How To Make Khakhra: Healthy Snack With Oats

You have heard or tried or tasted Gujarati khakhra, right?

I have tried this savory snack with oatmeal. So this makes a healthy recipe with oatmeal. Yay!

I had never imagined I would be making khakhras one day, that too using oats. I had never tasted this Gujarati savory snack earlier until a neighboring Bengali aunt gifted us a packet last Diwali. Hubby loved these crispy snacks, which are traditionally made using whole wheat flour and besan (chickpea flour/gram flour) with a hint of jeera (cumin seeds).

khakhra with oatmeal

I still haven't checked the traditional Gujarati recipe, so I cannot claim what all gets into the making of khakra, which is savored with pickle or chutney.

Last night, before making chapatis for dinner, I was surfing the Internet when a khakra recipe surfaced. I simply glanced over it to see how this snack is prepared. To my delight, it wasn't a tough job.

So I decided to make khakhras myself, since hubby loves these. But since we are not buying anything outside these days, so he has to be content with anything and everything I make.

This was surprise time. I decided to include oats in khakhras. Yes, oats have become my favorite ingredient these days. So I went ahead with oats and voila! The experiment does not disappoint either. I am so happy with the result, for now I have the recipe to make crispy, crunchy oats khakhras for dear hubby.

I can't forget to mention that when I was making these secretly, hubby suddenly came to the kitchen for a glass of water. He instantly noted what was being prepared - asked khakhras in the making? I felt so happy and said, "Oh thank God, these are looking like khakhras."

Why I chose oatmeal is history now, for you all know my love for oats. Here is a recap on oatmeal benefits for you if you are visiting this blog for the first time.

If you have never tried oatmeal or wonder whether you should try it or are not too happy with its bland taste, then you will find more than 50 delicious recipes here that will show you how to cook oatmeal. Sounds good na!!!

Oatmeal makes a perfect 

• snack
• breakfast
• dessert
• sweet
• beverage
• and what not!!!

Ask my friend Ritu S. Mendiratta and she will enlist a few more delicious ways to cook oatmeal.

Ingredients

how to make khakra at home with oats

1/2 cup- sattu or roasted gram flour
1/4 cup- grated lauki
1/4 cup- flax seed powder (roasted)- you may add sesame seeds instead
2 tsp- oil (sunflower/olive)
salt
black pepper, kasuri methi
1/4 cup- oats powder or any glutn-free flour (like bajra/jowar/amaranth)

How to make Khakra

Grate lauki and keep in a bowl. No need to squeeze water. Add oil.
Add sattu, flax powder, salt, kasuri methi, and black pepper in the bowl.
Mix with a spoon and allow the ingredients to rest for an hour.
By then, lauki should have released water
Do not be tempted to add water. Gather ingredients into a ball and roll out like a thick chapati.
Preheat the oven/convection/airfryer to 170 degrees for 10 mts.
Airfryer can be preheated for only 4-5 mts.
Make insertions into the khakra with a fork or knife and bake for 10mts or until it hardens.
But make sure you do not burn it in the process.
Else you may do so on tawa. Follow the process given in the recipe below to make khakra on tawa.

Here's my previous Khakra recipe

1/2 cup oats (oats powder) (If you do not have oats, you can ignore and increase the amount of wheat flour)

1/2 cup-whole wheat flour

2 tbsp- besan

2 tsp- suji (semolina)

salt, sugar (pinch), jeera, ajwain (carom seeds), pinch of hing (asafetida), coriander powder, haldi, dry red chilly powder - You can add spices of your choice

1 tbsp- oil

1/4-1/2 cup- milk (to knead semi-soft dough - should be less soft than chapati dough--little on the harder side)

Procedure

khakhra with oats

1. Mix everything except milk. Rub the flours with hands.
2. Add milk slowly to knead semi-soft dough.
3. Keep aside for 10 minutes (optional).
4. Take lemon sized balls. 
5. Roll out into paper-thin chapatis. Make sure the edges are very thin.
6. Keep the burner on slow flame. Keep a tawa (skillet).
7. Place the chapati on the tawa. Make sure you cook all of the oats khakhras on low flame. Yes, it will take time, but this will give you crispy, crunchy khakhras.
8. Keep pressing with a thick cloth just like a roti. But it will take time. Enjoy with chutney or pickle of your choice.
9. I had made raw mango chutney a day before. 
10. Check the mango chutney recipe here. It was inspired by our dearest Anita Chahal aunty ji's post. 
11. So is there any doubt left as to how to cook oatmeal? Sure, now you won't wonder how to make oatmeal delicious. 
12. You can make these in oven/convection or airfryer. Bake khakra at 170 degrees for 10 mts.If it looks little uncooked, bake it for 2-3 mts more until done.

mango chutney