Breakfast is one meal that we never skip, but we don't have time to fuss about preparing it either. So we eat cold breakfast, mostly cereals, mostly locally grown like raagi (finger millet), popped raajgira (amaranth), popped jwari (jowar) flakes, sattu. Oats somehow never found a place in the breakfast menu. Mainly because it needs to be cooked which means hot milk and hot milk is a big no-no.
So, this is the first time I have ever used oats in my kitchen, ever, yes that's surprising. And it's happy I am that I baked these muffins!
In India almost every lady of our previous generation cooks well and has couple of aces up her sleeves. But there are very few I know who bake. One among them is my aunt. She is an inspiration as a cook, as a baker and above all as a person. It is she who suggested me to try out oats as an ingredient in baking, that had me promptly buying a packet of instant oats.
The recipe calls for very little bit of mixing. The batter comes together very quickly, once you have all the ingredients ready. I have used vanilla sugar, you can use plain granulated sugar. Adjust the quantity of vanilla extract accordingly.
Buttermilk can be substituted with 1/2 cup of milk plus 2 teaspoons of curd, set aside for 15 minutes. Since I make butter/ghee at home, there's always some frozen buttermilk around.
As the name suggests, these are breakfast muffins, so I wanted to add some dry fruits or nuts. My li'l one fancies raisins so I added soaked raisins. When given a choice between chocolate chips and raisins as an ingredient of these muffins, he chose raisins without any qualms.
But the one ingredient you don't want to skip is cinnamon. Don't skimp. I would go so far as to suggest to increase it to 1/2 teaspoon while you are at it. While the muffins bake the aroma of cinnamon fills your home. Heaven!
When making cupcakes or muffins, if presentation is not a big concern, I prefer silicone moulds over paper liners. Mainly because they don't need any prep but more because I am a bit reluctant to loose even tiny of those scrumptious crumbs sticking to the liners.
These muffins are best served warm with a glass of milk or a hot cup of tea. The stress is on warm! Here's the recipe:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup instant oats, measured then coarsely ground
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsbs vanilla sugar
3-4 small bananas, mashed (about 1/2 cup heaping)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsbs vegetable oil, sunflower/canola/olive
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (use 1/2 tsp if using plain sugar)
1/4 cup raisins, soaked
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, ground oats, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla sugar using a whisk. Set aside.
Once done, set them to cool. Store in an airtight container once completely cooled.
- You can add chopped, roasted nuts.
- You can use brown sugar instead of granulated white sugar. Gud/jaggery can be used too, increase the quantity as gud is less sweet than same quantity of sugar.
- You can sprinkle granulated sugar on top of the muffins, before baking.
The options are many!
Happy Baking!
Shwe
So, this is the first time I have ever used oats in my kitchen, ever, yes that's surprising. And it's happy I am that I baked these muffins!
In India almost every lady of our previous generation cooks well and has couple of aces up her sleeves. But there are very few I know who bake. One among them is my aunt. She is an inspiration as a cook, as a baker and above all as a person. It is she who suggested me to try out oats as an ingredient in baking, that had me promptly buying a packet of instant oats.
Now all I wanted was a recipe! I stumbled upon it when my sister-in-law pointed me towards this food industry event which was to happen in Bangalore. And one link led to another, and a lot of clicks later I found this recipe. These are filling, breakfast or snack-time muffins.
The recipe calls for very little bit of mixing. The batter comes together very quickly, once you have all the ingredients ready. I have used vanilla sugar, you can use plain granulated sugar. Adjust the quantity of vanilla extract accordingly.
Buttermilk can be substituted with 1/2 cup of milk plus 2 teaspoons of curd, set aside for 15 minutes. Since I make butter/ghee at home, there's always some frozen buttermilk around.
As the name suggests, these are breakfast muffins, so I wanted to add some dry fruits or nuts. My li'l one fancies raisins so I added soaked raisins. When given a choice between chocolate chips and raisins as an ingredient of these muffins, he chose raisins without any qualms.
But the one ingredient you don't want to skip is cinnamon. Don't skimp. I would go so far as to suggest to increase it to 1/2 teaspoon while you are at it. While the muffins bake the aroma of cinnamon fills your home. Heaven!
When making cupcakes or muffins, if presentation is not a big concern, I prefer silicone moulds over paper liners. Mainly because they don't need any prep but more because I am a bit reluctant to loose even tiny of those scrumptious crumbs sticking to the liners.
These muffins are best served warm with a glass of milk or a hot cup of tea. The stress is on warm! Here's the recipe:
Whole wheat oat and banana muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup instant oats, measured then coarsely ground
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsbs vanilla sugar
3-4 small bananas, mashed (about 1/2 cup heaping)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsbs vegetable oil, sunflower/canola/olive
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (use 1/2 tsp if using plain sugar)
1/4 cup raisins, soaked
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, ground oats, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla sugar using a whisk. Set aside.
Mash the banana in a small bowl. Beat in the egg. Add remaining wet ingredients to the banana mixture.
Add wet mixture to dry one in 2 batches. Mix till just combined or till no dry streaks of flour remained.
Add in the soaked raisins and mix. The batter will be thick.
Spoon the batter in muffin moulds/pan. Smooth the tops.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. The top of the muffins may crack. Check if done, using a toothpick. Be careful not to over bake else they muffins will turn dry.
Once done, set them to cool. Store in an airtight container once completely cooled.
Tweaks:
- You can replace 2 tablespoons of oats with same quantity of rava (semolina) for added crunch.- You can add chopped, roasted nuts.
- You can use brown sugar instead of granulated white sugar. Gud/jaggery can be used too, increase the quantity as gud is less sweet than same quantity of sugar.
- You can sprinkle granulated sugar on top of the muffins, before baking.
The options are many!
Happy Baking!
Shwe
