Chef Michael Swamy's new children’s cookbooks aims to introduce young ones to cooking

Representational image. Pic/iStock

Growing up, this writer used to despise cooking, mainly because it was too much work for a simple plate of roti-sabzi or chai-time snacks. But when we recently came across six cookbooks for children conceptualised by chef Michael Swamy, we wished to roll back the years and try these recipes. Swamy, who is also a culinary designer, photographer and writer, released the Junior Chef Cookbooks series (Om Books International) for children last month. The books are not only interesting in terms of recipes, but they also make for a visual delight.

Each of the six books - Mitts & Bakes, Sweet Somethings, After School Snack, Dips & Sticks, Edible Love and Sips & Slurps - have 12 recipes and are apt for kids above the age of eight. "My team and I observed that more and more children have been trying their hands at cooking and kitchen-related activities. There's a lot of curiosity around food, but there aren't many cookbooks for children. So we thought it would be nice to create a few that would help the young ones start with something fun," says the chef.

Chef Michael Swamy

The idea was to make the books visual-heavy, with a fun layout featuring simple recipes. There are cool recipes of dishes like fruit kebabs & cheat custard, Thai red curry dip, easy peazy pizza, Granny Smith's fave fritters, mishy mashy apricots, popcorn spice mix and polka nutted chocolate bark, velvet fuchsia and hot orangeade.

The text comes with extremely clear instructions; for example, if there is a knife to be used, the parents should take over; before starting a recipe, it's important to collect all the ingredients; remember to wash hands as well as the fruits and vegetables being used for the recipe. "We didn't want the kids to feel inundated with a lot of data, so we created recipes that were delicious and yet easy to follow. Each recipe has clear step-by-step photos too," he shares.

The best part about the series that was in the making for over four years, was the research. In order to understand young readers, he spent a lot of time with the children of his friends and family. He spoke to them on what kind of food they love to eat, their flavour profiles, when they go out to eat the kind of food they order, what kind of food they would like to make at home and so on. "For the photographs, we used several props, which I ended up borrowing from these children, as I did not have kid-friendly props," Swamy laughs. He borrowed the Brer Rabbit series of crockery, tiffin boxes of different cartoon figures, and also went shopping at Bandra's Hill Road only to discover a whole new world of stuff made just for kids.

The chef was also mindful about the level of sugar used in the dessert-special book Sweet Somethings, to ensure the dishes are healthy and delicious.

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Cost Rs 195 (each)

Cheezy fuzzballs

Pics and recipes Courtesy/Chef Michael Swamy

Ingredients (serves 4)
. 12 to 15 pitted green or black olives
. 1 cup of cream cheese
. Salt to taste
. Black pepper powder to taste
. 2 tbps fresh coriander (finely chopped)
. 1½ cups cheddar cheese (grated)
. 8 to 10 savoury crackers
Special equipment: Melon scooper or melon baller

Method
Chop the olives. In a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, chopped olives, salt, pepper and fresh coriander. Mix well and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Using the melon scooper, scoop the mixture into balls. Add each ball to a bowl of grated cheese. Roll gently to cover with the cheese for a fuzzy look. Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. To serve, place each fuzzball on a cracker and serve.
Note: If you're allergic to dairy, use crumbled tofu instead of cream cheese and use grated, fresh or dried coconut for the fuzz.

Black beard's treasure

Ingredients (serves 2)
. 2 tsp basil seeds or chia seeds
. ½ cup water
. 4 tbsp rose syrup
. 2 cups (chilled) milk
. 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
. 1 tsp Hundreds and Thousands sprinkles

Method
In a bowl, add the basil seeds or chia seeds and about ½ cup of water. Mix well and set aside for 30 minutes till the seeds swell up to look like pearls - or like fish eggs! In a mixing bowl, combine rose syrup with milk. Whisk well till the milk turns pink and frothy. Carefully pour the pink milk (ocean) into two glasses. Using a spoon, add the soaked ‘pearls' to the pink ocean. Add a scoop of ice cream and sprinkle over with Hundreds and Thousands.

Note: If you are allergic to dairy, try using soya, almond, coconut or rice milk. In place of the ice cream, use dairy-free whipped cream.

Tips to get kids started

. Cooking can be calming for kids and gives them focus and discipline when they grow up.

. Preparing food together is one way to bond with the family members.

. Baking is a mathematical process, and quite relatable for a kid, while cooking is all about science. It's a fun way to learn the arts and sciences through food and it also gets kids interested in this aspect of studying.

. Kids play with their senses, from learning to pound dough to the aromas of fresh bread.

. It helps them boost their confidence, especially when a cake or bread is well made. They learn from a sense of satisfaction.