Oats and granola with fruits and milk have always been my favorite to-go breakfast. I like adding them generously to my cookies and crumbles. Especially when I do a lot of baking at home, oats are simply an indispensable ingredient in my pantry. And recently, when I got this invite from Foodathon organizing an event on newly launched Masala Oats from Saffola, I was excited to go. And the reason to the excitement apart from the healthy concept was chef Vikas Khanna. A Michelin starred chef based in New York needs no further introduction. He is the most humble and really down to earth chef I have ever come to known.

The event started with Chef Vikas khanna making a most neglected vegetable Tinda {basically, an Indian green vegetable from the gourd family}. The vegetable is highly disregarded in Indian homes, especially by kids. Chef even told on a lighter note that in restaurant kitchens, the most ineffective and clumsy chef is called by the name Tinda. But chef made the vegetable more interesting by making a paneer {indian cottage cheese} filled super healthy and super delicious dish out it, that it was hard to believe.

As Saffola Masala Oats were the show stopper of the event, we had two recipe challenge contests, where we were supposed to make any dish out of Saffola Masala Oats. You wouldn’t believe, what people did with masala oats. Hats off to the creativity which others got to show. Ruchira from Cookaroo made healthy version of pizza using oats for the curst, whereas Parul of Shirazine displayed her culinary skills by turning oats into polenta balls. Isn’t it amazing! Even the chef was impressed. An old lady made a most simple yet full on flavor oats upma, which Chef Vikas Khanna couldn’t stop to rave about. I also tried my hands at making oats stuffed capsicum served with a warm green beans and cherry tomatoes salad.

Saffola has come up with this new range of healthy yet tasty breakfast or a quick snack option and they have six variants for this. And truly speaking, all of them have got a different taste. And I am sure, kids will like it too. The event was full of energy and it was really good to see home cooks displaying their culinary skills and experimenting with oats, which are high on fiber and good for heart. Meeting chef Vikas Khanna and listening to him talking about whole and healthy foods was really inspiring. And top of it, it was a fun Saturday afternoon spent with all my favorite food blogger friends.