MAKE IT YUM!

Meals that will have your little ones eating healthily and happily

One of the best feelings you can have as a parent is when your child gobbles up a meal you’ve cooked for them, — especially when you know it’s chockfull of good stuff. But any parent knows that this doesn’t happen every time. Getting your child to love food (good, wholesome food, that is) is not always easy.

With fellow mum and cook Annabel Inglis, Nadia Lim has put together a collection of favourite meals, snacks and ideas for feeding the family from babies starting solids to older school kids, and even teens leaving home.

With over 100 parent- and child-tested recipes, practical, down-to-earth tips and discussions about starting solids, fussy eating, food allergies and more, YUM! will become the go-to for families.

Creamy Mango Chicken Curry

Mango Chicken is a popular takeaway choice for kids.

Why not have a go at creating this much healthier (and tastier) version at home — it has lashings of smooth sweet gravy that contains loads of vegetables that kids will love.

Prep time 20 minutes; Cook time 30 minutes

Ingredients

600 — 700g boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 1⁄2 Tbsp mild curry powder

250g orange ku¯ mara, peeled and grated 2 carrots, grated

400g can coconut milk

2 cups frozen mango pieces (found in the supermarket freezer aisle alongside the frozen berries)

150g green beans, chopped (optional)

2 — 3 large handfuls of baby spinach coriander, to garnish (optional)

Method

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large non-stick or cast- iron fry pan on a mediumhigh heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned (it does not need to be cooked through yet) and set aside on a plate.

Allow pan to cool slightly and return to a medium heat. Heat another drizzle of oil and add onion. Cook the onion slowly and gently until golden; this may take about 8 minutes or so. Add a tablespoon or two of water and stir often to prevent the onions from burning. Add the garlic and curry powder and cook for a further minute.

Add ku¯ mara, carrot, coconut milk and mango. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until vegetables have softened and mango is jammy. Transfer to a blender and puree until completely smooth.

Return pan to medium heat. Return the browned chicken to the pan along with the pureed sauce. Bring back to a simmer and cook for a few minutes before adding the beans. Continue to simmer until beans are tender and the chicken is completely cooked through. Add spinach and allow to wilt briefly. Remove from heat.

Season to taste with salt or soy sauce for adults.

Serve with rice and garnish with some coriander.

— Serves 2 adults + 3 children