actively participate. Cooking for kids - I realize lot of us have this challenge in our day-to-day life. I pack her lunch box everyday and very often I run out of ideas for her lunch box. So everyday a considerable amount of my time goes for planning my daughter's lunch. If I can't pack just one lunch-box, I sometimes really wonder how mom used to pack 4 lunch boxes, well actually 5 including dad, lunch boxes everyday. Well, I think the answer is quite clear. We were never fussy with food. While growing up, like many of us, we had only two choices - eat or leave. There were never any meals customized for any of us in the family and its usually mom's choice of menu for the day.

But now, whining and complaining in the dining table is a very usual scene in my place. As far as food goes, it takes really hard to please my daughter. Her list of favorite foods is very small. If she likes something, then it has to be *really* good. I can never get her to try new foods and partially I should be blamed too for not being strict as mom, but I keep complaining that she has adopted this fussy nature from her dad! The good news is she's getting better these days and is willing to try some new recipes once in a while. Well, however she is, there's no doubt she brings a bundle of joy to my life. And I adore her as always. No matter what.

So, wanting to try a different lunch dish for her lunch box I tried this rainbow chapathi for my daughter last week. Mild and colorful, this dish naturally appeals to kids and has nutrients bundled in one meal and, most importantly, my little one loved it! This may be a little time-consuming recipe for some of us (for me, it is!), but to save time you can prepare the batter over the weekend and store it in freezer and leave it outside the night before making it.

This recipe also goes to SriValli's Monthly Mingle - Kids Lunches event. The Original Event
was hosted by Meeta.

Ingredients

• Spinach - 1/2 cup (tightly packed)
• Beetroot - 1/2
• Carrot - 1/2
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger/garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Chapathi flour - 3 cups
• Butter
• Whipped cream - Optional

Procedure:

• Peel and finely chop the beets and carrots.
• Cook the spinach, beets and carrots separately with a pinch of chilli powder, salt and little water. I microwaved each of them for 3 - 5 mins.
• When they are completely cooked blend each of them separately to a paste.
• To one cup of chapathi flour, add the spinach paste, a little bit of ginger/garlic paste and knead to a soft dough. Add little water if required. Repeat this step with beats and carrots too. You will now have 3 different dough as shown in the picture.

• Make each of them to a long string dusting them with flour as shown here:

• Cut them in equal sizes (approximately to 3 pieces) and roll them to a flat ball as shown here:

• Now make chapathis out of them by frequently dusting them with flour. You will get a colored pattern like this:

• Heat a pan and cook the chapathis well by applying little butter on each side. Serve with whipped cream on the top!