Oat Porridge - Kasha
This porridge recipe has several names. All my life, at home, I've known it under the name "kasha". The English call it "porridge". But, what's important to know is that it's very healthy and adaptable to any taste. My mother would make it quickly with fresh cow's milk and we would sweeten it with whatever we had at hand and, of course, add butter. It was the fastest and best breakfast for a large family.
Now we have learned to adapt it. Vegetarians can use vegan milk. Those who diet can omit the butter and are careful with the amount of sugar (I replace it with xylitol). People who have stomach problems can only do it with water, without milk (I did this in the first 2 months of breastfeeding Maria, due to colic). And, of course, the treat - it can be combined with various flavors, fruits, cocoa, raisins, depending on cravings and preferences, cold or warm.
Below I will present 2 cooking options - a classic one, in a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven and the other one in the multicooker. I am constantly being asked by mothers what Maria eats after breastfeeding - well, this porridge is basic in the morning. I make it by alternating various whole grains - oatmeal, rye, barley, cornmeal, buckwheat etc. The multicooker has a very useful function - delayed start - I put all the ingredients in it in the evening and in the morning the kasha is ready, warm, good, swollen and perfect. I recommend this for the busy and practical moms, that's the only reason I bought the multicooker.
In addition, I have detailed 2 methods. You'll see it can be more creamy (especially for children) or with bigger flakes - this is the option I like the most.
Read the recipe carefully. I hope it's useful and interesting for everyone. Don't forget to read about the benefits of oatmeal. Cook porridge at least 1-2 times a week and you won't have problems with digestion, plus, you'll have significant vitamins and important nutrients.
If you don't have a scale, measure the ingredients by volume. For example, 1 glass of flakes and 2 glasses of milk - for the flaky version, not the very creamy one.
For the creamy and the multicooker, use 1 glass of flakes for 3 of milk / water.
I will now show you the pot / Dutch oven version:
- Pour the milk into the pot, add salt and leave over heat it until it starts to boil.
- As soon as it starts to boil, pour the flakes, stirring with a spoon all this time.
I let boil for 3 minutes. I put the lid on and let swell with the heat off for 1 hour or more, if I have time. Or, I leave from the evening to the next morning.
But even if you boil it for 10 minutes over medium heat, it will still be good. It will thicken. The difference is small, and only in texture, fine details:)
Here, I boiled the flakes in the evening and left in the pot to swell.
Notice the texture - the flakes are swollen, more clearly separated, but soft and tasty.
The creamier version in the multicooker:
In the multicooker pot, combine cold UHT milk (3 glasses or 650-700ml), oatmeal (100g or 1 glass) and a little salt. Stir a little.
I put the lid on, chose stew mode and set cooking time to 20 minutes.
Then I pressed the preset timer button to start in 7 hours (I placed the ingredients in the pot at 21.00 and the pot will start cooking after 7 hours, at 4 in the morning). After finishing cooking (20 minutes), the pot will switch to keep warm mode, so at 7, when we wake up, the porridge is still warm.
At 7 a.m., I opened the lid, I pressed the stop button to turn the keep warm mode off. Notice the texture, it's creamy and milky.
I don't like to give it a fixed cooking time. I like it to have an extra 1-2 hours to keep warm, so the kasha is better cooked.
Daddy and Sofia like to eat more creamy kasha, with jam or strawberry jam and sugar raspberries.
I prefer the Dutch oven one, with bigger flakes and cinnamon, sweetened with xylitol. I mean, I prefer it on a weight loss diet :) I wouldn't refuse one with butter and jam :)
Mariuca (1 year and 4 months old) also eats the creamy version, only sweetened with cane sugar.
Notice that I didn't put the sugar and the flavors in the pot, but in each one's plate.
The preparation process for the other types of cereal is the same. The quantity of milk may differ a bit, but you can test and adjust. The cooking time is about the same.
Enjoy!
