The Savoury Side of Oats
Volume 4 | Issue 5 [September 2024]

—Madhulika Liddle

Volume 4 | Issue 5 [September 2024]

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I didn’t see an oat until I was in my thirties.

It’s not as if I didn’t know what an oat was. Of course I did; in all the (mostly British) literature I read in my younger years, there were numerous instances of horses being fed oats. Occasionally, there was mention of some piss-poor peasant family eating oatmeal.

Oats sounded, frankly, utterly unexciting. Black pudding and haggis, spotted dick and summer pudding—some in varying degrees of grossness, some relatively exotic—at least sounded interesting. I am adventurous when it comes to food, so trying these, some time or the other, was on the agenda. Not oats.

In 2006, PepsiCo India brought Quaker Oats to India. Suddenly, that smiling, avuncular Quaker (his name is Larry, by the way) was on the shelves of our local grocer’s. I have to admit I was not exactly eager to see what the fuss was about. For all those many Indians who like a good wheat porridge for breakfast, piping hot and mixed with milk and sugar, rolled oats was a quicker, easier option than that long-cooked wheat porridge. For somebody like me, who has never been a fan of porridge, it was just another product I had no use for.

Until 2008, when I fell ill and was diagnosed with a slew of health issues. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar. The doctor prescribed various lifestyle changes, and sent me to a nutritionist. The nutritionist made out a list of suggested meals, and breakfast, in particular, was strict: egg white omelettes, multigrain bread (one slice, no more). Cheelas (chickpea flour crepes). Oats with vegetables.

Oats with vegetables? I was stumped.

I hadn’t got around to eating oats, and here I was, suddenly faced with the prospect of having to eat this grain frequently for breakfast, and that in a style I had no idea how to get around to making. How was one supposed to combine the oats and vegetables? Cook the vegetables separately and add them into an oat porridge? How to cook the vegetables? The thought of boiled or steamed vegetables made me shudder.

Fortunately, my parents were already eating rolled oats, and my mother had seen a recipe on the Quaker Oats package: oats upma. You began with a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves; added chopped onions and sautéed those, then added whatever chopped vegetables you might have on hand. Add salt and powdered red chilli to taste, then add water (double the quantity of the oats). Bring to a boil, add oats. Cook till done, 2-3 minutes. Et voila.

This, therefore, became my staple recipe for oats with vegetables.

But, me being me, it didn’t take me long to grow bored with this. There’s only so much oats upma you can have on an almost-daily basis. Even when it alternated with omelettes or cheelas, this was—while pretty delicious otherwise—rather monotonous.

Then, Saffola (which, by the way, is today India’s leading brand of packaged oats) launched masala oats. Spices, freeze-dried vegetables, instant oats, all in one neat little package. So convenient. And such a change from oats upma. Unfortunately, also pretty easy to get tired of. After having had a few packages of the stuff, I couldn’t even bear the thought of it anymore: it tasted out of a package, and the spices weren’t the sort of blends I like.

That was when I decided to try seeing what else one could do with the idea of oats with vegetables. Google searches threw up a few (very few, though they’ve increased over the years) food bloggers who were trying to cook up recipes for savoury oats. I tried some, tweaked some. Discarded some, tried my own ideas.

I’ve realized that the main thing about oats is the sheer convenience of them. Of course, they’re nutritious (which is why they were prescribed for me): they contain various vitamins and minerals, and among their greatest health benefits are lowered cholesterol and improved insulin resistance. But what also adds to their attractiveness for me is the fact that they don’t take ages to cook: quick-cooking steel-cut oats, which is what I now use when I’m cooking oats with vegetables, have a cook time of only about 7-8 minutes. And they’re versatile.

Their versatility, a result of the bland, neutral flavour of oats, means that they can be adapted to an array of ingredients, flavours, and pre-existing recipes. The sort of porridgy, gruel-like recipes you come across in many cultures across the world, for instance, are superbly suited to oats. Think of the Indian subcontinent’s khichris; Italian risottos; Chinese and Korean zouk or juk (congee to the Anglophone world). All rice-based, all perfect for switching the rice with oats.

One of my favourite oat recipes of this type is oats pongal, a take on the popular savoury ‘ven pongal’, made with rice and moong dal. This version uses oats instead of rice, and adds in a good bit of vegetables. The only thing you need to keep in mind here is that you need cooked skinless moong dal for this recipe. My usual routine, when I’m cooking moong dal for another meal, is to set aside a half-cup or so of the cooked dal and refrigerate it; I invariably end up making oats pongal the next day for breakfast.

Oats Pongal

(Serves 2)

½ cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats (you can use rolled oats instead)

1/3 cup raw unsalted peanuts

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 tsps neutral flavoured vegetable oil

2 sprigs curry leaves

1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional)

1 scant tbsp finely chopped ginger

½ cup chopped vegetables: carrots, green beans, broccoli, corn kernels, peas or a combination of these

½ cup skinless moong dal, cooked plain

Salt to taste

1. Use a mortar and pestle to coarsely crush the pepper and cumin.
2. Heat the oil over a medium flame and add the peanuts. Fry until the peanuts are beginning to turn brown and the skins start to split. Use a slotted spoon to remove the peanuts, and set aside to use as a garnish.
3. In the oil left over, add the crushed cumin and pepper. Stir a couple of times.
4. Add the chopped ginger, chopped green chilli (if using), and the curry leaves. I generally chop the curry leaves roughly; it helps enhance the flavour of the leaves.
5. Cook for 15-20 seconds, stirring frequently, until the ginger starts to turn translucent.
6. Add whatever vegetables you’re using. If you’re using vegetables besides peas and corn kernels (such as carrots, green beans or broccoli), these should be chopped so that they’re about the size of peas, no larger.
7. Add salt to taste and mix. Sauté for a minute or so, then add 1 cup water. Stir.
8. Increase the flame to high and bring to a boil. When the water starts boiling, add the oats (steel-cut or rolled), mix in well, and once the mixture returns to a boil, lower the flame to medium.
9. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the oats are done. Quick-cooking oats, which is what I generally use, will take about 7-8 minutes; rolled oats will be done in around 3 minutes or so.
10. Stir in the cooked moong dal. Take off the flame and serve into bowls. Garnish each serving with the reserved fried peanuts.

On days when I don’t have pre-cooked moong dal to fall back upon, I harvest a generous handful of basil leaves from my kitchen garden and make another favourite: an Italian-style tomato and basil oats recipe. This one calls for the oats to be cooked in tomato juice instead of water. You could use tomato juice out of a pack, but really, that isn’t anywhere as good as fresh, home-blended juice, so that’s what I go for.

Here’s how:

Italian-style Tomato and Basil Oats

(Serves 2)

½ cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats (or rolled oats)

1 large ripe tomato

Salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste

A generous handful basil leaves, chopped

3-4 fat cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced

2 tsps olive oil (use a regular oil, not extra virgin)

A handful of walnut kernels, roughly chopped, to garnish (or use toasted pine nuts)

Grated Parmesan (optional)

1. Roughly chop the tomato and place in a blender jar. Use a stick blender to crush it to a pulp.
2. Tip the tomato pulp into a measuring jug and add enough water to bring the total volume to 1 cup.
3. Pour the watered-down tomato pulp into a pan and add the oats, salt, and pepper. Stir, and bring to a boil.
4. Once the mixture starts to boil, lower the flame to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats are done: about 2-3 minutes for rolled oats, 7-8 minutes for quick-cooking steel-cut oats.
5. Take the pan off the fire and spoon the oats into bowls. Heat the oil in a small, clean pan over a medium flame.
6. Add the chopped basil leaves and fry, stirring, for about half a minute, before you add the minced garlic.
7. Stir and fry garlic and basil together over a low flame until the garlic has softened, about a minute or so.
8. Spoon this basil and garlic garnish over the oats. Sprinkle chopped walnuts or pine nuts to garnish. If desired, Parmesan can be grated over the top (though, since it’s high in calories, this isn’t something my nutritionist would recommend, I think).

The main thing you have to keep in mind is that the two basic building blocks for oatmeal are the oats and the liquid. Other than choosing the type of oats (steel-cut, rolled, or instant), there’s little you can do about the oats themselves; but it’s a different matter with the liquid. Milk, or a combination (half and half) of milk and yogurt, can be used for most sweet preparations. If you want to be adventurous with flavours, try using other types of liquid: fruit juice, for instance, or coconut milk. Or even—if you’re a fan of coffee and like it in your morning bowlful of oats too—a latte.

Similarly, for savoury oatmeal, you could use (as in the case of the tomato and basil oats) a deeply-flavoured liquid: tomato juice, chicken or vegetable stock, even (I’m being adventurous here, but why not?) something like rasam or another thin, well-flavoured broth or soup.

Then, there are the other things you can add to the mix, besides just the oats, to bulk it up, to add more nutrition, to add contrasts in taste and texture, and to generally make it more appealing. Veggies, of course, are a good bet with just about any savoury preparation; but there are other ingredients that can also be added: shredded cooked chicken, for instance, or cooked sausages, or fried bacon. Top with a fried egg (or some chopped boiled egg). Garnish with toasted nuts, sesame seeds, fresh herbs. Try drizzling a suitable sauce: sriracha, Tabasco, maybe something as simple as a mild anointing with toasted sesame seed oil.

Talking of toasted sesame oil, one of the simplest savoury oatmeal recipes I know consists of oats cooked in stock with chopped vegetables, and finished with chopped spring onions, toasted sesame seeds, and a few drops of sesame oil. Try this with either steel-cut oats or rolled oats, it works equally well in both avatars:

East Asian-style Oats with Vegetables

(Serves 2)

½ cup oats (quick-cooking steel-cut or rolled)

1 cup stock, chicken or vegetable (1 stock cube dissolved in a cup of water works fine)

½ cup chopped vegetables, such as green beans, carrots, peas, and broccoli; cut all vegetables to approximately the size of peas

Light soy sauce, to taste (if needed)

A handful of finely chopped spring onions, to garnish

1 scant tbsp toasted sesame seeds (black or white, or a combination)

About ½ tsp toasted sesame oil

1. Place oats, vegetables, and stock in a pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the flame to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats and the vegetables are cooked: 2-3 minutes for rolled oats, about 8 minutes for quick-cooking steel-cut oats.
2. Season to taste, if necessary, with soy sauce. Stock cubes or other types of store-bought stock, unless they’re low sodium, may already have salt added to them, so add soy sauce judiciously, and that only after tasting.
3. Serve into bowls. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and chopped spring onions. Drizzle a little sesame oil on top, and serve.

The base recipe here, is of course a take on the popular Chinese/East Asian congee (or its variations across East Asia). Just as congee can consist of a gruel cooked with everything from vegetables to seafood, minced pork, and aromats like ginger and garlic, so it is with oats. Oats too may be cooked with any of these, and the resulting dish could be enriched with just about anything that takes your fancy: fried shallots, green coriander, even pickled vegetables or toasted seaweed.

And when the topic is congee, let’s not forget that that word (an Anglophone one, not what anybody in East Asia would use to refer to this meal) is of Indian origin. The Tamil word kanji, to refer to a gruel of rice and water, is where ‘congee’ is derived from. Naturally, there are Indian versions of kanji that are well-suited to being adapted to oats.

Look at the Bengali dish phena bhaat, for instance. Phena bhaat, also known as sheddho bhaat, is the quintessential Bengali comfort food: rice cooked with an array of vegetables until it’s soft and mushy. Masoor dal may be cooked along with the rice, the vegetables added may differ from one household to another (and one season to another), but on the whole, it’s a mild, gentle dish that is—not unsurprisingly—easily adapted for oats. You can finish this dish with a fragrant spoonful of ghee, but I prefer the garnish Sandeepa Mukherjee (of blog par excellence, Bong Mom’s Cookbook) suggests: juliennes of ginger and green chillies, fried in mustard oil.Oats, Phena Bhaat-style.

(Serves 2)

½ cup oats (quick-cooking steel-cut, or rolled)

Salt to taste

1 cup assorted seasonal vegetables: pumpkin, potato, hyacinth beans (sem in Hindi, shem in Bangla) and eggplants are especially suitable: cut these into 1” long pieces, each piece about the width of a hyacinth bean

Water to cook the vegetables

2 eggs

1 tbsp mustard oil, for frying

1 tbsp fresh ginger, julienned

2-3 green chillies, julienned

1. Since the vegetables need to be cooked till they’re mushy (much more time than the oats will need), cook these beforehand. Place the assorted vegetables in a pan with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, then lower the flame to a simmer and cook, covered, until tender.
2. Drain the vegetables and set aside. Reserve the water in which you cooked the vegetables; if it’s less than 1 cup, add extra water to bring it up to 1 cup.
3. Add this liquid, along with the salt and the oats, to a pan. Cook till the oats are done, stirring occasionally, about 2-3 minutes for rolled oats, up to 8 minutes for quick-cooking steel-cut oats.
4. Once the oats are done, add the cooked vegetables and stir in. Serve into bowls.
5. Heat the mustard oil in a frying pan. Fry the eggs until the whites are just set; place one fried egg each on top of the oats.
6. In the remaining mustard oil, fry the ginger and the green chillies until the ginger starts turning a little crisp round the edges. Spoon over the eggs, along with the mustard oil. Serve hot.

Because there’s something so homey about oatmeal, this is one thing (especially in its savoury avatar) that appears rarely on restaurant menus. Yes, overnight oats—which probably edge close enough to a healthy dessert to merit being put on a restaurant menu—can be found. In New Delhi, restaurants and home delivery services such as Colocal and Salad Days, for example, offer overnight oats, with the usual fruit, nuts, chocolate and other similar ingredients added.

Oats do appear on other menus, but mostly buried under a more interesting ingredient. As part of a gluten-free crust for a dessert, for instance; or as part of a crunchy crust for chicken. A few (very few) health-focussed eateries offer items like oat parathas or oat rotis, but savoury oatmeal doesn’t seem to be on the radar for anyone. I once found a small neighbourhood stall selling savoury oatmeal in addition to its complement of omelette-toast, sandwiches and Maggi, but alas. The oats were basically Saffola masala oats, cooked and with a handful of chopped veg added. A disappointment.

I’m saddled with making oats with vegetables at home. There’s no way around it. Good, then, that there are so many ways to do it, and the end product actually tastes so good.