Sunday, December 1, 2013

Much Ado about Oats



I have always disliked oats. Don't ask me why because I have no logical reason to put forth. I'd never eaten oats but porridge always looked sludgy and unappealing and I also dislike milk. There was no hope for oats as far as I was concerned.

Life went happily by and I never saw or felt any need to add oats to it. Till diabetes entered the scene and after years of struggling to reduce the carb intake and manage the sugar levels, the hubby convinced me to at least try oats - Don't make porridge, he said. Why don't you make your veggie upma with oats instead, he urged. Finally he just insisted that I make it once and eat it only because he was telling me to. Quite reminiscent of the parents' dialogue "you have to do it because I said so". Sigh.

So I finally did. I made oats with a ton of vegetables and a smattering of spices and took the plunge. Literally. This was a month or so ago and much to my surprise I didn't hate it. In fact, it was quite palatable and I knew I would grow to even like it. A little bit of online advice from my foodie buddies and a few tweaks later I was on to a good thing!

Oats with Plenty of Veggies

1/2 cup Quaker Oats
1 cup or more assorted vegetables chopped into small cubes
1 tbsp cooking oil
turmeric
chilli powder
jeera powder
salt
chopped green chillies
Sliced or chopped onions

I use potatoes, carrots, green peas, cauliflower, capsicum, coloured peppers, brocolli, whatever I have at hand.

Dry roast the oats in your kadai or non stick pan for a few minutes. I like to do this so the final product is not very porridge-y in consistency. Remove to a plate or bowl.

Heat oil in your wok or kadai and add the vegetables and fry lightly. Cover and let them cook for a bit, reduce the flame. Once the vegetables are nearly done add the dry spices and salt and stir well. Now add the oats and cook stirring frequently so that the oats and vegetables are mixed thoroughly.

Now add a generous glass of water and let the whole thing cook till the water is all absorbed. I like to cook it till it is dry and coming off the sides of the wok. You can leave it loose if you like.

Garnish with shredded fresh coriander and add a good squeeze of lemon and serve hot.

This is a very filling meal and works for breakfast or lunch or even dinner. Oats fill you up really well and I find that I don't get hungry for at least 4 to 5 hours. More importantly, the urge to nibble is not there. From the diabetic point of view the good thing is that my sugar levels don't spike. A winner all around, I think!

It's a nice feeling when you continue to grow, you let yourself open up to new experiences and new tastes too. It's even better when you manage to get past a blind spot. However the smug satisfaction on the hubby's face is purely priceless :)

1 December 2013
Marathon Bloggers

11 comments:

Shailaja V said...

Wow! Sounds very tempting. I do like oats with milk, but haven't ventured to try the upma version yet :)

Me! In words said...

Rhea, I totally share your feelings on oats. My aversion came about right after pregnancy when I was forced to down bowlfuls on a regular basis. But now feel a bit inspired to venture out and give this a try. I will keep you posted on how it goes :-)

Samarpita Sharma said...

I am totally trying this tomorrow. Hate Oats, but this looks delightful!!

Aparna said...

I was never sure how the savoury version of oats would work, but you make it look and sound so good :). Will give it a try sometime soon!

Anonymous said...

I make a lot of oats upma, one of the few ways I can eat it. I have the same problem as u... hate oats, there are a couple of recipes on the blog of oats dosa etc I tried because of the same reason :) do check them out

Rhea Mitra Dalal said...

Thanks Monika! I will definitely check those out

Swathika said...

I love oats with curd...like to eat it more like curd rice with a spicy side dish. But this recipe looks yum. I have been wanting to do oats for breakfast on a regular basis and I think I am going to keep looking for more oats recipe from you....Will try before the marathon ends will comment back here :D

Rhea Mitra Dalal said...

Go for it, Swathika! If you already like oats I have a feeling you will like this too :)

Kurush F Dalal said...

Proud to take the credit for manouvering Rhea into making this :P

radha said...

Are these anything like the readymade masala oats you get? My husband also cannot have the regular oats and had switched to the masala oats, but I didn't think I liked the idea of the flavouring agents that were used and am trying to find out how I can make a similar kind at home. This looks quite like it. Will give it a try

Rhea Mitra Dalal said...

I used regular non flavoured Quaker oats.. the quick cooking ones.