Chefs, in general, are quite wonderful.




They could be moody and temperamental, or lovable and cuddly, or bald and handsome.




Whatever their personality, it’s always a treat to spend time in their company.




Last week, Saffola Masala Oats organised an event at Blue Frog, Mehrauli to meet the Michelin Star chef, Vikas Khanna.







Since I’m far from what you would call a fan of the Masterchef India tv show, I went with not-too-high expectations.




I was SO pleasantly surprised!




Vikas Khanna (as anyone who has interacted with him will know) is a veritable treat. He has that rare and supremely attractive quality of being able to laugh at oneself. He’s obviously very talented, but he’s incredibly humble. He lives in New York, but is endearingly Punjabi at heart. And he is crazy funny! We all were in splits throughout the event.







He made a surprisingly tasty baked tinda dish (I know!) and spoke about the healthy + tasty dishes you can rustle up with oats.







I decided I’d give it a shot too.




And these mini cuties are the result of that.







What I don’t like about oats is their general gloopy quality. Made this way, the baking dries them out a little bit, while retaining all the goodness.




I used Saffola Classic Masala Oats, which is one of the 6 flavours available. You could be far more adventurous with your toppings – although this fresh, lemony tomato-onion mix is kinda perfect 🙂







Mini oat bites




Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Makes: 5




Ingredients:




1 packet Saffola Masala oats
oil, for greasing
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste







Method:




1. Preheat the oven to 180º C. Pour the oats into a bowl and cover with about half a cup of boiling water (the mixture shouldn’t be too runny). Stir well, cover, and set aside.
2. Grease a cupcake tray with oil. Mix the tomato, onion, lemon juice, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Add about one heaped tablespoon of oat mixture into each of the grooves in the tray (I got about 5). Pat down gently with the back of the spoon and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and run a knife around the sides of each oat patty and gently remove from the tray. Top with the tomato-onion mixture and serve.