Savoury oat pancakes

We've been trying to incorporate healthy eating habits into our lifestyle, so we started a 'Wholesome Wednesdays' thing and made sure we ate no processed junk, only natural and nutritious food. Yes, yes, we know, a whole day? Scandalous! Jokes apart, we're trying to coax our bodies into not rebelling (pizzaaaaa), by sneaking in tasty healthy food. What's next, you ask: maybe 'Detox Thursdays' where we make fresh vegetable and fruit juices to cleanse the system. Does that sound too Gwyneth Paltrow?

So our first Wholesome Wednesday had the following items on the menu: breakfast was egg-white omelettes with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and baby corn; lunch was the oat pancakes. Dinner was roast chicken with fresh parsley and rosemary, grilled broccoli, and yummy cauliflower mash. Overall, Wholesome Wednesday was brilliant. Woohoo, Wholesome Wednesdays! (And we're not even exaggerating.)

Right, so the oatmeal pancake idea came from a nutritionist friend who called it a cheela or chilla. It also looks like a thepla, but a little thicker. This it can be made anywhere in the world, with any combination of ingredients. This is a fully customisable recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup white oats
1 cup yoghurt (more if needed)
1/2 cup semolina (rava/sooji) OR 1/2 cup gram flour (besan) OR 1/2 cup white flour (maida)
1 medium onion
1 medium tomato
1 small capsicum
1 small carrot
Coriander (according to your preference)
1 tsp Ginger (optional)


Flavour combo 1
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp powdered coriander
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
Salt to taste

OR (Do not use both, it will taste disgusting)

Flavour combo 2
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder (or 4 cloves fresh garlic)
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
Any other herbs you like
Salt to taste

METHOD:

- Grind the oats in a mixer until you get a coarse powder. Dump it into a bowl.

- Finely chop all the veggies and add them to the oats.

- Add the flavour combo of your choice and mix well.

- Add the yoghurt as required, to make a thick paste.

- Heat oil in a non-stick pan on a low flame. Put a dollop of the mixture and gently pat it into a half centimetre thickness. This is where it gets a bit sticky (literally), so be cautious and ensure that the pancake is evened out. Make sure it isn't too thick, it might not cook on the inside.

- Cook on low heat for about 3 minutes or until browned, and then turn over carefully. It can be tricky because the mixture doesn't have a lot of elasticity and can break. Use a big spatula if available.

- Serve with yoghurt or coriander chutney.


Tips:

- You can adjust the measurements of everything in this list according to preference.

- You can add more veggies like tomatoes, peas, beetroot, etc.

- Try a sweet variation with fruit instead of veggies. Berries, bananas, apples, pears, and dried fruits like raisins and apricots.

- You can use water or milk if you don't want to use yoghurt, but I'm not sure how much you'd need. Start with half a cup and add as required.