3 easy recipes to get kids into the kitchen

Cookies (Source: Getty Images)

Gourmet Biscuits

Biscuits (salted)/crackers | Cucumber slices | Tomato slices | Pineapple pieces | Cheese slices | Sugar | Tomato ketchup | Pepper

Place all the biscuits on a flat plate. Mix and match the pineapple, tomato, cucumber and cheese slices, depending on what you like. Put a dollop of ketchup right on top. Sprinkle a few grains of sugar and a little bit of pepper on top.

Sandwiches

6 bread slices | 1 potato (boiled and mashed) | 1/4th cup butter | 3 capsicum slices | Cheese (grated) | 6 cucumber slices | 1/4th cup cream | Sugar | Salt and pepper | 6 tomato slices

Sandwiches (Source: Getty Images)

Mix the grated cheese, cream, butter, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Place 3 bread slices on a plate. Spread the mixture generously over the slices. Add 2 tomato slices, 1 capsicum slice, 2 cucumber slices and a little mashed potato over the mixture, on each slice. Cover each loaded slice with a plain one.

You can mix and match the various ingredients. Add more of your favourite things in the sandwiches and leave out what you do not like.

Upma

1 cup semolina (suji) | 1 tablespoon split Bengal gram (chana dal) | 4 tablespoons of oil | 1 tablespoon split black gram | 1 teaspoon mustard | 2 onions | 1 chilli | 1 small piece ginger | 2 sprigs curry leaves | 2 cups of water | Coriander leaves | 1 lemon | 1/4th cup peanuts | Salt to taste

Upma (Source: Getty Images)

Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds, peanuts, split gram and Bengal gram (chana dal) and wait till they turn slightly brown. Add chopped onions, ginger, curry leaves and chilli (optional). Fry a little. Add the semolina. Fry till it turns light brown in colour. Add boiling water and salt. Cook till the water gets absorbed. Add a little lemon juice. Mix well. Decorate with chopped coriander leaves.

(Excerpted with permission from My First Recipe Book: Have Fun in the Kitchen by Arthy Muthanna Singh, published by Scholastic.)