I use this as a replacement for both a chapati when making curries (see my Beef Madras recipe) and instead of the soft corn tortilla that is often part of a mexican meal (see my Heuvos Rancheros and Fahitas recipes). To be fair, it is neither a tortilla nor a chapati but it is similar in texture to both and gives the necessary bite and flavour so I don't think you will mind the compromise, especially since this is high in fibre and entirely fat free.
The Ingredients
- 30 grams of oat bran
- 90 grams (= 90 ml but I prefer to weigh it into the bowl) of boiled water from the kettle
- A pinch of salt (optional)
The Equipment
- A small mixing bowl
- A kettle
- A hob (one ring needed)
- A good, non-stick frying pan
- Digital kitchen scales that can measure in grams
The Method
Boil a kettle and put a non-stick pan over a low heat to start warming it up.Place a small mixing bowl on digital kitchen scales set for metric and place 30 grams of oat bran in it along with a pinch of salt (if you wish). Add 90 grams of freshly boiled water from the kettle. Stir with a fork until you have a reasonably smooth mixture then leave to stand for a minute or two. You now have a batter that is effectively a thickish, partially cooked porridge.
Once the pan is up to heat, restir the batter and pour it into the pan. Tilt the pan to run it around and form a roughly flat pancake. The image to the right shows the pan just after the batter has been poured in and 'tilted' around. The pan is a 22 inch French Skillet.
By the way, you can click on the images to get a better look. If you zoom in then excuse the mess, I had just prepared a batch of fat-free hot pepper sauce and was desperate to try some so I cooked this before cleaning up properly!
As it cooks the oat bran mix may bubble in places and it will stick horribly but be patient as it will unstick in its own time. The second image is the pan after about a minute. Note the bubbles forming in the mixture which break to release little eruptions of steam. Don't worry about these, they will sort themselves out as the top is still wet and will flow back over the holes that are formed by this.
After another minute or two you will see the edges starting to lift. The top will still be quite soft and pulpy so just give it another minute or two after which you should find that a gentle shake breaks the pancake free of the pan. Flip it over. You will need to toss it like a pancake as the top will still be soft and pulpy at this stage and although the bottom may be cooked, it will not be strong enough to take manual handling with a spatula. Cook the other side for a couple of minutes and you are basically done.
Flip as often as you want and cook until you get the colour and texture that you want. With time it gradually gets browner and harder and more like a flatbread than a pancake. I suspect if you kept going you would end up with a large oat cake that you could break your teeth on so just stop when it looks like it has a little bit of bite but can still be folded without breaking. It usually takes about 6 minutes for me to go from batter to finished flatbread with a couple of tosses along the way, but I like to keep the pan on a low heat and this will be a factor in the cooking time. Note that it shrinks a little as you can see in the final image (which is the same mixture as shown in the other images). This final image is about the right color for me and once it has cooled, this will be a soft but tearable flat-bread that is strong enough to be used to scoop up curry or as part of a mexican dish such as Fahitas or the traditional Mexican breakfast dish Huevos Rancheros, both of which will be covered in later posts on this blog.
Enjoy.
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