If you have any leftover frozen turkey from Christmas, this is a wonderful dish. I’ll be using roast chicken this time though. Tips below for kids who are not used to curries yet. Exposure exposure exposure really is the key. I couldn’t find an all-purpose curry paste so made my own using the recipe copied below; I didn’t have all the ingredients, so included what I did have. I have now cooked this three times and so far my 7 year-old son hasn’t tried it, well, he did pick at some of the chicken and claimed he didn’t like it. BUT! I won’t stop serving it as I know it can take a long time for kids to accept new food and this is ok, this is no rush!

BBC Good Food Turkey Curry

GET AHEAD: Prepare curry paste and cook the potatoes the day before

Serving suggestion:
- A large dollop of long-term thinking (don’t focus on just one meal)
- A cup of cheerful conversation (no bribery, just connection)
- A pinch of salt (how you should take all food rejection!)
- Lashings of laissez-faire (the less you micro manage, the better)

How to serve this meal to your child

Beginner: ‘My child refuses any new meals’

Cook for yourself one evening and reheat some of the curry and serve alongside your child’s usual meal the next day or you could offer it as a small starter whilst they are waiting for their meal. The great thing about this approach is that you are not cooking specifically for your child, you are giving them leftovers from a meal that you would have cooked anyway, so straightaway there is LESS expectation and pressure. It’s about creating easy opportunities to widen your child’s food list over a long period of time.

Intermediate eater: ‘My child may try this new dish but I’m not sure’

Choose a day when you can eat together. Offer other components to the meal your child usually eats (such as naan or pitta bread, rice or another carbohydrate that could go with the curry) so there is no pressure. Serve the curry separately so your child can decide whether they want to add it to their plate or not. It doesn’t matter if your child doesn’t touch the new meal, it is all about your child getting used to seeing new food and taking it in and also seeing you eat it to give them confidence for future meals so it is never a waste of time offering them something new.

Advanced eater: ‘My child eats most things I give them and is not phased by new food’.

Serve the new meal and if they unexpectedly do refuse it, the best advice is not to panic and don’t feel bad. It’s just one meal. Say non-confrontational words such as ‘you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to’ and see if they can try a bit in their own time. If they don’t, it is best to move onto the next mealtime and write it off and try another time!