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Saturday, January 11, 2025

Shake Up Your Morning Routine With These Turmeric Oats



Why It Works

  • Blooming the spices in sizzling oil releases their fat-soluble taste compounds and infuses the oats with deep taste.
  • Stirring the oats as they simmer helps launch their starches, thickening the oatmeal.

In India, the place I grew up, breakfast is all the time a vibrant affair, with loads of spice and crunch. South Asian breakfasts are inclined to have a savory taste profile: It’s common to begin the day with dosa (fermented rice batter crepes), idli (fermented rice batter steamed truffles), poha (flattened rice cooked in spices with potato), or parathas (stuffed wheat flatbreads), every deeply flavored with fragrant spices, herbs, and greens. Indian morning meals are a stark distinction to the candy breakfasts—like French toast, pancakes, or the everyday bowl of oatmeal topped with brown sugar or maple syrup—which are widespread in America, the place I stay at present.

Critical Eats / Shri Repp


Although I sometimes take pleasure in a bowl of candy oatmeal once I’m out for breakfast, the porridge I’m served tends to be bland and one dimensional, with little taste or texture, and I’m typically left wanting extra. I questioned: What would occur if I integrated a few of the savory notes I had grown up with into oatmeal?

The thought for these savory turmeric masala oats took place once I was chatting with my mom about my want to seek out new methods to take pleasure in oatmeal. She urged a savory twist: Why not put together oatmeal with a tadka, a standard South Asian cooking technique? The approach entails frying spices in oil or ghee to launch their aromatic flavors earlier than incorporating the combination right into a dish. The thought was so easy, and, like my mom, completely sensible. I gave it a strive, and the oatmeal was scrumptious: Every chew was infused with the earthy flavors of cumin, black mustard seeds, coriander, crimson pepper flakes, and turmeric.

Critical Eats / Shri Repp


This savory oatmeal has since develop into my go-to technique for making ready oats. To make it, I begin by blooming the spices in sizzling oil, which helps remodel their fat-soluble taste compounds into extra complicated, fragrant ones that give the oatmeal a aromatic depth of taste. Cumin is the star of the present right here: It brings an earthy nuttiness that anchors the dish. Floor coriander provides a floral notice, whereas crimson chili flakes present only a trace of warmth, making every chew barely spicy with out overwhelming the dish. Mustard seeds, one other key ingredient, presents a pleasant peppery crunch, offering texture to an in any other case easy oatmeal. Onions and garlic, sautéed till translucent, carry a refined sweetness that enhances the spices.

After I put together the tadka, I add tomato and bell pepper to the pot and prepare dinner them till softened earlier than including the water, salt, and oats. Because the oats simmer, they tackle the candy, earthy flavors of the spices, tomatoes, and peppers. Whereas I desire utilizing old style oats for his or her chewy texture and heartiness, you possibly can simply substitute them with or quick-cooking oats if that’s what you’ve got readily available. The bottom line is to begin with half the quantity of water and add extra as wanted, and to cut back the cooking time barely so the oats don’t burn or develop into too mushy. Keep away from steel-cut oats, which take for much longer to prepare dinner. And should you’re feeling adventurous, you possibly can add a handful—say, two tablespoons—of different greens along with the tomatoes and bell peppers. I’ve experimented with including mushrooms, carrots, and peas, which give the oats extra coloration, taste, and texture.

Critical Eats / Shri Repp


As soon as the oats are tender, all that’s left to do is topping the oats with recent cilantro, lime juice, a halved boiled egg and a few yogurt, if desired. The entire dish takes simply quarter-hour to prepare dinner, making this an incredible choice for busy mornings. You might even put together a batch forward of time and easily reheat it whenever you’re able to eat.

For those who’ve ever discovered your self tired of common oatmeal or just need to swap up your morning routine, I like to recommend making an attempt my recipe for savory oatmeal: It’s comforting, has a daring taste, and comes collectively in lower than half-hour. It would simply develop into your new breakfast staple, prefer it has for me.

Shake Up Your Morning Routine With These Turmeric Oats



Prepare dinner Mode
(Hold display screen awake)

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

  • 1 medium clove garlic (5g), minced

  • 1 small yellow onion (4 ounces; 113g), finely chopped

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons floor coriander

  • 1/2 teaspoon crimson pepper flakes

  • 1/2 teaspoon floor turmeric

  • 1 medium ripe plum tomato, finely chopped

  • 1/2 medium inexperienced bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and reduce into 1/2-inch cubes

  • 3/4 cup old style rolled oats (about 3 1/4 ounces; 90g)

  • 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity

To Serve:

  • Contemporary cilantro leaves

  • Lime wedges, to serve

  • 2 soft-boiled eggs, to serve

  • Plain full-fat yogurt (elective)

  1. In a small pot or saucepan, warmth oil over medium warmth till shimmering. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds and prepare dinner, permitting seeds to sizzle and pop, till they cease popping and darken barely, about 30 seconds. Add garlic and onion and prepare dinner, stirring continuously, till onions are translucent and have begun to melt and brown across the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Add coriander, crimson pepper flakes, and turmeric, and sauté till aromatic, 30 to 45 seconds.

    Critical Eats / Shri Repp


  2. Add tomato and pepper and prepare dinner till softened and pepper is vivid inexperienced, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water, salt, and oats, stirring to mix. Carry to a boil, then cut back warmth to keep up a mild simmer and prepare dinner uncovered, stirring gently and continuously, till oats have softened and thickened however combination nonetheless flows barely, 8 to 10 minutes. (For looser oatmeal, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, till you attain your required consistency.) Take away from warmth and divide oats evenly between two bowls. Garnish with cilantro and serve with a squeeze of lime juice, halved boiled eggs, and yogurt, if desired.

    Critical Eats / Shri Repp


Make-Forward and Storage

As soon as cooled, the completed oatmeal, with out the garnishes, might be refrigerated in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. Leftover oatmeal might be reheated within the microwave or in a saucepan on the range till warmed by way of; add water as wanted to loosen. Garnish simply earlier than serving.

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