Oats - Sesame Parathas

 
Actually it was supposed to be the day of zucchini pancakes here if not for the minor detail that I missed while picturing them. Flat breads / pancakes had to be pictured along with a side dish according to the BM theme and I had completely forgotten about it when I pictured those pancakes. I realized that today morning while drafting the post and I wanted to bang my head somewhere as I did not have anything else to post. And adding to my woe, the weather has been so bad today with not a ray of sunshine in the radar. I was feeling like going and curling up under the covers than cooking and clicking. I started to dig in my drafts folder to see if I had something suitable and ended up with posts with mediocre pictures. They were in drafts in the the first place for the same reason. 
 
Somehow late afternoon I decided to make these oat based parathas and was able to get some decent pictures in spite of the gloomy weather. I saw these healthy parathas on a cook show and the recipe has been in my drafts for a while. I did not have time to rest the dough and so I added about 1/4 cup fat-free yogurt while preparing the dough so that the parathas remain softer for longer. It's time now for these parathas, owing to the 'Flat breads / Pancakes' BM theme going on this week here.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 to 1 cup wheat flour + extra for dusting
3 - 4 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 green chilies, finely chopped
2 tbsp. finely minced cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. oil (optional)
Oil / Ghee to toast parathas

Method:
* Lightly dry toast sesame seeds. 
* Add all ingredients except the oil to a mixing bowl and combine. Prepare a firm yet pliable dough using water as needed. Knead for a couple of minutes and place the dough in a bowl, covered. Let it rest for about an hour or so. 
* Make lime sized balls out of the dough. Take out a dough ball, flatten it and roll into a thin circle of about 5 inches diameter, dusting with flour if needed.
* Repeat the steps with the remaining dough. One can keep rolling and frying the parathas simultaneously or roll some and start frying while keeping the rest covered.
* Heat a griddle or a shallow pan. Place the rolled out dough circle on the griddle. When the bubbles start to appear, flip it. Spread 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and fry flipping in between, until brown spots appear on both sides. Remove and repeat the steps with the remaining rolled out circles. 
* Keep the rotis covered until ready to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen. Just warm them on the griddle again before serving.
* Serve them warm with any subzi / dal. I served them with Vegetable & Soya chunks curry and some tindora chutney.
 

These go to blogging marathon #57 and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.

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Staffordshire Oatcakes

 
We are moving towards England today for some oatcakes. When I say oatcakes, they are not actually cakes but are yeast based savory pancakes which are eaten as a breakfast item. These oatcakes are a regional specialty of North Staffordshire area of England, specifically the Stoke-on-Trent region and prepared with a fermented batter of oat, wholemeal and all purpose flours. They are normally referred to as North Staffordshire cakes by non locals because they were once made only in and around Staffordshire and Cheshire. These oatcakes are treated as a delicacy in the region and the locals supposedly pay a trip to the nearby vendors on weekends to pick fresh oatcakes to savor them leisurely at home serving along with cheese, bacon, eggs and tomato. Those fillings / sides along with the oat pancakes is what the dish is about. Without those, they would be plain, pitiful pancakes I guess.I sprinkled cheddar cheese over our oatcakes.

These oatcakes were / mostly still a local fare and they go even by some nicknames like 'Potteries Chapati'  and 'Tunstal Tortilla'. The oatcakes are supposedly made for hundreds of years and naturally there are are several myths surrounding the origin of the dish. One being linked to the times when India was a British colony. Some claim that the local soldiers who served in India took a liking to chapatis and they tried to recreate them on their return to Staffordshire. They used the locally grown oats while doing so, resulting in these oatcakes.

Oatcake recipe has been a closely guarded secret for many years and the recipe varies among oatcake makers. The rural tradition of oatcake making had become a booming cottage industry during industrial revolution because of the local availability of oats and the expansion of pottery and mining business in the Potteries region. It was once common for oatcakes to be sold directly from the window of a house to customers on the street, through out the Staffordshire Potteries, the industrial area in the region. However the last business which sold oatcakes in this style closed recently and there are now small and large businesses selling oatcakes.

 And these oatcakes are not to be confused with the Scottish version oatcakes. They are also oat based but are biscuits that are baked. The Scottish oatcakes date back to the 19th century and used to be baked on a hotplate over open fire.

Ingredients: (Yield 6 oatcakes)
1 & 1/4 cup oat flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. rapid rise yeast *
1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
Oil if necessary
Fillings as needed
* The original recipe uses dry yeast or fresh yeast. I used less yeast since I was resting it for about a couple of hours.

Method:
* Sieve together flours and salt in a mixing bowl.
* Combine sugar, yeast and warm water in a bowl and leave aside for about 10 minutes or until the mixture turns frothy.
* Add the yeast mixture and warm milk to the flour mixture and mix well to combine.
 
* Leave the batter to rest in a warm place for about 2 hours.
* The fermented batter would be frothy. Gently stir the batter with the ladle to combine.
 
* Heat a griddle on medium flame and grease it if necessary. Pour a ladleful of batter and spread it tilting the griddle or using the back of the ladle. Cook until the bottom side turns golden brown and flip. Cook until the other side is done too.

* Repeat the steps with the remaining batter.
* Oatcakes are served with fillings such as cheese, tomato, onion, bacon, egg and sausage. They can be eaten plain buttered / grilled with cheese. They can be served with jam / syrup / bananas though it would not be a traditional version.
* The leftovers can be reheated in a microwave.

 
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56

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An InLinkz Link-up

Tri colored Multi Grain Flour Roti

 
I am pretty sure that mothers with school age kids across the globe constantly face the 'lunch box' conundrum. In an ideal world or in a food commercial, a mother lovingly packs a substantial, healthy meal for the kids and they return home with empty boxes and happy faces. In reality, the scenario would be quite the opposite. The kids sometimes come home with untouched boxes and sour faces, giving lame excuses. 'The most favorite food in the world' keeps on changing for every few days. The conundrum turns nightmarish especially when the kids are picky eaters and moms have to wreck their heads for creativity. 

Probably all mothers agree with me when I say that packing a nutritious meal that appeals to kids' senses can get quite challenging sometimes. I have been packing my kids' lunch boxes for more than a decade now but it is still hard to please my younger one sometimes. These rotis are for kids like her who do not prefer carrying a side dish along with rotis or refuse to touch stuffed parathas. These colorful rotis are prepared with multi grain flour and vegetable puree to make them more nutritious and healthy. You can of course pack a side dish / yogurt / ketchup for kids if they prefer or add spices directly to the dough so that little ones can just roll them and eat. Three different kinds of vegetable based doughs are prepared. A small portion of each one is rolled into a log and then coiled tight to form a disc. It is rolled into a thin circle and toasted like regular rotis. These patterned colorful rotis are visually very much appealing to little ones and may not even realize that they are eating vegetables with the surprise thrown at them. Of course one need not go with my choice of vegetables and substitute them with their favorite vegetables. 

Ingredients: (Yield about 7 large rotis or about a dozen small rotis)
3 cups multi grain flour (See the notes below)
Salt to taste
Chili powder to taste
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala  
1/2 cup peeled and chopped carrot cubes
1/2 cup peeled and cubed beetroot
1/2 cup spinach puree
Milk / yogurt / water to grind the vegetables
Canola / vegetable oil 
Extra wheat flour for dusting
(The quantities of spices can be changed or omitted according to one's choice).

Method:

* Combine the flour, salt and spices if using in a mixing bowl. Divide the mixture into three parts.
*  Add carrots to a blender and grind finely using as little liquid as possible. (I use milk / yogurt for grinding, to make the rotis more nutritious and keep them softer.)
* Similarly grind beetroot pieces separately and keep it aside.
* Blanch the spinach if using fresh leaves or thaw in the microwave for 4 -5 minutes if using frozen spinach. Grind it into a fine puree and keep it aside. If you don't prefer the strong flavor of ground spinach, just wash and chop the spinach leaves finely.
* To one part of the flour add carrot puree and about 1 tbsp of oil. Combine to form a firm, pliable dough. (If the dough appears to be sticky, add some extra flour and if the dough is too dry then add some extra liquid.)
* To the second part of the dough, add beetroot puree and a tbsp. of oil. Again form a firm dough and keep it aside.
* To the third part of the flour add the spinach puree / finely chopped spinach and a tbsp. of oil and prepare the dough.

* Keep the dough balls covered for minimum 30 minutes. I left it on my counter-top for about an hour. 
* Pinch small lime sized balls from each colored dough.

* If you want to make small sized rotis, you can make still smaller sized balls. Roll each ball into a log of about 6 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. 

* Bring the logs together and twist them together to form a disc.

* Flatten the disc lightly with your fingers and gently roll it into a thin circle, dusting intermittently with flour if necessary.

* Transfer the rolled out disc onto a hot griddle. Flip after about 30 seconds and pour 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and 1/2 tsp on the surface. Gently press down with a flat spatula and cook until golden spots appear on both sides. Remove the cooked roti and transfer onto a plate.

* Repeat the steps of rolling and frying with the remaining dough. Work with one portion at a time and keep the rest of the dough covered. Keep covered the toasted rotis in a towel or in a covered box or a hot pack box.

* Serve with a side dish if serving adults. For kids, ketchup / a small box of yogurt can be packed.

Notes:
1. Multi grain atta can be store bought or home made. For home made versions, try to keep the ratio of wheat to the other grains combined 5:1 or 4:1. If you are lucky enough to have a local flour mill, you can grind wheat kernels along with ragi, oats, barley, soya beans, maize and chana dal and store the flour in an airtight container. 
After learning what is present in the store bought flour, I instead started to combine the flours I have at home just like this dosa flour. For today's version, I combined 2 & 1/2 cups of atta / wheat flour, 2 tbsp. each of besan / garbanzo flour, corn flour, finely ground oats, and 1 tbsp. each of ragi flour and soy flour.
2. If planning to make the rotis for lunch boxes, this dough can be prepared the previous night itself. Cover and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use in the morning. Just before making the rotis, thaw the dough in the microwave. Place the dough covered in the microwave and heat for about 30 to 60 seconds depending upon the quantity of dough you have. and then proceed with the recipe as usual.
3. Other vegetables can be substituted. 

This is my contribution to Indusladies Recipe book with the theme "Kids Lunch Box".



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Oats Thepla

This week's blogging marathon theme of travel food is making me all nostalgic thinking about the long, memorable trips I have had with my family while back in India. During my childhood days, long trips translated to train journeys, as in case of most of the middle class Indian families of that period. And we kids sure used to enjoy them.
During this summer when we visited India, we wanted our kids too experience one of those exciting long train trips that I and my husband used to enjoy and look forward to during our childhoods. We booked one way train tickets to Delhi from Bangalore and little did we know that how memorable our daughter was going to make that trip for us, adults. The two days she was on train, she refused to either get up from her berth or touch food for no apparent reason. She had developed gastritis by the time we got down from the train and ended up throwing up on herself. Exciting, phew! It was funny though when later on she told everyone that she liked her train trip and would like to take another one during her next visit. 

Coming to food, rotis, pulihora (tamarind rice) and savory snacks always feature(d) on our train trips. Gujarati theplas are one such category of rotis that are suitable for travel and doesn't need a side dish other than some pickle, making it more suitable and convenient to carry. I came across this oats version theplas on an oats packet in my mother's kitchen and had noted this down to try later. They were soft and yummy as expected and I had served them with moong subzi. 

Ingredients: (Yield 8 theplas)
1 cup atta / wheat flour
1/2 cup ground oats
3 tbsp. besan / garbanzo flour
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 green chili, finely minced
1/2 cup finely chopped methi / fresh fenugreek leaves
2-3 tbsp. yogurt
1 tbsp. oil
Warm water to knead the dough
Oil to make theplas

Method:

* Combine the flours, salt and turmeric in a bowl. Add chili, methi, oil and yogurt to the flour mixture and mix well. Next add water as needed to form a soft dough. Allow it to rest for about 30 - 45 minutes.

* Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and shape them into balls.  

* Take a dough ball and roll into a thin circle of about 5 inches diameter. Use wheat flour for dusting if needed.

* Keep the rest of the dough balls covered while rolling out a ball.

* Heat a tava / griddle and cook each dough circle, using a little oil, till it golden brown flecks are noticed on both sides.

 

* Usually theplas are served with chunda or sweet mango pickle and yogurt.  

 

This is my post under "Travel Dishes" theme for BM#36. Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking. 

 

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Instant Dosas ~ Mixed Flour Dosas

 

A quick and healthy option over soak, grind and ferment kind traditional dosas. You can whip up a delicious and filling breakfast on last minute even without any planning when it comes to instant kind of dosas. You can take away or add any flours / vegetables you have on hand and those you think can work in this recipe.

Ingredients: (yields 10 dosas)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup urad flour / black gram flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1/4 cup garbanzo flour / besan
2 tbsp soy flour
Salt to taste
1/4 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup grated bottle gourd / lauki
1 - 2 green chillies finely minced
1/2 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp finely minced cilantro
Water to make the batter (about 1 & 3/4 cups)
Oil to make dosas
For tadka:
2 tsp oil, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp cumin seeds and few pinches of asafoetida

Method:
* Heat oil in a pan for the tadka and add chana dal, urad dal and cumin seeds. When dals start turning reddish, add the asafoetida and turn off the stove.
* Combine all the ingredients except oil and water in a mixing bowl. Gradually add water and make a lump-free batter with a spreadable consistency. Add the tadka to the batter and mix well. Take care that the batter doesn't turn too watery. In case if it does, add some extra flour.
* Heat a griddle or a shallow pan. Take a ladleful of batter and pour at the centre of the pan. Spread lightly with the back of the ladle and spread about 1/2 tsp of oil around it.
* Cook until dosa turns golden brown through out on the bottom side and flip it. Spread 1/4 tsp of oil again if needed and cook until the other side cooks too.
* Repeat the procedure with the remaining batter.

This is going to be my contribution to "Instant Idlis / Dosas" theme. Check what other marathoners are cooking at BM #34.

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Z ~ Zucchini Biscotti

 

The A - Z marathon comes to an end today. The marathon and month seemed to whiz by so fast that it seemed like it was done in the blink of an eye. However "Behind the scenes" was a different story altogether for everyone who participated in it, if I am not wrong. The frenzy and the excitement started months before the actual marathon started. The participants through chain of emails decided on the themes, shared ideas and helped each other with the list of recipes if needed. Like many, I made an umpteen number of recipe lists / plans on paper in advance though only a handful recipes were ready when the marathon started. However when marathon started, everything fell in place on it's own (kinda) and I enjoyed the process immensely.

And I am ending this BM with these crispy zucchini biscottis, that I had bookmarked earlier from Harini's place. My earlier eggless biscotti experiment from a cookbook kind of fell flat and so when I saw this recipe I wanted to give it a try and I was not disappointed.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup oatmeal flour (or grind any oats you have.)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

A pinch of salt

1 Tbsp yogurt

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp oil (I used canola oil)

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 cup peeled and grated carrot

1/2 cup peeled and grated zucchini

1 Tbsp of raisins / dried cranberries

Method:

* Preheat the oven to 190° C / 375 deg F.

* Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt. dried fruits and cinnamon powder in a mixing bowl.

* Add grated veggies, oil, yogurt and sugar in another bowl and whisk them well until the sugar is dissolved.

* Grease a baking tray with oil or line it with a parchment paper or aluminium foil.

* Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough.

* Grease your hands generously with oil or dust them with dry flour. Work with the dough and shape it into a rectangle of about 4 inches wide and 3/4 inch thickness on the greased baking tray.

* Bake it for 25 minutes at 190°C / 375°F . (I baked for about 20 minutes.)

* Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely for 15 minutes.

* Slice the loaf crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces using a sharp knife.

* Place the cut side up and arrange the slices on a baking tray. Bake it at 190°C for 7-8 minutes till they become slightly brown. Turn them to other side and bake again for 6-7 minutes at190°C.

* They needed to be put on broil for a minute to get crisp. However don't be tempted to broil more than one minute or else you will end up with burnt ones.

My A - Z journey during this blogging marathon, under the following themes mentioned.

Street Food / Condiments / Pictorial / Others Theme:

A - Aloo Bonda

B - Bhel Puri

C - Cheddar Cheese Sauce

E - Erra Karam Dosa

H - How to Blanch Tomato 

P - Pongal Ready Mix 

S - Salsa 

W - Watermelon Milkshake

Baking / Microwave Cooking:

D - Dhokla

J - Jam filled Muffins

L - Lime Crinkle Cookies 

O - Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies 

V - Vegan Braided Bread 

International / Fusion Recipes:

F - Farfalle in Lime and Cheese Sauce

I - Irish Bread

N - Nazook

Q - Quinoa Pilaf

T -  Taco Shells

X - Xoriatiki

Regional Recipes:

G - Gutti Vankaya Koora

K - Kanda Koora 

M - Methi Muthiya

R - Rava Dosa

U - Urad dal Chutney

Y - Yogurt Idly

Logo courtesy : Preeti

 

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Eggless Oat - Banana Muffins

After a little hiatus, I am back with another edition of Srivalli's blogging marathon. Yes, it's BM# 16 time and my posts this week are going to be "Pick one - Cook all" theme based and my ingredient choice is oats. My first oats post is going to be these yummy muffins that are regular at my home. They are perfect for breakfast or snacking. This recipe particularly comes handy when those overripe bananas need to be put for good use. You can keep the recipe basic without the addition of nuts / dry fruits but I recommend them since they definitely enhance the flavor and make these muffins special.

Ingredients:(Makes 12)
3/4 cup oat flour (Make your own flour by grinding either quick / rolled oats.)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 mashed bananas

Method:
* Preheat oven to 375 deg F / 190 deg C.
* Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, coconut flakes and raisins in a bowl.
* Mash bananas in another bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Stir in melted butter. Then stir in dry ingredients.
* Grease or line the muffin pan with paper cups. Spoon the batter into cups so that it fills up to 3/4th of each cup. Sprinkle walnuts.
* Bake until a toothpick inserted at center comes out clean or for about 25 - 30 minutes.

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Chewy Granola Bars

These granola bars, inspired from here are easy to put together, taste delicious and can be versatile depending upon the ingredients you have on hand. Great for snacking or breakfast.

Ingredients:
1 & 2/3 cup quick rolled oats
1/3 cup oat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 - 3 cups mixed nuts and dry fruits (I used almonds, dates, raisins, walnuts, coconut flakes and sesame seeds.)
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
1/4 cup melted butter / vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp of water if needed

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.
* Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
* In a separate bowl, whisk together all the liquid ingredients.
* Mix together the dry and wet ingredients until the mixture is evenly crumbly.
* Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, patting down gently with the fingers.
* Bake the bars for 20 - 25 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges.
* Remove them from the oven and slice them into bars when they are still slightly warm. Separate them when they completely cool down.

Check out the page to see what other marathoners are cooking during this BM#14.

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Oats Rotti

Rottis happen to be one of the popular breakfast / snack items in Karnataka and we grew up eating them very frequently. Though the rice/ragi/jowar flour rottis are more common, semolina / sajjige version taste equally delicious. I have tried adding oats to the classic sajjige rotti version to make it healthier and this version was appealing too. 

Ingredients for about 7 rottis:
1 cup oat flour*
1 cup semolina / rava
1 cup rice flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 cup shredded, fresh coconut
4 - 5 green chillies
1 cup finely minced onion
2 Tbsp finely minced cilantro

* Toast the quick cooking oats on medium flame for 2 -3 minutes. Cool the oats and grind into a coarse / fine powder.

Preparing the rotti dough:
Semolina can be lightly toasted before adding. Combine the oat flour, semolina, rice flour, turmeric powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Finely minced chillies can be directly added to the mixture. However if serving kids or do not like to bite on green chillies, grind the coconut and chillies adding a little water. Add this coconut - chillie mixture, onion and cilantro to the flour mixture. Form a firm dough adding water as needed.

Making rottis:
Pinch about a big orange sized portion from the prepared dough and shape into a ball. Pour about a tsp of oil at the center of a griddle and place the dough ball on it. Pat it into a thin, flat circle and pour a tsp of oil around the edges and cover with a lid. Now turn on the stove and let it cook on a low - medium flame, about 3 - 4 minutes. When it appears cooked on the bottom side, flip it. Again add a tsp of oil around the edges if needed. Cover it again and cook till the other side is done too.
Repeat the procedure with the remaining dough. Be sure to turn off the stove and cool the griddle slightly so that it is safe to pat the next dough ball on it. Or alternatively use 2 griddles. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

This goes to Priya's CWF- Oats, an event originally started by Kiran.

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