Being fussy about food is the basic instinct in children. It will be really hard to find kids who never fussed about their food! Mums really need not worry much about the fussy attitude of their children as long as their little ones are getting the right amount of nutrients.

In most cases, children take fussing as the way of exploring their environment and asserting their independence. Fussy eating is a very much a part of a child’s development and the parents should respect their kid’s choice. All they need to ensure along is to supply adequate nutrients required for the wellbeing and proper growth of the child.

‘My son is too fussy about food…’ this is perhaps the most common complaint we get to hear from mothers! But do we really know what makes him fuss about certain foods?

Unlike adults, children have very strange outlook towards the food they eat. Their choice does not count on the healthiness of the food but on its shape, color, texture or taste. If your child does not like the color of the dish, he will not take even a single moment to reject it! The worst part is he will not be able to tell you the reason for rejecting the food. This is because most of the times he himself does not know it well…..except that he ‘don’t like’ that particular food.

Thus, it is always wise to know your child’s likings and preparing the food accordingly. For example, if your child is fond of paneer, you can make any of the paneer recipes for him. There are a lot many paneer dry recipes that act as easy vegetarian appetizers like, a less spicy and healthy version of fried paneer fingers.

Following is the recipe of preparing the healthy version of paneer fingers for kids. These are very easy to make and are a great option for vegetarian appetizers or vegetarian party food.

Paneer Fingers with Yogurt Dip

Total time: 35 minutes

Servings: 10

Ingredients for making paneer fingers:

• 2 cup corn flakes
• ½ cup breadcrumb
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp sweet paprika
• salt (according to taste)
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• ½ cup water
• 500 grams paneer

Ingredient for making yogurt dip:

• ½ cup yogurt (without any flavour)
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt, according to taste
• 2 tbsp water

Instructions:

1. Cut the paneer pieces into long finger-like shape and place them on a paper towel to remove all excess moisture.
2. Put corn flakes, breadcrumb, parsley and paprika in the food processor and pulse for few seconds to make a coarse meal. Keep the meal in a bowl.
3. Whisk the corn flour along with water and salt and keep it in a separate bowl.
4. Now, dip the paneer fingers in the corn flour mixture and immediately dip it in the bowl of cornflake meal. Make sure to coat all sides evenly and then shake off the excess. Place the coated paneer fingers on a plate and keep them in the refrigerator to chill. These fingers can be kept in an air-tight container for weeks and you can actually make them in batches, every alternate day.
5. When you are ready to serve, coat a baking sheet with olive oil and keep the frozen paneer fingers on the sheet. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and bake the paneer fingers for 25 minutes. You will have to flip the fingers after 15 minutes of baking. Make sure that they are golden brown in color. These paneer fingers are to be served warm.
6. Now, about the yogurt dip. This is easy to make as all you will have to do is to blend all the ingredients for the dip in the food processor to make a smooth paste.

Paneer Fingers with Yogurt Dip is one of the most loved veg starters or the vegetarian appetiser recipes for your kids. So, next time if you are looking for Indian finger food recipes or finger foods for a party, this should surely be on your list!