Fruit and Nut Granola

EVENT: HEALTHY WELLTHY CUISINES

THEME: 58 HWCG #NUTTYNUT AT HW

The fortnight has just passed so quickly. I feel I just made the paneer chutney sandwich for this group just the other day! We’re back to another theme. This time the theme suggested was Dry Fruits. Then there was a lot of confusion over this term as dry fruits in India is also used for nuts whereas elsewhere in the world nuts are nuts and dry fruits are fruits that are dried. 

I was obviously quite confused as there was quite a bit of controversy over it. However, I decided to stick to both nuts and dry fruits. I already had a delicious cookie recipe ready, but my daughter didn’t approve. Not that the cookies didn’t taste good, it was because we could not see the nuts in the cookies!

As I was thinking what to make using both and something healthy it suddenly dawned on me that I don’t have a homemade granola recipe on my blog. I was not too happy about using the quick oats but as the saying goes ‘beggars can’t be choosers’. The on 4th Dec, WhatsApp groups went mad with the announcement that a new supermarket Naivas has opened its doors to the public. You may wonder what’s so thrilling about a new supermarket. For the people of Mombasa especially on the island its the biggest news ever. After the giant Nakumatt closed its doors (I hear its not because of lack of business but more to do with embezzlement!), we lacked a proper supermarket where mostly everything is available. Nakumatt had definitely spoilt us. 

Daughter and I went to check out the new supermarket a couple of days ago. As soon as I entered the place, I thought I was in a Supermarket in Nairobi or Dubai. No seriously its so huge and practically everything is available there. I saw jumbo oats and immediately bought some without even asking the price. Excitement knows no bounds for a Food Blogger, don’t you agree? Did I mention that the Supermarket is just opposite to my apartment complex? Hubby reckons he will have to find me there whenever I’m not at home 😉

Getting down to the granola recipe, I seriously never thought that it would be so easy to make it at home and here I’ve been spending so much on ready made ones where we literally can count the number of nuts and fruits added. I’m a big fan of granola especially with plain yogurt. 

So here are some simple tips to making an awesome batch of granola at home. 

• Use good quality oats.
• Use fresh nuts, seeds, desiccated coconut and dried fruit.
• Add dried fruits at the end as they can get chewy or burn.
• Make an even layer in the tray of the granola so that it gets baked evenly.
• You need to add good fat. Cannot make a good granola without it.
• Remember that the granola will continue to ‘cook’ even after its out of the oven. So don’t wait till it gets extra brown.
• There are no strict rules as to how much ingredients you can add to the granola. You prefer more nuts then by all means add more.
• Swap ingredients to make granola taste interesting and different. E.g. instead of adding pumpkin seeds, add flax seeds or sunflower seeds.
• Add cacao nibs at the end.
• Don’t use too much spice powder at the beginning. Add more if required.
• Temperature is of the utmost importance. My first batch of granola I had made a couple of years ago got burnt as the recipe that I followed suggested baking at 180°C for 30 minutes. I like to set the temperature at 150-160°C. That way the oats don’t brown too easily and the nuts don’t get burnt.
• Use good quality sweetener.

 Lets now get to the simple recipe.

FRUIT AND NUT GRANOLA

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients required:

2 cups of jumbo rolled oats 

1-2 tsp spice powder (can use cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, pumpkin spice, apple pie spice, etc)

½ cup nuts, chopped to bite size  (I used cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios and walnuts)

½ cup dried fruits, I used blueberries, cranberries, pineapple and cherries, chop is necessary

½ tsp sea salt or a salt of your choice

1 tsp vanilla extract, you can use any flavor you like

3 tbsp butter, can also use oil

3 tbsp maple syrup, you can use brown sugar, honey or agave

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.
3. Mix the oats, spice, nuts in a big bowl.
4. Add butter, flavoring, salt and maple syrup into a small pan.
5. Heat it gently over low heat till the butter melts and the mixture is mixed well.
6. Pour the mixture over the oats mixture and using a spatula, mix it well.
7. Spread the granola into a thin even layer on the prepared tray.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes, mixing it every 10 minutes for even baking.
9. When the granola is golden brown, remove it from the oven.
10. Add the dried fruits and mix well.
11. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
12. Store in an airtight container.
13. Enjoy it for breakfast with cold milk, hot milk or yogurt.

Tips:

• Add ingredients of your choice. Make a chocolate one for kids and adults too by adding chocolate chips at the end.
• Adjust the sweetener according to your taste.
• Replace ingredients to make a new flavor.
• I used Pumpkin Pie spice mixture. 
• To get clump texture of granola, add a little more of the fat and sweetener, not too much. Then tightly pat down the mixture in the tray before putting it in the oven.

Pin for Later:

A little request:

If you do try this recipe then please either

• add a comment below,
• send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
•  tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
• or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962

Check out some other ways you can use granola:

Fruit and Nut Yogurt Parfait

Apple Crumble Parfait

No bake Granola Bars

Sharing this recipe with the following event:

Members of this group cook fortnightly a dish according to the theme.

Check out what members have made for the nutty nut theme:

Shahi Mega Korma/Royal Nuts Curry by Shalu

Badam Puri/ Flourless Butterless Almond Cookies by Ruchi

Salted Cashew Nuts by Jayashree

Monaco Mango Bites by Priya

Zarda Pulao by Vanitha

5 minute Pavlova Parfait with yogurt cream and dry fruits by Seema

Date Truffles by Sasmita

Nutty Frutti Cookies by Rosy

Layered Fruit and Nut Raita by Geetanjali