Weekend Special: Check out some Oats recipes you can try at home

Oats paniyaram

Ingredients

1 cup oats

3 tablespoons rice flour

1/2 cup thick curd

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 carrot, grated

6 small onions, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

2 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped

Oil, as required to toast

Salt, to taste

To Temper:

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon urad dal

2 teaspoons curry leaves, finely chopped

Instructions

Dry roast the oats for 2 minutes, making sure not to let the colour change. This step is optional. Set aside.

In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. Let them splutter. Then add the chopped onions and sauté until they turn transparent. Add the grated carrot and sauté until the raw smell disappears. Add red chilli powder and give it a quick mix.

In a mixing bowl, combine the roasted oats, the sautéed carrot-onion mixture, rice flour, curd, baking soda, and coriander leaves. Add salt as needed and mix well to form a semi-loose batter, similar to oothapam batter in consistency.

Grease a kuzhi paniyaram pan with oil. Pour a ladleful of batter into each hole. Cover and cook for a minute or until the tops look cooked. Then gently flip and cook the other side until golden brown.

Serve the oats paniyaram hot with any spicy chutney of your choice.

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Oatmeal bars

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup milk (you can substitute with coconut milk too)

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a mixer jar, add 1 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup of milk (boiled and cooled), 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, and 1/2 cup water. Blend for a few seconds until it comes together. It should be coarse, not too smooth.

Transfer it to a mixing bowl. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of rolled oats and mix well. The mixture should be slightly thick but spreadable. If it’s too thick, add a little more water.

Grease a 4x4 inch baking tray with butter. Transfer the mixture to the tray and spread it evenly. Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 40–45 minutes or until the top turns golden.

Remove it from the baking tray and let it cool completely. Cut into squares and serve warm with milk.