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Starting solids: first foods, textures and allergens
Updated 28 October 2026
Around 6 months, babies start to need food as well as milk. The first weeks of solids are about learning: new tastes, new textures and how to swallow. Breast milk or formula is still the main food for now. Here's when to start, what to offer, and how to keep it safe.
When to start
The WHO, the NHS and the AAP all advise starting solid foods at around 6 months, alongside breast milk or formula. If your baby was born early, ask your doctor or health visitor when to start.
Three signs your baby is ready
The NHS describes three signs that usually appear together, at around 6 months. Your baby can:
- stay sitting up and hold their head steady;
- look at food, pick it up and put it in their mouth by themselves;
- swallow food, rather than push it back out with their tongue.
Chewing fists, waking more at night and wanting extra milk feeds are normal baby behaviour. They aren't signs that your baby needs solids, and starting solids won't make a baby sleep through the night.
Textures by age
| Age | What to offer |
|---|---|
| Around 6 months | Smooth, mashed or soft finger foods. Start with a few teaspoons or small pieces; milk is still the main food. |
| 7 to 9 months | Mashed, lumpy and finger foods, building up to 3 meals a day. Include iron-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and daal. |
| 10 to 12 months | 3 meals a day, chopped family food and a wider range of finger foods, still without added salt or sugar. |
The NHS suggests starting with single vegetables, including less sweet ones such as cauliflower and spinach, to help your baby get used to a range of flavours. If a new food is refused at first, keep offering it on other days.
Desi first foods
You don't need special baby food. Many everyday dishes work well, cooked soft and without salt.
| Food | From about | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Lauki (bottle gourd) | 6 months | Peel, remove the seeds, cook until soft and mash. Its mild taste makes it a good early food. |
| Khichdi (rice and moong daal) | 6 months | Cook rice and moong daal very soft with vegetables; mash for younger babies. No salt. |
| Moong or masoor daal | 6 months | Cook until very soft and mash; mix with rice or vegetables. No salt. |
| Daliya (broken wheat) | 6 months | Cook with water or breast milk until very soft. No sugar; sweeten with mashed fruit if needed. Contains wheat. |
| Suji (semolina) | 6 months | Cook into a smooth porridge, with no added sugar. Contains wheat. |
| Dahi (yoghurt) | 6 months | Plain, full-fat, with no added sugar. Contains milk. |
| Qeema (minced meat) | 6 months | Cook minced mutton or beef thoroughly and mash with vegetables. A good source of iron. |
| Mango, papaya, chikoo | 6 months | Mash ripe fruit. Remove the skin, seeds and stone; chikoo's hard black seeds must all come out. |
| Roti | 6 months | Soak small pieces of soft roti in daal or milk. From about 9 months, offer soft strips to hold. Contains wheat. |
Allergens
Foods that more often cause allergies, such as egg, cows' milk, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, wheat and fish, can be given from around 6 months. The NHS advice is to introduce them one at a time, so you can spot any reaction, and in small amounts. Once your baby has had a food without a problem, keep it in their diet regularly.
- Give peanuts and nuts only as smooth nut butter or finely ground, never whole or chopped.
- If your baby already has eczema or a food allergy, talk to your doctor or health visitor before introducing these foods.
- Signs of a reaction include swelling of the lips or face, a red itchy rash, vomiting or tummy pain, wheezing and coughing. Stop that food and talk to your doctor.
- Emergency: difficulty breathing, or a swollen tongue or throat, can be anaphylaxis. Call your local emergency number straight away (for example 1122 in Pakistan, 999 in the UK or 911 in the US).
Safety rules
- No salt in your baby's food or cooking water, and no stock cubes. No added sugar.
- No honey before 1 year, not even a little in ghutti.
- No whole nuts before 5 years: they're a choking risk.
- Cut small round foods, such as grapes, into quarters, and remove seeds, stones and bones.
- Cows' milk is fine in cooking from around 6 months, but not as a main drink until 1 year. Offer sips of water from a cup with meals.
- Always stay with your baby while they eat, sitting upright.
Solids in Palna
Palna's solids guide covers the signs of readiness, 36 foods with how to prepare each one, and an allergen tracker that takes each allergen from not yet tried to introduced. It also has 15 desi recipes, with no salt or sugar:
- From 6 months: Lauki purée, Carrot and potato mash, Smooth rice and moong daal, Suji kheer without sugar, Banana and oats.
- From 7 months: Vegetable khichdi, Daliya with fruit, Soft scrambled egg, Chicken and vegetable mash, Masoor daal with rice.
- From 10 months: Roti soaked in daal, Soft vegetable pulao, Mild qeema aloo, Fish and potato, Paneer and peas.
Sources
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- World Health Organization: Infant and young child feeding (fact sheet)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Starting solid foods