OATS MOONG TOAST

OATS MOONG TOAST

I tried out this recipe as both oats and moong are nutritious and this dish is easy to make. It can be had as a filling snack, served during tea time or even as a healthy addition to your breakfast.

I have used the regular store bought Quaker Oats for making this.

This healthy snack is adapted from a recipe by Nita Mehta, the cookery expert. It is from her book, which if I remember correctly was titled, "Tasty & Nutritious Oats Cookbook."

You can serve this with chutney or ketchup. I have used store bought tomato ketchup today.

Ingredients:

• Quaker Oats, 1/2 cup 
• Dhuli Moong Dal (Split Green Gram), soaked for 1 hour, 1/4 cup 
• Green Chillies, chopped, 2
• Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 1/2 cup
• Lemon Juice, 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Chilli Powder, 1/4 tsp or to taste 
• Eno Fruit Salt, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Brown Bread, 4 slices 
• Oil/Butter, for making the toasts 

Method:

Soak the Dhuli Moong Dal for an hour (picture above)
In a kadhai, roast the oats for about 2 minutes
Wash and chop the coriander leaves and green chillies
Drain the soaked dal
Grind this dal along with the roasted oats, chopped green chillies, coriander leaves, lemon juice, salt and a pinch of chilli powder, adding just the required amount of water, to a fine paste.
Transfer this ground paste to a bowl
To this, add the Eno Fruit Salt
Heat a non-stick tawa and grease it lightly with oil or butter
Spread the oats topping on  each of the bread slices
Invert the slice on the tawa with the oats paste down
Spread some oats paste on the upper side of the bread slices too
Flip them to toast on both sides until they are a golden brown
Once they are toasted, cut these into two triangles
Serve with chutney or ketchup.

OATS APPOS

OATS APPOS


In the past, I have posted the recipe for Instant Rava Appos. Here is one more variation to the many different types of Appos we make. This one includes healthy oats.

I have adapted this recipe from the one shared by my friend, Suphala Shenoy.

As you would probably know, for making Appos of different kinds, we use a special kind of tava which has sockets, which we call "Appe Kayli" in Konkani and Paniyarakkal in Tamil.  I use this one from Prestige's Omega series which makes 11 Appos in one round.

I have used peas and carrots but you could use other veggies such as cooked beans or cauliflower by adding them to the batter.

Ingredients: 

• Quaker Oats, 1 cup
• Rice Flour, 1 tbsp
• Besan, 1 tbsp
• Rawa/Semolina, 1/4 cup
• Onion, 1
• Green Chillies, 2
• Ginger, 1/2 " piece
• Green Peas (Frozen), 1/4 cup
• Carrot, 1
• Coriander leaves, 2 tbsp
• Curds, 1 cup
• Soda Bicarbonate, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required

Method:

Finely chop the onion, chop the coriander leaves and grate the carrot

Crush the green chillies and grate the ginger

In a bowl, mix together the oats, rice flour, besan, rawa and curds with the required amount of water to make a batter

Add the frozen peas, chopped onion, grated carrot, and chopped coriander leaves, 

Add the crushed green chillies and grated ginger

Add salt to taste 

Add the soda bicarbonate 

Mix well and keep aside for about 10 -15 minutes

Your batter for the oats appos is ready

Pour a little oil in the sockets and heat the "appe kayili"

Pour in the prepared batter into each of the sockets
Cook the appos covered over medium heat till they are done
Flip them and roast the other side
Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

OATS HEARTS

OATS HEARTS

For the health conscious, oats is one of the more popular foods. The recipes are relatively light and easy to prepare. This article from the MNT Knowledge Centre lists the many health benefits we get from consuming oats. Nita Mehta the expert chef has many recipes made of oats, this one called "Oats Hearts" is adapted from hers.

Her recipe is given below. The changes I made are asterisked. I didn't use the grated paneer, instead I used a small onion, and added a green chilly to increase the spice level. I also increased the red chilly powder to 1/2 tsp.

Ingredients:

• Oats, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Potatoes, boiled and mashed, 2
• Grated Paneer, 1/4 cup * ( did not use)
• Salt, 3/4 tsp or as per taste
• Red Chilly Powder, 1/4 tsp ( or 1/2 tsp, which I prefer)
• Garam Masala, 1/4 tsp
• Aam Chur, (Dry Mango Powder), 1/2 tsp
• Chopped Coriander, 2 tbsp.
• Grated Carrot, 1/4 cup
• Lemon juice, 1/4 tsp
• Onion, small, finely chopped, 1 * (optional, added by me)
• Green Chilly, finely chopped, 1* (optional, added by me)
• Oil, as required.

Method:
Keep 1/2 cup oats aside for coating
Mix all the other ingredients ( except oil, of course) with 1 cup of oats
Make 8-10 balls of the above mixture
Flatten each ball and shape into hearts by hand or use a heart-shaped cookie cutter
Do not flatten too much
Spread the remaining 1/2 cup oats on a plate
Dip each heart in a bowl of water for a second and immediately press both sides of each heart in the oats
Press hearts with the palms to coat the oats properly
Shallow fry 3-4 cutlets at a time on a greased non-stick pan using the required amount of oil
When the underside of each cutlet turns golden, flip and fry the other side for a few minutes
Transfer the cutlets to a plate and serve hot with ketchup

OATS AND MOONG DAL TIKKIS

OATS AND MOONG DAL TIKKIS

Snacks can be made with health filled ingredients too! This very tasty and healthy snack is made using oats and moong dal ( Split Yellow Gram). It tasted great when had with tea in the evening. Served green chutney and ketchup as accompaniments.

This recipe is adapted from one of my favourite cookery experts, the legendary Tarla Dalal. 
I sent in this picture after I had prepared this dish and was delighted that they added it to their website for a few months.

I hope you will like this as much as we did.

Ingredients:

• Quick Cooking Oats, 1/2 cup
• Yellow Moong Dal, (Split Yellow Gram), 1/2 cup 
• Fresh Curds/Dahi, 2 tbsp.
• Grated Onions, 3 tbsp.
• Green Chillies, finely chopped, 1/2 tsp
• Chaat Masala, 2 tsp
• Chilli Powder, 2tsp
• Garam Masala, 1/4 tsp
• Haldi (Turmeric) , 1/4 tsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp.
• Mint, finely chopped, 2 tbsp.
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for greasing and cooking

Method:
Clean, wash and boil the moong dal in 1 cup of water till the dal is soft and cooked and all the water evaporates
Drain and blend the dal in a mixer to a coarse paste
Transfer the paste to a bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and mix well
Divide the mixture and shape each portion into round, flat tikkis
Lightly grease a non-stick tawa with 1/2 tsp of oil
Cook each of the tikkis using required amount of oil, till they are evenly cooked on both the sides
Serve hot with green chutney or sauce.

VEGETABLE UPMA WITH OATS

VEGETABLE UPMA WITH OATS

Some weeks ago, I had shared the recipe of a popular breakfast item in South India called "Upma."
This one, you might remember is made of rava (semolina). I would like to present today another version of Upma, in which oats replaces rava. Many would consider this the more healthy version.

Oats, which has many benefits for our health, is fast gaining popularity in our cooking. This is because people are now more aware and health conscious. I prefer to use Quaker Oats which is tasty and healthy too.

I hope you will enjoy this dish for breakfast or as an evening snack.

 
Ingredients

• Quaker Oats, 2 cups
• Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal ( black gram dal) 1 tsp
• Chana dal (Split Bengal gram) 1 tsp
• Hing (Asafoetida) a pinch
• Grated ginger, 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies, slit, 3-4
• Curry leaves, 1 sprig
• Onion, chopped fine, 1
• Water, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Salt, to taste
• Tomato, medium, chopped, 1
• Capsicum, small size, chopped, 1
• Frozen Corn kernels OR Cooked Corn kernels, 1/2 cup
• Lemon juice, 2 tsp
• Oil, 2 tbsp or as required

Method:

Dry roast the oats for about 2 minutes in a non-stick kadai and keep aside.
Heat oil on medium heat and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add urad dal and chana dal
When the dals change colour, add asafoetida, grated ginger, green chillies, and curry leaves
Add the chopped onion, and fry till they are translucent
Add water and salt to taste. You can vary the ratio of water to oats depending on the consistency you like. Remember, the oats will be more grainy when you add less water and more soft when you add more water.
When the water boils, add the chopped tomato, capsicum and corn kernels
Cover the kadai with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes
Next, add the roasted oats, little at a time, stirring continuously to ensure it does not form lumps
Cook the upma for 2-3 minutes till the water evaporates
Switch off the gas, add the lemon juice and mix well
Serve hot

OATS MASALA PARANTHA

OATS MASALA PARANTHA

Yet another in the list of paranthas in this blog. In fact, this is the 9th variety. If you wish to see the others, the fastest way is to look for the label, "Rotis and Paranthas", and you will find them all there.

Today's variety is becoming very popular as people may more attention to their diet.  I am sure you will enjoy this one, as much as you would the others.

Ingredients:

• Oats, 1 cup
• Atta, wheatflour, 2 cups
• Onion, medium, finely chopped, 1
• Red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp or to taste
• Turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder, 1/2 tsp
• Amchur powder (dry mango powder), 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped, 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Water, as required
• Oil, as required for making the paranthas

Method:
In a bowl, mix together wheat flour, salt, with water as required and make a soft dough. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
Make the dough into equal parts and  roll out into small sized rotis.
In another bowl, mix together the oats, chopped onion, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, amchur powder, a little salt, and chopped coriander leaves.
Add a little water to the above mixture and shape into small balls to make the filling for the paranthas
Place equal amounts of this oat masala mixture on each of the rolled out rotis
Next, pull the edges of the rotis and seal
Roll these out into paranthas of about 6" diameter
Heat the tawa on medium heat. Place the parantha over the tawa and cook it by putting a little oil till it becomes golden brown
Next, flip the parantha and cook the other side in the same manner

Serve hot with raitha and pickle of your choice.

OATS IDLIS WITH COCONUT CHUTNEY

OATS IDLIS WITH COCONUT CHUTNEY

Whenever I see people dash off to work in the mornings, I often wonder what they had for breakfast. At times, they are still munching something as they wait for their cab or bus, or are nibbling at something during the commute. Often I hear of people skipping breakfast and grabbing a juice to get by. We were told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You can skip your lunch if you have to, you can have a light dinner too, but you can't afford to skip your breakfast!

Oats idlis is adapted from a recipe in cookery expert Nita Mehta's "Tasty & Nutritious Oats Cook Book. " This breakfast dish is nutritious, healthy and can be made quickly. I find that as people become more health conscious, they are incorporating more of oats in their diets. This is definitely a good trend which needs to be encouraged. This was virtually not there when I started cooking years ago.

In case you don't like black pepper, you can make and use a paste of ginger and green chillies in the batter.

I have used the store bought regular Quaker Oats we use at home, but feel free to use any oats of your choice. 

Here we go, with a breakfast that will give you a great start to the day!

For the Oats Idlis:

Ingredients:

• Regular Quaker Oats, 1 cup
• Medium Rava ( Semolina )  1 cup
• Curds 2 cups
• Crushed Black Pepper 1/2 tsp OR A paste made of Ginger, 1/2 " piece and Green Chillies, 2-3 or as per taste
• Salt, to taste
• Eno Fruit Salt, 2 tsp

Method:

In a mixer, grind the oats to a powder.
Take a large bowl and mix the powdered oats, rava, curds, black pepper and salt.
Add enough water to make this to a thick batter of pouring consistency.
Keep the batter aside for 5 minutes.
Add Eno fruit salt to the batter and mix well
Grease the idli stand and pour the batter
Steam the idlis for 10-12 minutes on medium flame
Demould the idlis carefully
Serve hot with chutney of your choice.
I have served the oats idlis today with Coconut Chutney (recipe given below)


For The Coconut Chutney:

Ingredients:
Coconut Gratings, 1 cup ( preferably use fresh coconut)
Roasted Red Chillies, 3 or as per your requirement
Garlic, 1-2 cloves
Fried Gram, 1 tbsp
Tamarind, a pellet sized piece
Salt, to taste

Method:
In a blender, grind the above ingredients with water to make the chutney.
By varying the amount of water added, you can get chutney of the consistency you require.