It is almost impossible to read anything on oats which doesn't reference Samuel
Johnson's snarky definition of them as "a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland
supports the people". Johnson later admitted he put it that way to annoy
the Scots, but in fact, as HE Jacob, in his idiosyncratic history, 6000 Years
of Bread, the same prejudice was held by the Greeks against the Scythians, and
the Romans against the Germans, the fact that they shared their oats with their
horses. Jacob points out that oats have "peculiarities which did not
endear it to men". They have a tendency to revert to wilder forms, with
smaller grains and larger beards (indigestible threads on the oat heads). This
makes them hard for humans to use, but poses no problems to livestock so they
were fed to them. And that doomed oats because " wh o would wish to eat
from the same board as an animal?" Even in India, where oats are non-native,
the earliest references to them are from the Mughals for their horses.
Which is why it is good to read the Supreme Court of
India's judgment in the case of Collector of Customs, Madras vs K Ganga Setty, 1962. This concerned
a Mr Setty of
Balakrishna Flour Mills who had imported oats from Australia to feed racehorses. Mr Setty assumed that this counted as fodder, which required no special import license, but customs officials at Madras saw the oats as grains, regardless of who was going to eat them, and grains required a special license.
The High Court had ruled in Mr Setty's favour, but the Supreme Court overruled the verdict, writing firmly: "Without resorting to Johnson's famous definition of 'oats' in his Dictionary, it is sufficient to point out that oats, though they may serve as food for horses, is also used as human food". So what I would like to know is why, 50 years after such a categoric verdict, is it still so hard to get oats in India? If I want them, it still looks like I'll have to haunt the racecourse and filch some from the horses' feed! You might point out that oats are widely available now, much recommended by nutritionists and sold under wellknown brand names, along with recipes for oat dosas and oat laddoos. But these are rolled oats, which are oats grains that are steamed, so they are pre-cooked, and then rolled flat. Real oats are available as whole groats, or roughly chopped (pinhead oats) or milled into varying degrees of oatmeal. These take longer to cook, and can go rancid quite soon, because oats have more fats than most grains. But they also have a sweeter, earthier taste and most likely much more nutritive benefits.
Porridge made with oatmeal of this kind is what sustained Gandhi as a student in London and he was appreciative: "A splendid dish especially in winter", he wrote in a guide for other Indian students that he started compiling in South Africa, but never finished. He gives the simple instructions for making it: "You can stir one ounce of oatmeal into a sufficient quantity of water and put it on the oil stove. If it is fine oatmeal, the porridge would be ready in 20 minutes. If it is coarse, it would take 30 minutes". In Scotland where this is the great staple food, frugal Scots would only make this with water, but Gandhi sensibly suggests making it with milk and eating it with sugar and stewed fruit.
Made properly (lots of stirring) this tastes like familiar Indian porridge-like dishes made with rice or ragi or broken wheat. Made with milk and sugar it can even taste like a thick kheer. If you get the balance of grains and liquid right, the starch from the oats will bind them in a way that is luscious rather than gluey, and even skim milk can be made to seem creamy. Perhaps Indians have a knack for this, because Jan Morris, in one of her travel books reported from Darjeeling how "the porridge at 'The Windamere' hotel is, I am told by unimpeachable authorities, unsurpassed in Scotland…"
Even if real oats aren't available, let me admit that rolled oats can also deliver this creamy satisfaction, and faster too. You can also use soya milk, which oats even manage to make interesting, bringing
out pleasant fruity notes. If you're adventurous, try them made with coconut milk for a strong and rich tasting dish. You can put them in a blender and make a quasi-oatmeal that can be used for pancakes or oatcakes that have a lovely nutty taste.
But the best use of rolled oats is in cookies where they can be used directly since they are pre-cooked. Rolled oat cookies just need some sweetening, hot water or milk to bind them into a gluey mass, and egg to keep them together as they bake. Add nuts or chocolate chips and you'll have oats in a form so good that even an Englishman wouldn't feed them to the horses.
vikram.doctorETCD120518
Balakrishna Flour Mills who had imported oats from Australia to feed racehorses. Mr Setty assumed that this counted as fodder, which required no special import license, but customs officials at Madras saw the oats as grains, regardless of who was going to eat them, and grains required a special license.
The High Court had ruled in Mr Setty's favour, but the Supreme Court overruled the verdict, writing firmly: "Without resorting to Johnson's famous definition of 'oats' in his Dictionary, it is sufficient to point out that oats, though they may serve as food for horses, is also used as human food". So what I would like to know is why, 50 years after such a categoric verdict, is it still so hard to get oats in India? If I want them, it still looks like I'll have to haunt the racecourse and filch some from the horses' feed! You might point out that oats are widely available now, much recommended by nutritionists and sold under wellknown brand names, along with recipes for oat dosas and oat laddoos. But these are rolled oats, which are oats grains that are steamed, so they are pre-cooked, and then rolled flat. Real oats are available as whole groats, or roughly chopped (pinhead oats) or milled into varying degrees of oatmeal. These take longer to cook, and can go rancid quite soon, because oats have more fats than most grains. But they also have a sweeter, earthier taste and most likely much more nutritive benefits.
Porridge made with oatmeal of this kind is what sustained Gandhi as a student in London and he was appreciative: "A splendid dish especially in winter", he wrote in a guide for other Indian students that he started compiling in South Africa, but never finished. He gives the simple instructions for making it: "You can stir one ounce of oatmeal into a sufficient quantity of water and put it on the oil stove. If it is fine oatmeal, the porridge would be ready in 20 minutes. If it is coarse, it would take 30 minutes". In Scotland where this is the great staple food, frugal Scots would only make this with water, but Gandhi sensibly suggests making it with milk and eating it with sugar and stewed fruit.
Made properly (lots of stirring) this tastes like familiar Indian porridge-like dishes made with rice or ragi or broken wheat. Made with milk and sugar it can even taste like a thick kheer. If you get the balance of grains and liquid right, the starch from the oats will bind them in a way that is luscious rather than gluey, and even skim milk can be made to seem creamy. Perhaps Indians have a knack for this, because Jan Morris, in one of her travel books reported from Darjeeling how "the porridge at 'The Windamere' hotel is, I am told by unimpeachable authorities, unsurpassed in Scotland…"
Even if real oats aren't available, let me admit that rolled oats can also deliver this creamy satisfaction, and faster too. You can also use soya milk, which oats even manage to make interesting, bringing
out pleasant fruity notes. If you're adventurous, try them made with coconut milk for a strong and rich tasting dish. You can put them in a blender and make a quasi-oatmeal that can be used for pancakes or oatcakes that have a lovely nutty taste.
But the best use of rolled oats is in cookies where they can be used directly since they are pre-cooked. Rolled oat cookies just need some sweetening, hot water or milk to bind them into a gluey mass, and egg to keep them together as they bake. Add nuts or chocolate chips and you'll have oats in a form so good that even an Englishman wouldn't feed them to the horses.
vikram.doctorETCD120518
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