Oats Pinni
- 15 min prep
- 125 min
- Cook
- Serves 8
- 355 kcal
- 5.9 g protein
The Punjabi winter pinni, with half the atta swapped for roasted oat flour. Ghee, jaggery, nuts, cardamom and a fist-pressed shape that keeps for weeks.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (90 g) rolled oats, ground to a fine flour
- 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour (atta)
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (125 g) ghee, melted
- ¾ cup (120 g) powdered jaggery
- ¼ cup (30 g) almonds, chopped
- 2 tbsp (20 g) cashews, chopped
- 2 tbsp (15 g) pistachios, chopped
- 2 tbsp (20 g) golden raisins
- 2 tbsp (15 g) melon seeds (magaz) or pumpkin seeds
- 1 tsp green cardamom powder
- ½ tsp dry ginger powder (sonth)
Method
- 1Blitz the rolled oats in a dry mixer jar into a fine flour. Stop once it looks like atta; a few flecks are fine.
- 2Warm 1 tbsp of the ghee in a heavy kadhai on low heat. Toast the almonds, cashews, pistachios and melon seeds for 2 to 3 minutes until they smell nutty, add the raisins for 20 seconds until they puff, then lift everything onto a plate.
- 3Pour the remaining ghee into the kadhai and add the atta. Stir constantly on low heat for about 12 minutes, until it loosens, turns light golden and smells like biscuits.
- 4Add the oat flour and keep stirring on low for another 10 to 12 minutes. The mix is ready when it is an even deep-golden colour and small drops of ghee shine on the surface. Take it off the heat straight away, because oat flour catches fast at the end.
- 5Spread the roasted flour on a wide thali and let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes. It should feel warm, not hot, when you press a finger into it.
- 6Add the jaggery, cardamom, dry ginger and the toasted nuts and raisins. Rub everything together with your hand for a minute so no jaggery lumps remain.
- 7Take about 2 heaped tablespoons, squeeze it hard in your fist and roll it into a firm oval or ball. If it crumbles, work in 1 tsp warm ghee and press again.
- 8Leave the pinnis on a tray for 1 hour to set before storing.
Notes from the Department
- Add the jaggery only when the flour is warm. If the mix is hot, jaggery melts and the pinnis set rock hard.
- Low heat is the whole recipe. Rushing on medium heat browns the outside of the flour and leaves it raw and bitter inside.
- If you have gond (edible gum), fry 2 tbsp in ghee until it puffs, crush it and mix it in with the nuts.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 355 kcal
- Protein
- 5.9 g
- Carbohydrate
- 38 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 3.8 g
- Sugars
- 15 g
Why this works
Pinni is a roasted-flour sweet, and roasting is where oats earn their place. Oat flour toasts faster than atta and brings a nuttier, almost malty flavour, so we roast the atta first and add the oats for the second half. The result tastes like the pinni you know, with a softer crumb and a little more fibre from the oats.
Jaggery goes in once the flour has cooled to warm. That way it stays in fine grains through the mix instead of melting into a toffee. The fist-press shape is not decoration: squeezing compacts the ghee-coated flour so each pinni holds without any binder. This batch makes about 16 pinnis.
Swaps
All oats: use 2 cups (180 g) ground rolled oats and skip the atta. Roast it for 15 to 18 minutes only, and expect a slightly crumblier pinni. Sugar instead of jaggery: use ¾ cup (150 g) sugar powdered in a mixer. Nuts are flexible; walnuts and makhana pieces both work. For a ginger-forward winter version, double the sonth.
Storage and serving
Store in an airtight dabba at room temperature for up to three weeks. In humid weather, keep the dabba in the fridge and bring a pinni out ten minutes before eating. One pinni with a glass of hot milk or a cup of chai is the classic winter breakfast in Punjabi homes. The Department of Winter Provisions approves of keeping a dabba within reach.
Questions people ask
- Can I make oats pinni without wheat flour?
- Yes. Use 2 cups (180 g) of ground rolled oats and roast them on low heat for 15 to 18 minutes. The pinnis will be a little more fragile, so press them firmly and let them set for a full hour.
- Why are my pinnis not holding shape?
- Usually there is too little ghee or the mix has gone completely cold. Warm the mixture for a minute on low heat, add 1 to 2 tsp melted ghee and press again while it is warm.
- Can I use quick oats for pinni?
- Yes. Quick oats grind into flour just as well as rolled oats. Use the same weight, 90 g, and roast for the same time.
- How long do oats pinnis last?
- About three weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, longer in the fridge. Keep them away from moisture so the jaggery does not turn sticky.
Inspired by Cook With Manali. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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