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Oatmeal Sabzi

In Recipes on 9 May 2012 at 3:49 am

Oatmeal Sabzi

Till I tasted this I had always had my oatmeal with bananas or other fruit and nuts.  The vegetables really do bring out a different side of the oats.  We usually use carrots, peas, and beans, but am curious how it would do with eggplant or okra.  Here is the recipe as told to me by  Somnath Baba in Boston:

Savoury Oatmeal with carrots and peas.
 Photo:  Balaji Narasimhan.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup assorted diced vegetables
1 cup rolled oats
3 cups water
pinch of salt
dash of mustard oil (optional)

Steps:

Bring water, salt and vegetables to a boil.
Add oats and simmer for about 20 minutes or till vegetables are cooked.
Drizzle with mustard oil for added zing!

Amma adds: EZ Cooker is wonderful for cooking oatmeal – never burns, never boils over!

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Whole Idlis: smooth transition to whole & diverse grains

In Recipes on 17 February 2011 at 3:55 pm

We grew up on white bread, white rice, white idlis, white dosas, etc. We would like to switch to whole grains, especially now that our baby has started eating solid foods as well. But it is going slower than we had hoped. Any suggestions?

– parents of a 9-month old in Hyderabad
Soak 1 cup brown rice and 1.5 cups whole urad or urad dal with peel intact. Grind and allow to rise overnight. Steam in idli plates as usual. Shown with avakayi and idli poDi.

Soak 1 cup brown rice and 1.5 cups whole urad or urad dal with peel intact. Grind and allow to rise overnight. Add 1/2 tsp salt to taste. Steam in idli plates as usual. Shown with avakayi and idli poDi.

Why not go for whole grain idlis? I have found these get past some pretty picky palates, including folks who eat white basmati rice daily – they too enjoy these idlis made of brown rice and unpeeled urad dal. Let me add that these are great for beginning eaters. Even before she had teeth, my daughter resisted anything that looked like “mashed food” or <gasp> “baby food.” But since in this dish, the ingredients have already been mashed up, she could enjoy the same food as the rest of us.

Next on Amma’s agenda is to diversify the idlis and dosas with even healthier grains. Lovely recipes are there at ReStore (organic produce bazaar in Chennai).

New!  Kodo Millet Idlis!

Millets are not only healthy, they are hep and happening! Have you seen Jab We Millet?

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Basic Hummous

In Recipes on 25 December 2010 at 1:42 pm

“What do you eat hummous with?”
“With my fingers!”
(overheard)

Blend boiled chickpeas, garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil.
Bread quarters with hummous and sliced tomato
Veggie sticks are great to dip in hummus.
Bread, Hummous, Tomatos, Onions and Avocado all ready for assembly.

 

Be the star of the potluck with this Basic Hummous

Soak and cook 1 cup garbanzo beans.  Drain, reserving cooking water.
Add & blend:
juice of 1 lemon (or lime)
1-2 cloves raw garlic  (3-4 if the cloves are small)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold pressed olive oil
1/4 cup tahini, if you have it (I rarely do)
2-3 ounces of the cooking water (just enough so that it blends smoothly

Optional:  Garnish with chopped cilantro and sliced tomato or grated carrots.

Dip veggies,  spread on bread or rice cakes, stuff into pita, or roll into rotis.

Note: if you use canned garbanzo beans and wish to avoid residue of preservatives or additives (which may be there even if unlisted), drain the liquid and use fresh water when blending.  In case you use the liquid in the can, check if it includes salt and adjust the salt accordingly.

One cup dry beans becomes 2-3 cups after cooking. According to Serious Eats, if using canned beans, you would use 2 15-ounce cans in lieu of one cup dry beans.

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Steel Cut Oats

In Recipes on 25 December 2010 at 1:41 pm

Thanks to Sonika for sharing her story of Steel Cut Oats.
I like the bit about exercise sets – because patience is a virtue when preparing steel cut oats.

I boiled ~ a cup of steel cut oats with ~ a cup of pearl millet in water until tender. (took about 20 mins for this quantity and I could watch over it between exercise sets)
After done I let them stand for about 10 min so the mixture really coagulated. then added about a cup of milk to my share of the mix, 1.5 teaspoon of blackstrap molasses, heated for 30 sec. and topped with some sunflower seeds, almonds and strawberries. (i wouldn’t otherwise have strawberries with hot cereal but I didn’t mind it with this. will also try with cut apple).

After the grains are boiled you can keep the mix in the fridge for a couple of days and take a cupful everyday and prepare hot cereal with milk and toppings for b’fast.

We have topped with raisins, banana slice, even pomogrenate. Brings a lovely glow to winter mornings. Next we ask Chetana to share her recipe for rajgira, also known as amaranth. Just picked up a kilo from the organic shop in Chembur and waiting to taste it.


Simple home-made substitute for energy bars.

In Recipes on 17 October 2010 at 4:10 am

Simple home-made substitute for energy bars.

In a breakthrough for whole food and reduced packaging, necessity made me invent this easily transportable snack while staying with a friend in Dallas. My daughter was attending a 5-day program at the Dallas museum, and needed to take along lunch and snack. My friend regularly stocked puffed kamut for her 1-year old. I poured some puffs, sunflower seeds, walnuts and chopped dates into a small tiffin dabba and shook it up. Viola! Better than an energy bar! She could eat as much as she wanted and we could refill as needed. Some days puffs would need to be replenished; other days dates – she could vary the mix with every handful she ate. Moreover I could use a variety of organic nuts, dried fruits and puffed grains and come out cheaper than bars which run $10 – $15 / lb, often contain unwanted ingredients, are usually too sweet, and come in wrappers.