I’m often asked when and how to introduce Indian food to babies. As I wrote in this post years ago when our son Liam was a baby, the key is to introduce a little spice at a time. I usually start by adding a dash of ground turmeric to baby meatballs, and then build from there, slowly adding everything from cumin to paprika and then gradually using multiple spices in recipes for toddlers.

With our new baby girl well into eating solids, I spied a nice, big sweet potato in the fridge and thought it would be a great pancake idea and an even greater way to introduce her to ginger. I found this terrific recipe thanks to Healthy Little Foodies. Keeping it simple and wholesome, mashed sweet potato is combined with eggs, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger. I scrubbed the sweet potato and stuck it in the oven to roast. As soon as it was done, I let it cool down, popped it out of the skin easily, mashed it in a small mixing bowl and added beaten eggs, cinnamon, and ginger. I like that these pancakes are not overly sweet, so you can spread a bit of baby puree across one and cut it into small squares for breakfast; my favorite go-to is Once Upon a Farm’s ‘Rumpus Avocado’ which is a great substitute for jam or jelly for babies, it has avocado, pineapple, bananas, and mint. Alternatively, you could spread a bit of cream cheese or peanut butter on the pancake, turning it into a savory afternoon snack. Our baby girl gobbled them up. What a success.

Sweet Potato Pancakes (slightly adapted)

Yields 4 pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, roasted, peeled, and mashed (to yield 1/2 cup mashed)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp butter (for pan-frying)
• Baby fruit puree (for topping)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Roast sweet potato for 35-45 minutes, until cooked through. Once it’s done, let it cool, remove the skin, and mash in a small bowl.
2. Beat the eggs in a small mixing bowl and add the mashed sweet potato until fully combined. Add the cinnamon and ginger and mix well.
3. Heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
4. Ladle out the mixture (about 1/4 cup) into the pan to form medium-sized pancakes.
5. Turn the heat to medium/low and allow to cook for around 2 -3 minutes.
6. Flip and heat until cooked through for around 2-3 minutes.
7. Spread a bit of baby puree across each pancake and cut it into small squares.

Recipe slightly adapted from Healthy Little Foodies