Oats and Chickpeas Pilaf

Oatmeal and Chickpeas sautéed with mild spices and flavored with citrus in a pilaf form. A Healthy Vegan lunch. So satisfying!! 🙂

I am not a big fan of oats but I know it’s a whole grain and has high fiber content, it is filling and helps in losing weight or maintain healthy weight. Oatmeal is very good for heart as well and lowers cholesterol. Hence oats is regular in my diet. But eating oats in regular fashion regularly gets quite boring and since I like to try variety of food and in their new form I came up with Oats and Chickpeas Pilaf. When I thought of oats in a pilaf form I found it quite interesting and kept wondering of how would I incorporate oats in a pilaf form that I don’t miss rice at all. I also wanted to add protein into it and I decided to go with garbanzo beans/chickpeas.

Now that I knew my ingredients the question for me was its incorporation into a pilaf form. Hmmmm. A tough recipe to create because I wanted it to be fluffy and dry and at the same time the oats should be cooked well. Basically I wanted a substitute of rice pilaf. I guess I am little fussy for lunch because that’s the toughest meal to think about. I like my lunch to be filling and nutritious and a good balance of whole grains and protein and it has to be delicious and flavorful. No compromises on taste. 🙂
So coming back to my recipe Oats and Chickpeas Pilaf I decided to venture with my thoughts this time and started warming up the pan with little oil. The moment I added the curry leaves to it my house was full of its aroma and I started to starve immediately. At that moment I exactly knew what taste and texture I wanted for my pilaf. But wait I was still skeptical about the look of Oats and Chickpeas Pilaf. I combined all the ingredients in the pan and when it came to add water that part was quite tricky for me. But eventually and gradually I managed to bring out the texture of my pilaf that I was looking for. 🙂

I happily ate my lunch and was satisfied till evening with a smiling face and lots of energy.

Print

Oats and Chickpeas Pilaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Serves 6

Per Serving 600 calories

Fat 14 g

Carbs 95 g

Protein 27 g

6

Ingredients

• 3 cups quick oats
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5 curry leaves
• 1 cup yellow onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• ¾ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups chickpeas (boiled, rinsed and drained)
• 2 cups water
• 1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. cilantro (chopped)

Instructions

1. Dry roast the oats in a nonstick pan. Keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a nonstick pan and add mustard seeds. Just when the seeds start to crackle add curry leaves.
3. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder/paprika and salt and mix well.
4. Add the chickpeas and sauté properly so that the chickpeas are properly coated.
5. Add roasted oats and mix gently but make sure that the oats are properly coated.
6. Add water, mix properly and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. If you think the oats are slightly dry and not properly cooked add ½ cup water more but do no not exceed water more than 2 ½ cups or else it will lose its pilaf texture.
7. Mix in lemon juice. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Notes

Red onions may also be used in this recipe. Paprika powder can also be substituted for chilli powder. Old fashioned oats can also be used if desired. Follow the same process.