There are always changing fashions in food too. Advertising tends to fuel these fashions. For example, Indian cuisine never had a cereal called oats. It was invariably rice, wheat and millets. Then came along brands such as Quaker Oats. They promoted themselves as ‘healthy’ cereals. And changed perceptions of what should be served for breakfast, albeit slowly. The Indian public was slow to adopt such cereals, but ultimately they began to feature in menus. Over time, the perception that oats is good for health became strongly entrenched in many sections of society. But there was little or no understanding to the various kinds of oats, their properties, etc. Processed oats was the only cereal to feature in household purchases. I too was a victim of this evolution. It is only after I turned vegan that I began to explore the various options available with this cereal. For the recipe elaborated below, I have used rolled oats.

Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats, ground to a powder
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 tomato, chopped fine
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped fine
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Method
Mix all ingredients in a bowl
Add 1 1/2 cups of water (more if needed)
Mix well and set aside
Heat a tawa (girdle)
Cut an onion or potato breadthwise
Rub the flat surface of this onion or potato on the tawa
Pour a ladle of the batter in the centre of the tawa
Spread outwards in the form of a circle
Cook one side
Flip over and cook the other side
When done, remove to a casserole
Repeat for the remaining batter
Serve with sambar or your favourite chutney
Enjoy!