Rice for Babies

Buy Rice Baby Food: Rice and Dal Purees and Porridge 

Rice is the grain most Indian babies meet first: soft, mild and easy to digest when cooked well. This collection is Rorosaur's rice baby food. Rice-O-Lentils puree is a ready-to-eat khichdi puree of rice, tomato, green peas, moong dal and toor dal, and Spinachy Grains puree blends rice with spinach, moong dal and sorghum. Both come as porridge mixes too, for babies who are ready for a thicker meal. All are made for babies from 6 months, with no added sugar and no preservatives.

We do not sell poha, red rice or plain rice, so below the products you will find a simple guide to each: how to make poha for a baby, carrot rice, which rice to choose, and how to cook and store rice safely. Whatever you serve, keep it salt-free, sugar-free and honey-free in the first year.

Rice for babies: how to start

Plain white rice cooked until very soft is the usual first grain. It is gentle on a new digestive system and rarely causes a reaction, which makes it a good grain to begin with.

A few practical points:

• Start small. One to two teaspoons of smooth rice porridge or puree, once a day, from around 6 months, when your baby is ready for solids.
• One new food at a time, with two to three days between new foods, so you can spot any reaction.
• Cook until mushy. Rice for a beginner should mash completely between your fingers. Blend or mash with a little warm water, then thicken as your baby grows.
• Vary the grains. Rice can contain trace amounts of inorganic arsenic, which rice plants take up from soil and water. Health agencies advise against relying on rice alone for babies. Rotate rice with ragi, millets, oats, wheat and barley, and rinse rice well before cooking.
• Store cooked rice safely. Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate, use within 24 hours and reheat only once.

See our first-year feeding guide for how grains fit into the first twelve months.

Which is the best rice for babies?

For a first food, plain white rice, rinsed well and cooked soft, is the usual choice because it is the easiest to digest. Avoid flavoured, instant or pre-seasoned rice, which often contains salt.

Red rice for babies. Red rice is unpolished, so it keeps its bran and has more fibre than white rice. It has a nutty taste and takes longer to cook. Many families add it after white rice is going well. Soak it for 30 minutes or more, cook until it is completely soft, and blend it. Introduce it in a small amount, because the extra fibre can cause gas or loose stools in some babies. Ask your paediatrician if you are unsure when to start.

A mix of white rice with other grains and dal gives a more balanced bowl than rice alone, which is the idea behind khichdi.

Poha for babies

Poha is flattened rice. It is already cooked and dried, so it softens quickly with water or a short simmer, which makes it a convenient baby food on busy days.

Poha benefits for babies: it is light and easy to digest, gives quick energy from carbohydrates, and cooks in minutes. It is a refined rice product, so it is low in fibre and works best mixed with vegetables, dal or ghee rather than served alone. Treat it as one of several grains in your baby's week, not a daily staple.

Poha recipe for babies

1. Rinse 2 tablespoons of thick poha briefly in a sieve and drain.
2. Heat half a teaspoon of ghee in a small pan. Add a little grated carrot or finely chopped peas and sauté for a minute.
3. Add the poha, three quarters of a cup of water and a pinch of turmeric. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until it is completely soft.
4. Mash or blend with a little warm water to the texture your baby needs.
5. Cool and test the temperature before serving.

Leave out salt, sugar, chilli and whole peanuts. Whole peanuts are a choking risk, and peanut allergy is best discussed with your paediatrician before you introduce it.

Poha powder: dry roast thin poha for 2 to 3 minutes until crisp, cool, grind fine and sieve. Stir a tablespoon into warm water or milk (breast milk or formula) for a quick porridge. Store in an airtight jar and use within a few weeks.

Carrot rice for babies

Carrot rice adds a natural sweetness and colour to plain rice and is an easy first vegetable-and-grain meal.

Ingredients (makes 2 to 3 baby portions)

• 2 tablespoons rice, rinsed well
• 1 small carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• A pinch of turmeric (optional)
• About 1 and a half cups of water

Method

1. Warm the ghee in a small cooker and sauté the carrot for a minute.
2. Add the rice, turmeric and water.
3. Cook for 3 to 4 whistles until the carrot and rice are completely soft.
4. Mash or blend with a little warm water. Cool before serving. No salt.

For days when you do not want to cook, Veggie Medley is a ready-to-eat vegetable puree with carrot, potato, peas and tomato that you can mix into plain rice. Check its page for stock, because it can sell out.

Rorosaur rice baby food

When you want a rice meal without cooking, these are the options:

To try several, the Grainy Meal Pack has two each of four grain purees, including Rice-O-Lentils and Spinachy Grains. Refrigerate opened purees and use them within 24 hours. These contain legumes, coconut and, in some, milk, so check the pack label before you feed.

Looking for more grains? See our grain-based purees, healthy baby purees and healthy baby porridge collections, or read Ragi vs Wheat vs Rice.

Delivery

Free shipping on orders above ₹598. Orders are processed within 24 hours and usually arrive in 3 to 5 business days.