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Sweet and Savory Whole Oats and Sweet Brown Rice Porridge

by:
March 18, 2011
4
2 Ratings
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

Bay, cinnamon, vanilla and cashews flavor this somewhat chewy porridge. For a real treat, stir a tablespoon or so of fresh, nut-infused chhena into each bowl. You can use ordinary ricotta or crème fraiche instead, if you prefer. Enjoy!! ;o) - AntoniaJames
—AntoniaJames

Test Kitchen Notes

This slow cooked savory porridge does not fall short on flavor. The vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar combination gently conjures images of quiet mornings wrapped up in warm blankets during winter, while the bay and ricotta give the cereal a little bit of history. The toasted cashews are a delightful addition of extra texture that complement the nuttiness of the grains. Served best on a Sunday with a generous mug of hot tea, the morning paper, and a room full of quiet. - goldenblind221 —goldenblind221

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Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup whole oat groats
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick, split in 2
  • 1 two-inch piece of vanilla bean
  • Small pinch of salt
  • ½ cup sweet brown rice
  • ¼ - ½ cup homemade almond or cashew milk, or for a non-vegan porridge, half-and-half, or whole cream to taste (See note below.)
  • Yellow raisins (optional)
  • Jaggery or brown sugar, to taste
  • Toasted cashews, or (for a non-vegan dish) Cashew Infused Chhena, or both (recipe for the latter is on food52)
Directions
  1. Simmer the oat groats uncovered in 4 cups of water with the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and salt for about an hour, or until nearly all the water is absorbed, i.e., until there is a very thin layer of water covering the groats.
  2. Add the rice and another cup of water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to very low and cover. Cook for 45 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the porridge sit for about fifteen minutes.
  3. Remove the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. For a stronger vanilla flavor, scrape out the vanilla seeds. ( I find that they overwhelm the other flavors in this, so I don't do that.)
  4. Stir in the nut milk or half-and-half and the raisins and heat through.
  5. Serve with jaggery or brown sugar, to taste, and cashew-infused chhena, if using. Garnish with toasted cashews or other nuts, or pine nuts.
  6. Enjoy!! ;o)
  7. NB: This is also delicious with my Sweet Almond Chhena, the recipe for which is posted on food52.
  8. For vegans, you can leave out the dairy and stir in some cashew or almond butter, or use a rich homemade nut milk.
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Recipe by: AntoniaJames

See problem, solve problem. Ask questions; question answers. Disrupt, with kindness, courtesy and respect. ;o)

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8 Reviews

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tgrllyct March 7, 2012
I wonder how this would do in a slow cooker as an "overnighter" recipe - wake up in the morning to delicious hot cereal........
AntoniaJames March 8, 2012
I haven't tried it, but it's worth thinking about. I expect that to get it right might require a few experiments. The challenge is getting the oat groats soft enough. In principle, I see no reason why you could not cook the oat groats and the rice at the same time, with the aromatics. Please let me know if you try this. It certainly would make things easy, wouldn't it?! ;o) P.S. My inclination would be to boil the water -- most likely the entire 5 cups of water -- before putting it into the slow cooker, to jump start the softening of the hard groats. Now you seriously have me interested in this. Thanks for posing this most intriguing question!! ;o)
xmascarol November 21, 2012
I have a cannister of 1/2 groats, 1/2 short grain rice and I use 1/3 c to 2 c. water and cook in the small crock pot overnight. I don't add the raisins or anything else til morning. It's the best breakfast around.
AntoniaJames November 21, 2012
So glad you liked it! And thank you for letting us know that it can be made in the slow cooker. So helpful. I plan to try that over this holiday weekend! ;o)
JoanG March 31, 2011
This sounds great. I know I can find sweet brown rice. Can I use steel cut oats?
And what is Jaggery?
AntoniaJames March 31, 2011
Thanks, JoanG! Steel cut oats would work fine. (In fact, I have another recipe on food52 that's very similar, which uses steel cut oats.) Steel cut oats don't need as much cooking, so I'd just put them in with the brown rice, add the total amount of liquid, and cook the two together. Jaggery is a type of sugar used in India (and other places). It's made either from palm sugar (mostly outside India, according to the Wiki encyclopedia) or unrefined cane sugar. It comes in a hard, light brown block and has a rich, beautiful flavor. It's well worth seeking out, but if you can't find it, a touch of dark brown sugar is a good substitute. ;o)
luvcookbooks March 23, 2011
love savory oatmeal, this sounds delicious
AntoniaJames March 31, 2011
Thank you, LCB!! ;o)