Oats Uttappam

Wherever I see, everyone is trying to move away from the traditional dosa & idli. They are getting more health conscious and want to incorporate millets into their daily routine. Given the health benefits of the various millets, its the right way to go as well. But I am sure a few still want their rice now and then (if not daily).

I for one, don't miss rice too much. I can go without rice for 1 or 2 weeks. I guess I like rice with my pachadi (chutney), my mother's Gutti Vankaya Koora (Stuffed brinjal curry) and a few curries. Other than that, I am OK with eating Godhuma Rava(Dalia), Foxtail Millet (Korralu in Telugu and Theenai in Tamil) or oats instead of rice everyday. And when I eat rice, its not the brown rice. That's something I still need to get used to. We have shifted to semi polished rice from polished rice. So even we are moving towards the healthy band wagon.

The recipe today is an ideal breakfast recipe. You can prepare and soak everything overnight. Just grate the carrots and mix in other vegetables of your choice in the morning and make the Uttappams. A healthy, tasty and filling breakfast is ready. Since oats are full of fiber, your stomach feels full for a longer time, thus making you snack less.

I actually made this as an after school snack for my sons. I used left over batter to make Uttappams for me and my husband the next morning.

Ingredients:

1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 Cup Semolina / Suji
1 cup Curd
1 Carrot - grated
Water as needed
Salt to taste
Oil / Ghee as needed

Method

1. Mix the Oats, Semolina and Curd and grind it to a smooth paste. Add a little water if needed.
2. Keep this aside for atleast 1/2 an hour. If possible, for more. I kept this for almost 5 hours.
3. Just before making the Uttappams, mix the grated carrot and water to get it to a thick consistency. Something like cake batter.
4. Heat a non stick pan. I took a 6 inch diameter pan.
5. Add a tiny bit of oil / ghee. Add 1 to 1.5 ladles of the batter and spread it. The Uttappam should be about 1/2 an inch thick.
6. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
7. Serve hot with chutney of choice or as is. We ate it without chutney and it was tasty.

Note: You can add more vegetables like Onions, Tomatoes, Green Chillies etc. This is dependent on your taste.

This goes to Valli's Come, join us for Breakfast - February

Oats Upma

Oats... They are commonly used to make porridge for breakfast. But one can use it for so many other kinds of food.

You can eat it instead of rice. It goes extremely well with most of the curries. Especially the spicy non vegetarian ones. Apparently, you are supposed to lactate more if you eat oats. So when I was nursing V, I used to eat oats instead of rice every day. That's when I fell in love with it.

You can make Oats Dosa which is an instant dosa that doesn't require fermentation. You can also make Oats Idli, Oats Dhokla, Oats Chapati etc. I am sure a cookbook can be written on how to use Oats in different foods.

But today, I want to share a recipe that P, V and me like. Its Oats Upma. Its pretty simple, cooks fast (if you dont use too many vegetables).

You do get instant Oats. But the Old fashioned rolled oats are the healthier ones to use.

Ingredients:
1 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Chana Dal
1 Onion finely chopped
1 Chilli slit length wise (adjust)
1 tsp Ginger
1 cup Chopped Mixed Vegetables (I used Carrots, Potatoes and Green Peas)
2 tbsp Oil
2 to 3 cups water
Chopped Coriander to Garnish

Method

1. Heat Oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add the Mustard Seeds.
2. Once the Mustard Seeds splutter, add the Cumin Seeds and let them crackle.
3. Now add the Chana Dal and fry till they turn golden taking care not to burn them.
4. Now add the Chilli and fry for a minute or two.
5. Add the chopped Onion and fry till it browns.
6. Add the Ginger and fry for a minute.
7. Now add the Vegetables and cook till they are almost done. You might want to add a bit of water here.
8. Next add the Oats, mix every thing, pour 2 cups of water and let it cook.
9. Check the consistency of the Upma and keep adding water as required. I like my upma to be a little watery, so I use the full 3 cups.
10. Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve with chutney or on its own.

You can also grate the vegetables to enable them to cook faster.

This goes to Priya's Cooking With Whole Foods - Oats that was started by Kiran.