Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Granola Squares



Granola bar or square is an assortment of nutritious ingredients packed together to satisfy cravings for sweets. It is majorly made of breakfast cereals, nuts and dried fruits. It's texture & flavour varies from soft, chewy to crispy depending on the ingredients. It was first created by Stanley Mason. He thought it was convenient to eat and carry a bar than loose granola. It eventually became a convenience food. This recipe was selected as one of the winners by famous chef Tarla Dalal, in her online contest for 'Low Calorie Sweets'.

Ingredients
1 cup cooking oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 tbsp flaxseeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
2 tbsp melon seeds
1 1/2 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 1/2 tbsp almond silvered
1 1/2 tbsp dried cranberries
1 1/2 tbsp chopped prunes
3/4 cup jaggery
4 tbsp honey

Method
Dry roast oats, wheat germ, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, melon seeds & nuts INDIVIDUALLY & on slow flame.
Mix them all after roasting & keep aside.
Add chopped prunes & cranberries.
Melt jaggery in a pan on a very slow flame, taking care not to burn it.
Once jaggery is melted, put the flame off & add the above mixture along with honey.
Pour in a greased baking dish and press with a spatula to make it even.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 10 to 15 mins.
Let it cool for an hour or so and cut into squares or bar.
Store them in an airtight container and enjoy them any time.

Tips
* Take care not to roast on high flame as these ingredients can burn easily.
* Apart from the Ingredients given, more nuts & wheat flakes (crushed) can be added.
* Brown sugar can be used in place of Jaggery.
* Don't reduce amount of Honey, as it is needed for binding. Alternately you can increase the amount of jaggery.
* Amount of sugar/jaggery & honey can be according to liking.
* Granola bar is low in calories and makes a healthy breakfast.
* Dried fruits, berries and nuts are a rich source of antioxidants. They help to protect the body from free radical damage which causes diseases like cancer.
* Flax seeds and sunflower seeds add to the omega 3 fatty acids in the bar. Omega 3 is known to have cardiovascular benefits.

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