Instant Oats Idli (Savory steamed cakes) with wheat bran

I like oats, especially in this cookie form. But I am not a big fan of eating it with milk and getting it all squishy and slimy early in the morning.
I found a way to incorporate them into breakfast crepes and started making Oats dosai.
So eventually I started making Idlis with Oats as well. I somehow never got that right, maybe because I used oats in its raw form without dry roasting or whatever, and ended up with squishy idlis every time. I could not resist trying out Usha's recipe for Oats idli, I really did not think it would work, but it did! I have a few more of my recipes up for posting, but I simply had to schedule this one first... this is so good.
It is soft, spongy and totally scrumptious. I have made it twice already and this is probably the only kind of idlis I am going to be eating for a while.
I added some wheat bran to give it more airiness and make it fluffier. It worked! If you don't have it, you can totally skip it.
If you are a breakfast person like me who
-likes to eat healthy
- is tired of eating rice-based breakfast dishes
-doesn't want to go anywhere near milk and bland oats put into a bowl and eating it for the sake of eating it
-have no time to get any kind of cooking done in the morning
...then this is the recipe for you.
The idli mix can be made well ahead of time, and used whenever you need it. So you are not scrambling in the morning to get everything together.

Only caveat is... if you are not into full fledged Indian cooking, then chances are you might not have the hardware, which is the idli maker. If you have one, print out the recipe and get going!



Instant Oats Idli (Savory steamed cakes) with wheat bran

Ingredients:

Old fashioned Oats - 3 cups
Semolina flour - 1 1/2
Wheat bran - 1/2 cup (optional)
Fat free plain yogurt - 4 1/2 cups
Curry leaves - 7-8 leaves
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Broken Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped
Dry red chillues/Fresh green chillies - 1 tbsp finely chopped
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - To taste

Method:

Roast the old fashioned oats without oil in a pan for about 5 min on medium heat. It does tend to burn quickly if left unattended.
Cool completely and in a blender using the "pulse" mode grind it into a coarse powder and set aside.

Re-heat the same pan, add oil and when it is hot, add mustard seeds. Let it splutter.
Add urad dal, channa dal, ginger, chillies, curry leaves and cashews and roast well.

Now add the semolina on top of this and roast till it changes slightly in color (say a very light brown). Add salt and keep mixing.

Allow that to cool and transfer into a mixing bowl. Add oats powder and wheat bran.

This may be stored in an air tight container for later use. If you are using it the very same day, then add the yogurt and mix well. Add water if need be to loosen the batter a little bit. I had to do that.

Just before pouring them into idli mould, add the baking soda and mix thoroughly. Ladle the batter a little more than halfway and steam in a cooker or use a microwave idli maker.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes after steaming. Scoop out, and serve hot with chutney or chilly powder (molagai podi)

Yields 24-26 medium sized idlis.