Oatmeal - A great way to start the day!!

Thanks to the first appearance of flab, I’ve been forced to find out ways of making my tongue tickling delights leaner and meaner!! Oats is a wonder fibre as it satisfies craving and takes on the taste of the ingredients it is cooked with. It cuts bad cholesterol and helps boost immunity. These oat recipes should definitely make a good meal.


1. Dry fruit and nut oats porridge


Ingredients:

1. Quaker oats – 5 tbsp
2. Milk – two tumblers
3. Salt – a pinch
4. Raisins – 8 no.s
5. Cashews – 2 no.s broken into tiny bits
6. Almond – 1 soaked, peeled and cut into tiny bits
7. Dates soaked in honey – 1 cut into small bits
8. Honey – 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Add oats, milk and salt and cook on medium heat with constant stirring for a minute.
2. Add honey and dry fruits and nuts and stir till fully cooked. Serve hot


2. Mixed vegetable and oats soup


Ingredients:

1. Quaker oats – 2 tbsp
2. Carrot – 1 small chopped into small pieces
3. Beans – 2 chopped
4. Leek – 1 stalk
5. Peas – 10 no.s
6. Coriander – few leaves for garnishing
7. Celery – 1 stalk chopped fine
8. Garlic – 2 pods chopped fine
9. Green chilli – 1 chopped fine
10. Salt to taste
11. Pepper
12. Egg – 1 beaten
13. Water – 500 ml

Method:

1. Boil all vegetables except coriander with salt and pepper till half cooked.
2. Add oats and cook on med flame with constant stirring till well cooked.
3. Add egg through a strainer stirring the constantly.
4. Garnish with coriander and serve with soya sauce.



3. Vegetable oats dosas

Ingredients:

1. Oats – 3 tbsp
2. Idli/dosa batter – quantity for 10-12 dosas
3. Button mushrooms – 3 no.s chopped fine
4. Spring Onion – 2 stalks chopped fine
5. Green chilli – 1 chopped fine
6. Oil – 1 tbsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Pepper – ½ tsp


Method:

1. Heat oil add green chillies and sauté for a minute. Add mushroom, salt, pepper and sauté till mushroom is cooked. Add spring onion before removing from flame.
2. Cool the vegetable mixture and mix into batter along with oats and water to a slightly thinner consistency than conventional dosa.
3. Serve hot with chutney.


4. Oats porridge

Ingredients:

1. Oats – 6-7 tbsp
2. Water – 3 tumblers
3. Salt to taste
4. Chicken – 1 breast piece
5. Spring onion – 2 stalks
6. Garlic – 2 pods chopped fine
7. Capsicum – 1 small chopped fine
8. Soya sauce – 1 tbsp
9. Oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Boil chicken with salt till well cooked. Cool, strain the stock and shred chicken
2. Finely chop the spring onion bulbs and stalks separately.
3. In a heavy bottomed pan heat oil and cook vegetables except spring onion stalk for 2 minutes
4. Add water, oats, soya sauce, chicken and salt and cook till oats porridge is thick.
5. Garnish with spring onion stalk and serve.