Baked Oatmeal

This is a favorite recipe from camp Seneca Hills. Toppings definitely make all the difference, but are not required. It's a hearty breakfast that can easily be made the day ahead-refrigerated and rewarmed = just as yummy!

4 cups quick oats (I've used old fashioned oats before with good results)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups milk
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups diced apples or peaches

Mix all ingredients together. Put in a greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 35 min or until browned.

Suggested toppings:

chocolate chips (camper favorite!)
blueberries or other berry
dried cranberries or raisins
additional apple or peaches, or other chopped fruit
whipped cream
peanuts or peanut butter, walnut or other nut/nut butter

Anything else I'm missing? Try it out and let me know!

Uttapam

The idly dough has been in the refrigerator for almost a week. At this point, it would make sour, flat idly. When the dough gets like this, though, it's perfect for making uttapam!

Uttapam with a bit of ketchup for dipping

To the idly batter (approximately 2 cups remaining) add

1/2 of a red onion, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
5 curry leaves, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
sprinkle of salt & pepper
1 green chili, minced

Heat small skillet with a tsp of oil. Add about a cup of the batter and press lightly to spread to fill pan. Cook over med-low heat until golden brown, flip to cook other side.

Idly (Steamed Rice & Lentil Cakes)

This is a popular South Indian breakfast for a healthy start to the day. It's a day process, but that's allowing for soaking and fermentation of the dough. Start preparations a day ahead of when you want to eat idly.
In the morning, take two medium size bowls. In one, put 1 cup urad dal and 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds. Rinse well and then cover with water and set aside. In the other bowl, put 2 cups idly rice flour (different from rice flour), cover with water and set aside. Allow to soak for at least 8 hours.

In the evening, take a large bowl. Starting with the idly flour, take handfuls and squeeze out the water to drain well. Put into the large bowl.

Drain the dal and put into a blender with 2 cups of the reserved soaking water. Puree for 3-5 minutes. It should get very smooth. If you put your finger in and then rotate between your finger and thumb, it should not feel grainy.







Add the pureed dal to the large bowl with the idly rice flour and using your hand, thoroughly combine the dough. Cover with a lid and set in the oven, leave the oven light on, and leave for over night, at least 10 hours. Longer is fine.

The next morning, take the batter out of the oven. The fermentation process with cause the batter to rise and get light and airy. Stir it well, fill the idly molds, and place in idly maker to steam for 15-20 minutes over high heat.


Serve with chutney, sambar, or just ghee and sugar for a delicious breakfast!
Makes approximately 24 idly.

Soaked/Sprouted Chickpea Waffles

I'm suddenly intrigued by soaking and sprouting grains & legumes. I know this is a common practice in India, but here in the US we've gotten away from this process. I'm still in the learning stages, but am striving to make this a regular part of the way we prepare food. More or less, soaking and sprouting beans begins the germination process and helps to make the nutrients more bio-available...more readily absorbed in our bodies...more easily digested. This is very important for the health of our bodies, especially for vegetarians who rely on the essential amino acids, proteins, B vitamins, iron, calcium, etc, present in these power foods.

Here is another waffle recipe, that I will definitely make again. Delightfully crispy on the outside, fluffy and light inside, filling yet not too heavy. Recipe makes 3 nice sized waffles.

Ingredients & Process

1 cup soaked, sprouted chickpeas
1 2/3 cups water
1 Tbs honey
2 tsp oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups oats

Blend everything, except the oats in a blender for 90 seconds. Add the oats and blend for another 60 seconds. Once nice and smoothly blended, plug in the waffle iron and allow to preheat to medium setting. *The batter will thicken to the right consistency as the waffle iron heats.

Add 3/4-1 cup of batter to the greased waffle iron.

Close it and allow it to cook for 8-10 minutes.

*Important note-No peeking allowed-if you open the waffle iron before the waffle is finished cooking, it will split apart and stick to the waffle iron.

Ragi (Millet) Waffles

So my best friend from college is going to be in town briefly this weekend, and is going to come over for brunch. I'm always excited to decide on a menu for my company, but a twist is thrown in to come up with vegetarian, gluten-free options. I could easily go the traditional Southern Indian breakfast of idli, dosa, or uttapam. However, I want to serve something more Americanized, especially since this provides a good excuse to try new recipes!! After searching online for ideas, I finally came across this gluten-free & VEGAN waffle recipe guide. If someone experimented with the same recipe over 24 times, testing various flours, then it must be a recipe I can trust. I was so excited to try it out, that I just made two batches this afternoon as a trial run before this weekend. I adjusted ingredients slightly according to what I had on hand, and of course, using gluten-free flours found in a typical Indian pantry.

First batch was made with ragi flour (millet flour) and my second batch was with besan flour (chickpea flour)

The ragi waffles will be the recipe I make for our brunch. They are a better match for maple syrup. The besan waffles aren't bad, it's just that they are more suitable as a savory waffle as opposed to sweet. I've never eaten savory waffles before, so am not exactly sure what that would look like...right now I'm thinking I'd try it with some melted cheese on top. Who knows, maybe even a curry. If we go with sweet, next time I would probably double the sugar and add some cardamom. I will have to continue to experiment, but for now...here's the recipe.

Ragi Waffles ~makes 2 large waffles or 3-4 smaller ones
Ingredients-
1 1/4 cups ragi flour (or use other gluten-free flour of your choice)
1/2 cup tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs water

Process-
Heat waffle iron.

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the oil and water to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. (May need to add a little more water, 1-2 Tbs at a time to reach desired consistency.)

 

-I didnt think to take pics  of the process until batch 2, so this is how the besan flour batter looks 

Grease the waffle iron, and put 1/2 cup of batter (more or less, depending on how big you want your waffles to be) onto the waffle iron. Use spoon or spatula to help spread it out to cover the waffle iron.

Close the waffle iron and allow to cook for about 3 minutes, or until desired done-ness is reached.

**For more gluten-free waffle ideas and tips from the gluten-free waffle/pancake baking pro, make sure to visit the link I included above! Have fun :)