sour cereal (aka savory cereal) - a recipe

My city has a new local foods market and I checked it out yesterday afternoon. Especially nice is their loose spice section. I picked up some powdered fenugreek seed and some powdered coriander seed... and started thinking about a recipe I used to make with some regularity in the late 1980s to mid 1990s that I haven't made in years.

Let me preface this recipe by saying that it may not sound all that appealing, but if you open your mind to some tastes from India, and that breakfast cereal can be savory instead of sweet, you might find this as delicious as I do. I first came into contact with this spicy porridge-like breakfast dish back in the yoga days. It is ashram food that was replicated by a smaller group I got together with to do chanting and meditation. I miss those days, actually. What a sweet thing it was to get together with friends, spend some time looking inward with like-minded people, and then having some chai tea and sour cereal together before getting back to ordinary life.  (My teenager thinks that this is a very strange and embarrassing part of my past... and like Joe Walsh, all I can say is that everybody's so different, but I haven't changed.)

Sour Cereal

ingredients:
6 c. water
1 t. salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. fenugreek powder
1/2 t. coriander
1 T. butter
1/2 c. wheatina or instant buckwheat or millet (I use instant buckwheat - which is wheat free)
2/3 c. oats

masala:
1/4 c. onion, chopped fine (I actually use 1 small-medium onion and don't measure)
1/4 c. shredded coconut
1 tomato chopped
2 dates pitted and chopped (I didn't have dates, so I added more coconut)
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped or 1 small can green chilies
2 t. ginger root, peeled and chopped

garnishes:
nutritional yeast
chopped onion (optional)
cilantro

1. In a large pot, add salt and spices to the water; bring to a boil and boil for a minute or two uncovered

2. Meanwhile, mix masala ingredients in blender, adding a little boiling water for mixing. Mix until smooth

3. Add butter, grains and masala to boiling water and spices and boil uncovered for 20 minutes

4. Cover and let set 5-10 minutes

*Before serving, add cayenne pepper if you have used canned chilies. Add nutritional yeast to taste


[Recipe Note: I found this recipe in my recipe folder... printed with the dot matrix printer I had in grad school on that kind of paper that was zig-zag and you had to tear one sheet from the next (with peg hole strips on the side that would also tear off). Oh my goodness, I had forgotten about that stage of technology in my life... so funny to see!]

For wonderful chai, in a large pan, brew a strong black tea. Boil in cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger to taste -- I like a lot of cardamom! Add brown sugar and milk to taste. Yum!!