Old Fashioned Oatmeal Upma







Have you tried to have oatmeal without any sweetener added? They taste like dry walls and no, I haven't licked any to compare. Its just so chalky and bland, that it reminded me of dry walls. I have tried adding cinnamon, blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, vanilla milk and what not, but none could make it palatable, unless I added spoonful of Splenda. Artificial Sweeteners as you know is not very good for you, if taken regularly and hence I am trying desperately to reduce my dependency on them. 

Every human being, who watches television is aware, how good oatmeal are for you. A bowl of classic oatmeal packs a hearty dose of vitamins, protein and cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber. It is an excellent breakfast option for not only people with cholesterol issues, heart issues and diabetes, but also for everybody, wanting a slimmer waist.

For a long time, my goal was to try and have oatmeal at least thrice a week, but never succeeded. Just could not be cruel to my innocent taste buds. One day when I was fretting my bowl of not-so-yumm oatmeal, that would put Lil Sid to shame, Sam irritably said, "If you cannot make it sweet, why don't you make it savory". Wow! Now that is a cool idea and why didn't it struck to me before? So next morning, I boiled oats in water, instead of milk, added a dash of salt and some veggies. It was good, not great! 

Sam' s suggestion: Try to make it like upma. 
I did after two day; had to shop for curry leaves!
What happened when I served: Sam had the breakfast quietly and packed the remaining for his lunch and I was left eating rye bread and tea.

Here's how I made it:


What I used:

Old Fashioned Oatmeal - 1 cup
Carrots - ½ cup
Green Beans - ½ cup
Broccoli - ½ cup
Potato - ¼ cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1½ tsp



For the Tempering
Mustard Seed - ½ tsp
Red Chilies - 2 whole
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 7-8 leaves
Green Chilies - 2 chopped
Onions - 1 medium chopped

Garnish: a dash of lime/lemon juice and a handful of chopped cilantro.










How I did it:


Heat the oil in the pan to just under smoking point. Add the ingredients under Tempering in order, minus the onions.

When the spices are dancing around the pan and you are hit by a heady aroma, add the onions and saute till translucent.

Add the veggies and fry till little soft and the rawness is gone.

Now add the oatmeal and fry for a minitue or so, till it gets toasted and releases a nice toasted nutty aroma.

Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Then put it on medium heat and let it simmer till all the water is absorbed and the oats are cooked through.

When its done, add a splash of lime/lemon juice for that zing and add a chopped coriander leaves/cilantro and its ready to serve.

Note: I had used potatoes, since it was leftover form another recipe. You can avoid it, and feel free to add or substitute any veggies. Cauliflower and peas could be a great addition. 



Diabetic Platter: This dish is a wholesome breakfast in itself. I had a fruit and black coffee with it,but a no-fat yogurt and fruit would be an ideal combination.



Comments

  1. Hi PeeGee, thanks for dropping by. Like the oats upma. I've seen it before but never made it, maybe now I will using your recipe.

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