TIP: Like with any new food, please monitor your baby for any signs of allergies or digestive issues when introducing meats. Meat is not a common allergen, but every baby is different and their reactions may be different.

TIP: Darker meats contain more iron, which is beneficial for babies.

6 to 8 months

1) Meat puree: Incorporate a spoonful of pureed or minced mutton, or pork into a vegetable puree that your baby enjoys. To ensure tender meat, simmer it in a broth without sodium or salt until fully cooked, then let it cool before blending it into a smooth consistency. You can enhance the flavor by adding vegetables such as onions, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes to the broth. For example, try combinations like mutton and tomato puree, sweet potato puree, or raisins puree. Since meat is not a common allergen, you can introduce meat-based purees once your baby has tried other fruits and vegetables.

2) Chunky or lumpy meat or thick slices of meat: Mash a small piece of pork or lamb together with cooked vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, or onions until they are combined but still retain some texture, creating a slightly chunky and thick consistency. This method works well in curries, gravies, stews, and haleem.

3) Meat strips: Offer larger pieces of meat, such as ribs, drumsticks, 2 to 3-inch finger-sized strips, or long meatballs of around 2 finger lengths, for your baby to hold with their palm (palmar grasp) starting at 6 months. As your baby develops their pincer grasp, usually around 9 months of age, transition to smaller pieces of meat. For example, serve goat strips as a side dish alongside khichdi or roti with curd, or pork strips.

4) Meat on the bone: Although serving meat on the bone to your baby may initially seem challenging, it can actually be an ideal option for self-feeding when following the baby-led weaning method. Ensure to remove any skin, fat, or small bones before serving. Offer baby-sized pork or mutton drumsticks, ribs, or bone-in lamb chops, as the bones provide a convenient handle for small hands.

5) Meatballs: Starting around 6 to 7 months of age, you can introduce meatballs to your baby. Prepare homemade meatballs in long finger shapes that are easy for babies to hold and consume. You can also slice longer meatballs into strips, mince them, or crush them and add them to curries. If serving round meatballs, cut them into quartered strips or small pieces. For instance, offer pork, mutton, or lamb meatballs to your baby.

9 to 11 months 

1) Ground meat: Introducing cooked ground meat to your baby offers a soft and tender option that is easier for them to chew and swallow compared to other cuts of meat. Enhance the flavor by adding spices like turmeric powder, cumin powder, ginger and garlic paste, or a pinch of chili powder if your baby can tolerate it. Ground meat can be served to babies aged 9 months and older, helping them develop their pincer grasp. You can either load the cooked ground meat onto a baby fork or self-feeding spoon to feed them or provide it in a utensil for them to feed themselves. E.g., ground mutton, pork, duck, etc.

2) Pulled or strips: Serving pulled or strips of meat, such as mutton, lamb, duck, or turkey, is one of the easiest ways to introduce meat to babies. Offer a 2 to 3-inch strip, roughly the size of two adult fingers, to the baby. For slightly older babies (10 months and up), you can shred the meat into small pieces. Serve it with rice or roti, ensuring that you remove any skin, fat, hard pieces, or small bones before serving. E.g., lamb strips or bite-sized lamb shreds, pork strips.

3) Shredded pieces: At this age, most babies have developed their pincer grasp, enabling them to pick up bite-sized shredded pieces of meat between their thumb and pointer finger.

4) Pulled meat in a pressure cooker: Cooking meat in a pressure cooker results in tender, moist meat that easily falls apart. You can place shredded slow-cooked meat on a high chair tray, making it easy for your baby to grab with their fingers. Additionally, you can mix it with some curd, yogurt, or pureed vegetables like carrot puree, rasam, or kadhi.

5) Curry or gravy: For flavorful and tender meat, you can prepare lamb curry with coconut milk and added vegetables like tomatoes, or mutton stew with vegetables. These dishes make great sides for dosa, chapati, paratha, rice, millets, idiyappam (South Indian string hopper), or palappam (thin South Indian pancake).

6) Meat patty: Cook the meat until it is soft and tender, grind it, and mix it with boiled and mashed vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, or green peas. Shape the mixture into a patty and shallow fry it on a tawa. Offer the meat patty to your baby along with curd, yogurt, or coconut milk, allowing them to grab, hold, chew, and swallow.

7) Tawa meat: Pan frying the meat on a tawa provides a suitable texture for your baby to suck, gnaw, and chew on. By extracting the juices and gnawing, they can obtain a decent amount of iron from the meat, making it a nutritious option even if they don't consume much.

12 to 24 months 

1) Matchstick-sized meat: By this age, your baby should have developed teeth and chewing skills for smaller pieces of meat, like matchstick-sized or cut-up portions. Encourage them to practice using a fork. Offer a variety of shapes, textures, and cooking methods such as grilled, roasted, or fried, along with rice or chapati.

2) Bite-sized meat: Continue offering bite-sized or smaller pieces of meat, ribs, or drumsticks. Once your baby is comfortable, gradually introduce thicker slices of meat. Remember that thin slices are safer.

3) Grilled meat: To grill meat, cover mutton leg or breast with a lid or aluminum foil in a pan. This helps retain moisture and prevents overcooking. Serve grilled meat with curd, yogurt, or rice to keep it moist and easy to chew.

4) Tawa meat: Cook meat on a tawa with added spices, cutting it into tender 1 to 2-inch pieces for easier chewing and reduced choking risk.

5) Baked meat: Bake meat while keeping the skin on to retain the sizzling fat. Covering it with foil preserves juices, keeping the meat soft and juicy.

6) Ground meat: Offer ground mutton patties, meatballs, or shredded/minced meat. Introduce larger strips of mutton or pork for bite practice, but avoid mutton kebabs or large chunks, which pose a higher choking risk.