Indian Spiced Oatmeal (or a healthy version of Kheer)

May 29, 2012 · Last Updated on April 25, 2019 By Anjali Shah on· Last Updated on

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My hubby is coming home from India tomorrow!

He’s been there for the past few weeks, visiting family and taking advantage of his last summer vacation as a student. Once he finishes his PhD, those days of flexible vacation will be over. 🙂

I couldn’t join him (we have too many summer vacations planned that use up my days off, and I’ve been to India a bunch more than he has) – so he embarked on his trip alone. This has been the longest we’ve lived apart since we got married, and we both missed each other like crazy!

Needless to say, we both can’t wait until he lands at SFO tomorrow.

In honor of his trip (and his return), I decided to spice up my breakfast this morning with some traditional Indian flavors. And what’s the best breakfast base for almost any flavor combination?

Oatmeal.

That’s right – I added Indian spices to oatmeal and it tasted absolutely amazing.

It actually reminded me a lot of Kheer, which is basically an Indian spiced rice pudding. It’s super creamy, rich, and sweet – and it’s eaten as a dessert. My oatmeal tasted almost exactly like Kheer, but it’s filling, healthy and balanced – the perfect breakfast. It tastes like it’s bad for you, but it’s actually really good for you!

And of course, it’s extremely easy to make.

The Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats or multigrain oats

1.5 cups water

3 tsp finely ground flax seed

2-3 tsp slivered almonds

A pinch of saffron

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

A pinch of ground nutmeg

1 tsp sugar/honey/agave

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup of 1% organic milk (the creamier you want the oatmeal, the more milk you should add)

The Directions

Step 1: Cook the oats with the water in the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir, and cook again in the microwave for 1-2 minutes more until all the water is absorbed and the oats have a very creamy texture. Depending on your microwave, you might have to cook them for longer for them to become soft.

Step 2: Stir in the saffron, flax seed, and almonds. The heat of the oatmeal will help melt the saffron until it’s fully combined.

Step 3: Add the rest of the spices (salt, cardamom, nutmeg, sugar/honey/agave) and stir to combine.

Step 4: Stir in the milk until the oatmeal is the consistency you like.

Step 5: Heat the oatmeal again in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until it is hot and ready to eat.

I love the bright red of the saffron and the melted yellow color it brings to the oatmeal.

This is such a fun way to start your day, by having the warmth of Indian spices right in your breakfast bowl. This recipe has about 300 calories, ~7g fiber, and ~14g protein.

It’s guilt-free and delicious!