A zero-oil chaat recipe! Yes, you heard it right. Check out the super simple oats bhel or the oats chaat recipe with toasted rolled-oats, chickpeas, and veggies mixed with sweet chutney and green chutney! A guilt-free munch!
I love chaat recipes, the famous Indian street food snacks, and I am sure we all do. I love it so much that I took chaat recipes for one of the mega marathons(Sep’16) as my theme and did 26 chaat recipes. :-)
While there are some deep-fried chaat recipes, there are some simple ones like bhelpuri, sukha bhel, fruit chaat, and kala chana chaat that you can munch without any guilt. And this oats bhel is one among them.
Ok, let me be clear here. I am not against deep-fried food, and I believe in balanced and mindful eating with proper exercise, and that’s what matters.
I have recently received many recipe requests for easy and healthy snack recipes that are bachelors friendly. Guess what, this oats bhel ticks all the boxes.
This oats bhel is,
✔ Easy to make and healthy
✔ Oil-free, nut-free and vegan
✔ Can be prepared in less than 20 minutes
Rolled oats and no instant oats, please-
I know I am not a nutritionist but folks, if you want to reap the benefits of oats, then opt for either steel-cut oats or old-fashioned rolled oats. For this oats bhel, I used old-fashioned rolled oats.
Instant or quick-cooking one works, but it’s the most processed one among the three varieties, and I highly recommend rolled oats for this recipe.
Oats bhel or oats salad-
Please don’t take me wrong here. I am not trying to westernize this dish but think about it – this oats bhel is more like a salad.
All we need is some toasted oats, veggies, and cooked beans. And for dressing, we are using the sweet chutney and green chutney. That’s it. Why not we call this is as Indian-style oats salad?
I used my homemade raisin and tamarind chutney and store-bought mint chutney for this bhel.
PS – while you can make these chutneys easily at home, there are readily available on Indian grocery stores. Find my green chutney recipe here.
Other variations for this oats chaat-
This version of mine is very basic. It’s a mix of kala chana chaat and bhel puri but without any puri. And the ingredients that I have used here are readily available in all our pantries.
Now you can customize this bhel as per your preference. Here are some of the variations-
Add more toppings – You can add boiled potatoes, any beans of your choice, pomegranate arils, etc. I also want to keep it oil-free, so I did not add any sev/chickpea flour vermicelli or any deep-fried puris. You can very well add them.
Oats bhel with dahi – Dahi means yogurt, and like dahi puri, you can add yogurt and chutneys along with chaat masala, amchur powder, etc.
Dry chutney – You can prepare the dry green chutney like we do for sukha bhel and make the oats sukha bhel as well.
I can keep talking about the customizations, which are recipes on their own. So let me stop here, and let’s get straight into the recipe.
How to make oats bhel-
- Heat a pan and when it is hot, add the oats and toast them until they are crisp or for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Toss the oats in between for even toasting. You can let them turn light golden brown but don’t let the oats turn brown, though.
- Transfer the toasted oats to the bowl and let it cool. Meanwhile, chop all the veggies.
- Now add the chopped onion, carrot, cucumber, tomato, black chickpeas. Add the chutneys and chaat masala. Mix well.
- Garnish with cilantro and drizzle the lemon juice and serve right away.
Recipe Notes-
- Adjust the amount of the chutneys, chaat masala, and lemon juice as per your preference.
- As my mint chutney was spicy, I did not add any green chilies. But for a spicy version, you can add deseeded and finely chopped green chilies.
- I highly recommend rolled oats for this recipe. And while toasting the oats, toss them often for even toasting and don’t let the oats brown.
- For variations, check the post.
PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this oats bhel recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas!
📖 Recipe
Oats Bhel | No-Oil Oats Chaat | Indian-Style Oats Salad
Equipment
- saucepan
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
Measuring Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp= 15ml; 1tsp=5ml;
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup cucumber finely chopped
- ½ cup carrot finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato finely chopped (I used three cherry tomatoes)
- ¼ cup black chickpeas cooked
- ½ tsp chaat masala
- 2 tsp raisin chutney or dates and tamarind chutney
- 2 tsp green chutney mint chutney
- 2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
- 2 tsps lemon juice or to taste
Instructions
- Heat a pan and when it is hot, add the oats and toast them until they are crisp or for about 3 to 5 minutes. Toss the oats in between for even toasting. You can let them turn light golden brown but don’t let the oats turn brown, though.
- Transfer the toasted oats to the bowl and let it cool. Meanwhile, chop all the veggies.
- Now add the chopped onion, carrot, cucumber, tomato, black chickpeas. Add the chutneys and chaat masala. Mix well.
- Garnish with cilantro and drizzle the lemon juice and serve right away.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of the chutneys, chaat masala, and lemon juice as per your preference.
- As my mint chutney was spicy, I did not add any green chilies. But for a spicy version, you can add deseeded and finely chopped green chilies.
- I highly recommend rolled oats for this recipe. And while toasting the oats, toss them often for even toasting and don’t let the oats brown.
- For variations, check the post.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#116
Shikha Sood says
I tried this recipe turned out awesome and feels so healthy!!!
Srividhya G says
Thanks
Jim says
Great recipe and idea. Quick question though. Most store bought Oats (instant/rolled etc) aren’t fully cooked. By roasting them for a few minutes do they turn fully cooked? ‘Coz raw oats aren’t all that easy to digest. Tks! Jim
Srividhya G says
Raw rolled oats are safe to eat. So far I haven’t had issues. Cooked oats doesn’t work well in this recipe.
NARMADHA says
I love chaats too and while reading I got side tracked to look at your amazing 26 chaat recipe collection. Oats bhel is very innovative and interesting idea. Very healthy and fulfilling breakfast or snack.
Srividhya G says
Thank you :-)
Renu says
Yummy and healthy oats bhel. This would be perfect for my evening dinner with oats and veggies.
Srividhya G says
Absolutely. Thanks
Srivalli Jetti says
That’s a wonderful and so colourful. As vaishali says no carrot and beans for me hahahh
Srividhya G says
:-) :-) Thanks
Harini Rupanagudi says
This plate of oats bhel has my name written all over it. All the components which I would add and all of them my favorites except maybe raw onions :).
Srividhya G says
ha ha thanks. :-)
Vaishali says
The oats bhel sounds full if nutrition , yes I agree this dish sounds more of a salad than bhel .
I shall minus the beans and carrots and add sev and some sprouts – to make a typical bhel kinds .
Great idea to use oats in bhel ! Will be trying this soon .
Srividhya G says
Thanks Vaishali. I am sure you will love it.
Anusha Praveen Rajagopal says
What a great way to include oats! Have never imagined oats in bhel. This is definitely a keeper.
Srividhya G says
Thanks Anu. :-)