Quick Vegan Oats Idli

Put on your fluffiest robe and coziest slippers and wake up to thisQuick Vegan Oats Idlion a cold winter morning. It is incredibly delicious, nourishing and comforting. These Idlis are a combination of healthy oats, grains, and vegetables that can be made without any fuss. A nutritious way to kick start the day!

For a well-balanced breakfast, serve these hot and steamy Oats idlis with sambar, coconut chutney or tomato and onion chutney.

As much as we don’t want to accept it – winter is here! It’s bitterly cold in the morning and probably the last thing you want to have for breakfast is a cold smoothie or granola with chilled yogurt.

As much as smoothie and yogurts are healthy and delicious but surely they are not the most comforting on a cold and gloomy morning!

In the spirit of keeping things warm and comforting, breakfasts such as wholemeal toast, buckwheat or oat porridge made with skimmed milk and topped with seasonal fruits, nuts, and seeds appear on our weekly rota.

Oat porridge was a daily breakfast (courtesy of my Mum who wanted me to eat healthily) when I was going to school but I was never a fan. I always found porridge slimy and had the taste of cardboard , but nowadays thanks to the internet and foodies, there are now some delicious oat porridge recipes. Fig and Mascarpone Oat Porridge is one of my favourites!

My Mum was determined to incorporate oats as much as possible in our diet once she learned of the benefits and so she began exploring many different ways to spruce up oat dishes. One of the dishes she used to make was Quick Oats Idli , a recipe she noted down from an Indian chef’s cookery program. It is no wonder that Indian chefs had to come up with some Indianised Oats recipes as Indians like spicy HOT breakfasts . That was the only way to Oats could find success in India .

Before I tell you all about Quick Oats Idli, let’s see what is Idli/Idly?

Idli is a South Indian delicacy. It is a savoury steamed rice cake that is most often served at breakfast along with sambar (lentil and vegetable stew) and various type of chutneys, mostly with coconut chutney.

Traditional Idlis are made with fermented batter, which can take up to 24 hours. The Idli batter is consisting of parboiled rice and lentils (skinless urad daal) and fenugreek seeds.

Idli is slightly tangy in taste due to fermented batter and texture-wise it is soft and fluffy. According to health experts, Idli is one of the nutritious breakfast one can have and it is vegan and gluten-free.

Since life is getting busy experts have come up with an Instant version of Idlis, which can be prepared under an hour.

QUICK OATS VEGAN IDLI/IDLY

Steamed Oats Idli easily comes together for a quick breakfast or brunch. Quick Oats Idli is prepared with oats, semolina, yogurt, and basic spices and herbs. This quick version is instant and does not require any fermentation.

Often, grated vegetables can be added such as carrots, green peas or sweetcorn. This can be a quick snack recipe that goes well with sambar and coconut chutney.

• Instant, vegan and straight forward recipe.
• Suitable for everyone, just omit spices for toddlers.
• Easy, packed with fiber, protein and vitamins.
• Great for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even as a snack.
• Prepared with oats, semolina and vegan yogurt.

INGREDIENTS FOR QUICK VEGAN OATS IDLI/IDLY

1. Oats – Rolled or Porridge Oats will work for this recipe, for a gluten-free recipe use gluten-free oats but omit semolina.
2. Semolina – Coarse semolina works best for this recipe. We have used white semolina, nowadays available in the Indian grocery store as known as Rava or Sooji.
3. Yogurt – We have used soy yogurt. For a vegetarian recipe one can use dairy yogurt.
4. Vegetables and Herbs – Carrots, curry leaves, crushed green chilies and ginger and freshly chopped coriander.
5. Spices and Nuts – To temper the batter, you will need oil, mustard seeds, chana daal, urad daal and cashews.
6. Leavening agent – Fruit salt.

How is this recipe quick?

To prepare traditional Idli recipe you’ll need more than 24 hours, where this can be done under 30-40 minutes.

I don’t have fruit salt, what can I use instead?

Fruit salt is a combination of Bicarbonate of Soda or Baking Soda and Citric acid, take 60% soda and 40% citric acid. If you want to make 10g fruit salt, take 6g soda and 4g citric acid.

Can I add any other vegetables to Quick Vegan Oats Idlis?

Yes, you can. Green peas, sweet corn or freshly chopped spinach would work fine. You may like to add the grated courgette/Zucchini or Bottle gourd.

Can I make it without Semolina?

Yes, you can. Instead of semolina, take the same amount of Oats.

Can I use Instant Pot to make Idli?

Yes, you can. Add 1.5 cups of water in the Instant pot inner pan. Turn on SAUTE mode and bring the water to boil. Place the Idli stand in the pot and cook the Idlis in a STEAM mode in the venting position for 12 minutes. Keep in mind that on Venting mode, the timer won’t work so you may set your phone or another timer.

Why my Idlis are hard and sticky?

It could be that the fruit salt you have used in the recipe has not worked. The reason could be that it is out of date, or you may have used in less quantity.

Why my Idlis are turned darker in colour?

You may have added extra fruit salt in the batter or cooked longer than the suggested time.

Is Oats Idli suitable for a diabetics?

Definitely, Oats idlis are better than rice Idlis. If eaten with sambar (lentil and vegetable stew) and chutney for the breakfast you get the added extra protein. Also you may use less semolina or totally avoid semolina.

HOW TO MAKE OATS IDLI?

First dry roast the oats in a heavy bottom pan for 4-5 minutes, or until you can smell the nutty aroma of roasting. Remove it, let it cool. In the same pan dry roast the semolina. In a coffee grinder grind the roasted oats to a fine powder.

In a large bowl, combine both flours. Add salt, grated carrots, chopped coriander and crushed chili and ginger. Add yogurt and mix well. Add very little water and keep mixing, check the consistency we don’t need pouring consistency.

In a small pan, heat the oil, add mustard seeds, chana and urad daal. Once mustard seeds crackle, add cashews, chopped curry leaves. make sure not to burn cashews. Pour the seasoned oil into the Idli mixture. Leave the mixture aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat some water in a big pan or steamer. Add fruit salt in the mixture and mix well. If the batter is very thick add very little water.

Grease Idli plates with any oil and pour Idli batter in the moulds and steam 10-12 minutes. Remove steamed Idlis from the pot and let it stand for 2-3 minutes and then remove them.

You may want to check out our other Oats and Idli recipes

Oats and Multiseed Savoury Loaf (Handvo)

Sundried Tomato, Chickpea Cakes with Cashew and Oats

Oats Chevdo.Chivda (spice mix)

Oats, Juwar and Methi Thepla Spinach and Rajkot’s Famous Chutney Idli

Quick Vegan Oats Idli

ingredients:

• 200g oats

• 100g semolina

• 100ml yogurt

• Salt to taste

• Pinch turmeric powder (optional)

• 1 TBSP crushed green chilli garlic

• 3-4 TBSP grated carrots

• 1 TBSP finely chopped coriander

• 3/4 to 1 tsp fruit salt

• 2 tsp oil

• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds

• 1 tsp channa and urad daal

• 1 tsp finely chopped curry leaves

instructions:

How to cook Quick Vegan Oats Idli

1. In a heavy-based pan or kadai dry roast the oats.
2. Remove it an a plate and let it cool.
3. meanwhile in the same pan dry roast the semolina for 3-4 minutes.
4. Now grind the oats in a coffee grinder till you get a fine powder.
5. Place both flours in a big mixing bowl.
6. Add salt, crushed chiili-ginger, carrots and coriander.
7. Add yourt and mix well.
8. Now add 1/4 cup water first, and mix.
9. If needed add more water but don’t make it runny.
10. Leave it aside, and prepare tempering by heating in a small pan.
11. Add musted seeds, both daal(lentils), once they crackle add curry leaves.
12. Pour the tadka into the idli batter, mix well and leave it aside for 10 minutes.
13. Meanwhile heat water in a big pan or pot.
14. Grease the idli plates, and oil the moulds.
15. Add fruit salt into the batter (first, add less than the measurement says) the batter should start foaming in a minute. if it doesn’t add more.
16. Mix it well and fill the idli moulds with batter.
17. Steam for 10-12 minutes.
18. Leave it idlis in the mould for a couple of minutes, then remove it using a sharp knife.
19. Enjoy Hot.

NOTES:

Did you make this recipe?

Treat yourself this winter with this warm, creamy and comforting bowl of Best Butternut Squash and Cannellini Beans Soup on a cold evening. This delicious soup is full of healthy ingredients, it’s vegan gluten-free and incredibly quick to prepare.

Perfect with this Instant Pot Bread .

As the weather has changed, cold days have turned into frosty days, so naturally, we are going through lots of delicious bowls of soups.

Butternut Squash

I know autumn has ended, and we’re well and truly into the festive season it doesn’t mean we should stop eating all these autumnal produce that are still flooding the markets.

One of our all-time favourites is Butternut Squash, it is versatile can be used in savoury recipes as well as in desserts. It can be baked, steamed, roasted or sauteed.

My favourite way to enjoy butternut squash is roasted and in soups. Although other varieties I love are Vegan Butternut squash Biryani and Butternut squash Raita .

Homemade Soup

Nothing beats homemade soup, it’s just good for your soul. It is nice to enjoy with friends and family at the dinner table but equally as enjoyable alone sitting on a couch, all wrapped up in your favourite blanket, sipping steamy and delicious soup while watching TV. It also spruces up lunchtimes at the desk.

Homemade soup is fresh and incredibly tasty, without any artificial stuff added to it – easy, delicious and budget-friendly. You know exactly what has actually gone in there and how much. If it is made in a big batch, it can easily be frozen for a later date.

Butternut Squash and Cannellini Beans Soup

This creamy and mildly spiced soup is a powerhouse of goodness, can be enjoyed at lunch or dinner. This soup is a made of a simple combination of Butternut squash, Cannellini beans, vegetable stock, garlic, onion, coconut milk and Italian herb seasoning.

The soup comes together without any fuss, just the hardest part of this soup is peeling the Butternut squash (okay, I am exaggerating a little)! If you have a good peeler, it can be done in no time.

Then just roast the butternut squash with Italian herb seasoning. It is quite amazing to see what a bit of roasting can do for already delightful veggies.

The irresistible wafting aroma of roasting veggies and Italian seasoning through the kitchen will definitely make you impatient as the soup cooks.

The Italian seasoning that we have used for this recipe is the Schwartz Italian Herb Mix . This seasoning is an aromatic mix of oregano, thyme, basil, parsely, sage, bay leaf, and black pepper which complimented the veggies and beans used in the soup. The seasoning can be found at Tesco online and in-store.

Let’s see the Ingredients

1. Butternut squash – available easily everywhere but if you can’t find you may use pumpkin or any other type of squash.
2. Cannellini Beans – These beans are also known as white beans or white kidney beans, easily available in the supermarkets. Fresh or in the tin.
3. Potato – Potato provides a silkiness to the soup, but you can avoid totally.
4. Onion-Garlic and Schwartz Italian Herb Seasoning .
5. Spices and fat – Olive oil, red chilli flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Coconut milk or cream.
7. Vegetable stock fresh or use the cube.

How to Make the Best Butternut Squash and White Beans Soup

Peel the squash and potato and roughly chopped into a smaller size.

Arrange it on a baking tray, drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle some Italian seasoning and red chilli flakes at 20 minutes.

Roast for 35-40 minutes or until both veggies are tender.

In a pan heat oil and saute onion and garlic until light pink.

Tip in the roasted veggies, beans and vegetable stock.

Bring it to boil and cook for 5-7 minutes.

Turn off the heat, puree the soup using a hand blender or traditional blender.

Add coconut milk or cream (reserve some for garnishing) and check the seasoning.

Serve HOT and steamy soup in a serving bowl, top it up with coconut milk/cream, chilli flakes and ground black pepper.

Other Soup Recipes

African Peanut, Carrot and Tomato soup

Vegan Hungarian Goulash

Roasted Cauliflower, Parsnip and Walnut Soup

Butternut Squash and Cannellini Beans Soup

Equipment

• oven
• Roasting tray
• Blender or hand blender

Ingredients

• 4 cup butternut squash peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 cup cannellini beans drained
• ½ cup potato peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 cup white/yellow onion roughly chopped
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes or fresh red chili
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 cup vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
• Arrange squash and potato pieces on a baking tray, drizzle some olive oil and seasoned with salt and black pepper.
• Roast it in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until tender.
• Around at 20 minutes time sprinkle Italian herb seasoning and some red chilli flakes.
• In a large pan heat the oil, saute onion and garlic until light pink.
• Add roasted veggies and beans.
• Add vegetable stock and bring it to boil.
• Cook the soup for 5-7 minutes.
• Puree the soup with hand blender or traditional blender until you have smooth pureed soup.
• Pour the pureed soup into the saucepan again, add coconut milk and mix it well and bring the soup to boil.
• Check the seasoning.
• Turn off the heat, and serve the soup in a serving bowl.

Notes

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.