Homemade Cerelac for Babies — Recipe, Storage and the Right Age to Start

Dr. Sandip Gupta

This video shows how to make homemade cerelac for children, and when to start it. Ingredients and method: Take 1 cup makhana and ½ cup puffed rice (murmura), and roast both lightly. Take nuts — you can use almonds (badam) and cashews (kaju) — and roasted chana is also used here. Roast all of these well, mix them together and grind into a fine powder. Sieve the powder. The fine powder that passes through can be used for the child; the larger particles can be put back into the mixer and ground into powder again. Store the ready powder in an airtight container. How to feed it: Mix two spoons of this powder into a bowl of lightly warm water, make a smooth mixture, and feed it to the child. Nut allergy check: Before giving any nuts to a child, especially children under one year, first feed a little of the nut powder and check whether the child is allergic to it. When to start: Parents ask when homemade cerelac can be given. It can be given from when the baby completes 6 months, i.e. 180 days. But the doctor generally recommends starting it in the seventh or eighth month, because many things are mixed in it. After 6 months, when giving the child their first food, give a single food item — you can make a porridge of boiled rice or a dal porridge — and try that first. Once the child learns to eat single items, then you can start this mixed cerelac. Relevant for: parents wanting a homemade alternative to packaged cerelac; parents starting solids at 6 months and asking what to give first; parents asking at what age mixed multi-ingredient foods can be started; parents wanting a makhana, murmura, almond, cashew and roasted chana powder recipe; parents asking how to store homemade baby food powder; and parents wanting to test for nut allergy before starting nuts. Disclaimer: This video is for general information and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Every child is different — please consult your pediatrician before introducing nuts or any new food to your child, especially if your child is under one year or has a history of allergy.