Children can be one of the hardest crowd to please when it comes to food, even if you are a Michelin star chef. But food art or the culinary art of presenting food in a creative way can go a long way in making them interested in the food they usually abhor or would rather stay away from. It is a great practice to use creative food art on a daily basis to get your child to chomp happily on anything from eggs to fruits. For young children, creative food art ideas can also help in cognitive development. Using easy food art on a daily basis can also be an interesting way to introduce new flavors to children.
You can also utilize special occasions such as Republic Day or Diwali to put your creative food art ideas to test. Most of the time, they can be whipped up easily resulting in a no-stress colorful addition to your food table. This Republic Day, here’s a look at presenting the beloved Indian tri-color flag as attractive multi-colored pinwheel dosas. These pinwheels are packed with the power of millets and protein-rich grains making your task of adding nutrition to your child’s meal easy. Their fun food art makes them a great example of how creative food art ideas can add a spin to any meal.
Here’s a look at how to create them:
Tri-colour pinwheel dosa
Ingredients:
1. ½ Cup palak puree
2. One cup Slurrp Farm Protein Rich Millet Dosa Mix Spinach
3. ½ Cup carrot puree
4. One cup Slurrp Farm Multigrain Millet Dosa Mix Beetroot
5. 2 Tbsp butterfly pea flower extract
6. ½ cup Slurrp Farm 100% Organic Brown Rice Powder
7. One cup Slurrp Farm 100% Organic Oats Powder
8. 1 ½ Cup curd
9. 12-15 Toothpicks
10. Water
11. 1/2 Cup rice
11. Oil
Watch and learn:
Method:
1. Divide the curd into three separate cups of the same size. Spread out three mixing bowls to create the mixes of different colors.
2. In the first bowl add palak puree, Slurrp Farm Protein Rich Millet Dosa Mix Spinach, curd. Mix them and add 1 tbsp of water at a time till you reach dosa-like flowing consistency.
3. In the second bowl add carrot puree, Slurrp Farm Multigrain Millet Dosa Mix Beetroot and curd. Mix them and add 1 tbsp of water at a time till you reach dosa-like flowing consistency.
4. In the third bowl add Slurrp Farm 100% Organic Brown Rice Powder, Slurrp Farm 100% Organic Oats Powder, curd and Butterfly Pea Flower extract. Mix them and add 1 tbsp of water at a time till you reach dosa-like flowing consistency.
5. Place a mini pancake or uttapam skillet on the heat. Place your palm above the pan and when it feels warm, brush the skillet with oil.
6. Pour 1-2 tablespoon of the batter and cover it for 1-2 minutes. When you see bubbles appear on top, cook on the other side for another minute till slightly browned. The first batch might take longer. Reduce cooking time for the other batches as they tend to cook faster on heated skillets.
7. Once the dosas are cooked and cooled, gently cut their sides to create squares using scissors or knives. This will make it easier for you to create the pinwheel food art.
8. Snip the squares diagonally inwards from all four corners for each of the squares. Ensure you cut them only ¾ of the diagonal length as keeping as solid centre will make the pinwheel stronger.
9. Slowly bring one edge of the cut inwards and hold it to the middle with your thumb.
10. Slightly tilt the square clockwise to bring the next edge inward. You will be left with two protruding folds now.
11. Repeat for the other two folds all the while firmly holding down the centre with your thumb. Piece the centre with a toothpick to securely hold all the folds of the pinwheel in place.
12. Repeat the folding and securing process for the rest of the squares for the creative food art.
13. To bring together your easy food art, arrange the pinwheels on a platter according to the Indian flag. Place the blue coloured, butterfly pea flower flavoured pinwheels in the centre and your creative food art is done.
14. You can also attach them to square bases of cut fruits to elevate them.
15. Your tri-colour pinwheel dosa flag is ready to add nutrition to your kid’s Republic Day celebration!
Use the tri-colour pinwheel dosa food art to add vibrancy and nutrition to your Republic Day celebration and see your child happily play and eat your creative food art.
