Oats Chivda (Oats Mixture)

Oats Chivda is an Indian savory trail mix made with rolled oats, spices, nuts, roasted gram, coconut and curry leaves. This healthy and delicious snack is gluten-free and vegan. You can also make it nut-free by leaving out the peanuts. Oats Chivda keeps good for 2 months at room temperature. You can serve it as a snack any time of the day.

Chivda is a traditional Indian Snack usually made with Poha, (flattened rice), spices, nuts and herbs. Here in this oats chivda version we replace some of the poha with rolled oats. Replacing all of it with oats won’t give you a crispy and crunchy snack.

However if you do not prefer to use poha you may replace the same quantity with corn flakes (cereal) or crispy puffed rice.

This Oats Chivda is easy to make and makes for a guilt-free snack as it is pan fried and not deep fried. In this post I have shown making it in a pan on the stovetop. However you can also make it in the oven.

To make oats chivda use the best quality organic oats because we don’t rinse them for this recipe. Also use thick rolled oats and not instant oatmeal. Choose the thickest kind as your chivda is going to taste really good with it.

You may also like to check these oats recipes
Oats ladoo
Crispy oats dosa
Oats pancakes
Oats chilla

Photo Guide

How to make Oats Chivda (Stepwise photos)

Preparation

1. Dry roast ¾ cup oats on a medium flame.

2. When they turn slightly golden, Set them aside to a plate. They won’t turn crispy.

3. In the same pan, roast 1 cup poha/ beaten rice. If using cornflakes or puffed rice, just skip this and the next step. Add puffed rice or cornflakes at the last step.

4. When poha turns light in texture, transfer them aside to the plate.

Tempering

5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pan, add ½ tsp mustard and ½ tsp cumin. When they begin to crackle, add 3 to 4 tablespoons peanuts or cashews and 1 broken dried red chili.

6. Fry the peanuts till golden and aromatic. Add 3 to 4 crushed garlic, 1 sprig curry leaves and 1 to 2 slit green chili. You can add more or less chilies to suit your taste. Fry all until the garlic is roasted well and curry leaves turn crisp.

7. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons fried gram and 2 tablespoons chopped dried coconut (copra) pieces (optional). Roast until the coconut smells good. Make sure peanuts are roasted well by now. Switch off the stove.

8. Next add ½ teaspoon red chili powder, 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon turmeric and half teaspoon salt. Mix every thing well. At this stage if you feel your tempering is too dry, you may pour a bit of oil.

9. Add poha and oats to the pan.

10. Mix everything well.

When oats chivda cools completely, I sprinkle little more salt if needed and add 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil. It adds good flavor and prevents chivda from being dry.

Just before serving: 2 tbsp of chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, chopped coriander leaves and a bit of lemon juice can also be added to each serving of chivda. Serve immediately else the mixture turns soggy.

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