My favorite Indian recipe for toddlers & kids: soft lentil & rice balls
Stewed lentils cooked with mild spices and tomato are combined into balls with steamed basmati rice — your toddler will have fun eating them by hand!
Are you looking for a tasty, nutritious, and easy-to-eat Indian recipe for your toddler or young child? Growing up in Canada, I visited India during summer vacations and distinctly remember watching my aunts and older cousins feed young children between the ages of 1 and 3 who were just starting to eat “real food” or “adult food.” In South India it’s common to eat a lentil-based soup (called ‘saaru’, ‘chaaru’ or ‘rasam’) combined with cooked rice. Meals are generally eaten by hand, with no silverware. I watched as young mothers gently combined soft steamed rice with stewed lentils into small lentil-rice balls and fed their children by hand. I’ve never forgotten the visual memory of it because it was the sweetest thing as they popped the rice balls into their mouths, which were happily gobbled up. In India, like elsewhere, when babies start on “solid food” they begin eating single ingredient items (like mashed bananas or very soft steamed rice combined with milk) that are devoid of any spices or herbs; when toddlers begin eating “real food” or “adult food” the textures and flavors become a little heartier while still being easily digestible — mild, ground spices are used, rather than anything too spicy or full of cumin seeds or red chilli pepper.
Gently mix together stewed lentils and steamed basmati rice
So for all you parents and caregivers looking for wholesome, healthy Indian recipe ideas for toddlers or young children, this is an authentic Indian meal eaten by millions of kids in India. Moreover, it’s full of healthy ingredients from lentils to turmeric. This dish is easy to make, plus I’ve modified the original recipe so you can easily find the ingredients no matter where you might live. Definitely bookmark this page the next time you run out of ideas and want to try to entice your little one with something different! Let me know how it works out for you by posting a comment or question below 🙂
If you’re interested in reading more about Indian food for kids, you may also like these posts:
Introducing Indian food to Kids
My Toddler is a Picky Eater Who Loves Indian Food
Soft lentil & rice balls for toddlers
Yields 30 balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups cooked white basmati rice (at room temperature)
- 1/8 teaspoon canola oil
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup water
Preparation
- Rinse lentils in cold water. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add the lentils, oil and turmeric. Reduce heat to medium and cook partially covered for 10 minutes until lentils are almost completely cooked (do not overcook). Stir periodically to avoid lentils sticking to bottom of the saucepan.
- Add cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, brown sugar, tomato paste, and water. Mix well and cover, simmering on low heat for 5 minutes.
- The lentils should now be fully cooked. Remove from heat, uncover, and let it cool until it reaches room temperature (approximately 30 minutes).
- When both lentils and rice are at room temperature, mix both together and combine well. Taste and adjust for salt as desired.
- From the mixture make small balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
The main ingredients are wholesome basmati rice and red lentils, as shown on the left
Can I use brown lentils instead of red?
Hi!
I just made this recipe with a few small changes. I had 5 little mushrooms that I didn’t want to waste so i sauted them then chopped them up and put them in the end mix. I also added probably 1/4C of peas and a few dashes of garlic powder. I personally think it could use a little more spice, but my 1yr old loves them so far!! Thanks for such an easy recipe.
My girls aren’t crazy about Indian food nor lentils so I changed the recipe just a tad and they loved it!! They’re more Italian than Indian but they were good nonetheless. 🙂
I did not include the cumin or coriander.
I added cheddar cheese and cooked the rice with chicken broth.
I blended the lentils and added just enough tomato sauce to make them moist.
I combined the lentil mixture to the rice and then made little balls.
I dipped the balls in egg and breaded them.
You can either fry or bake them.
Then to serve, I topped the balls with tomato sauce.
Absolutely awesome!
I’ve made these many times since I was given this recipe 2 years ago. Both my toddlers love them. Though, since quite early on they’ve both preferred them more seasoned than this. Double each spice works well. Thank you for this recipe staple for my household.
I’m out of turmeric have all the other ingredients. Do you have any other seasoning options that are toddler approved and possibly spice drawer staples?
Fantastic!
I made these for my 9 month old who insists on feeding himself and he loved them.
I used brown rice and served with steamed broccoli. The moldable consistency was fantastic – at the end of the meal i could just mold all the leftover broccoli bits on his tray into a lump of lentil and rice so he could easily pick up even the teeny bits.
We’re always on the hunt for freezer meals for our hungry little guy. These little balls are perfect. Thank you!
Hello Allison!
I’m so happy to hear this! I can’t think of anything better (and more nutritious) for your little one than combining this using brown rice and broccoli! You’re right, what I love about this is how easy it is to form into balls. My son Liam loved it too + they can feed themselves. You’re most welcome! Do check out the other recipes for little ones that I’ve made since Liam was 9 months old — just search for “babies” on the home page and you will see a list that includes winning recipes like this one:
Turmeric Chicken Meatballs for Babies
With warmest wishes,
Ina
Wow!! I am sure my kid is going to like this one. Thanks for posting!! Kiaan
Dear Kiaan!
Thanks for visiting Big Apple Curry, I’m delighted you found yourself to our blog. Please make it and let me know how it goes!
Cheers,
Ina
It may not be the healthiest but have you tried frying them after making the balls to give a little crunch to the outside?
Julie, what a great idea…I can picture dipping them in a bit of egg, flour and breadcrumb and deep frying them. I’m sure they would hold up, especially if you form the lentil-rice balls first and chill them in the fridge for a few minutes. That said, no it wouldn’t be the healthiest, you’re right 🙂
Did you end up doing this?
Ina
Hello! Do you think I could use brown rice for the recipe instead of white?
Hello Bre!
Yes, you can certainly use brown rice instead of white rice. Whichever steamed rice/leftover rice you have can be combined with the lentils. I tend to opt for white or brown basmati rice in this dish but you can use any rice you like. And, as Adrienne asked below, you can serve this with a side vegetable or mix steamed veggies into the lentil and rice mix before forming the balls. Let me know how it turns out!
Ina
What vegetable would be perfect together with the balls?
Hello Adrienne!
Thanks for visiting Big Apple Curry! Depending on the age of the child, what I often do for my 3-year old Liam is defrost some frozen peas or frozen mixed vegetables and fold them into the lentils and rice when I’m mixing them together into balls. This way I don’t have to make a separate vegetable dish. When Liam was younger (older infant/toddler) I would finely chop fresh baby spinach into little bits and fold it into the lentils and rice when mixing them together into balls. Does this help? Let me know if you have more questions, and of course, what you end up making!
Ina
Wonderful recipe! Thank you. I’m raising a little vegetarian and am always looking for ways to get iron into his system. As he only wants to eat by himself most of the time (not so into spoon feeding) this is just perfect. Thank you again!
Hello Lacey, you’re most welcome! As a mom, I can totally relate — there is nothing better than getting something wholesome and nutritious into a little one in a way that’s fun to eat too! Moreover, what i like best about this recipe is it’s completely from scratch, there is nothing processed about it and anyone can find the ingredients in most grocery stores.
Can you freeze these lentil balls
Hello Sophie! Yes, you can certainly freeze the lentil-rice balls, and they should keep for a month in your freezer. However, a couple of things to keep in mind i) when you defrost them, the texture will change slightly and the balls might fall apart so you’d have to mold them into shape again ii) they could end up a little dry compared to making them fresh (and be unappealing to your toddler). So I would say try freezing a couple and see if your little one likes it (kids sometimes surprise us and aren’t bothered by the same texture issues as adults, as long as it tastes the same). Another option is to cut the recipe in half and simply make fewer balls, if you find this recipe yields too many. Does this help? Let me know how it goes!
I am not sure about little toddlers but I know an aging toddler (post 50) that may just eat red lentils if I try this. Thanks for the idea.
Ha! This is perfect for a 50 year old toddler who should be eating red lentils! You an always make the lentil part of the recipe and eat it as a soup, sans the rice. Actually, I’ve seen many parents pop a couple in their mouths during the long process of feeding a toddler, and when we were testing this recipe, what do you think Sean and I had for dinner that night? 🙂