Mothering & Vegan Wholewheat Oats Beetroot Biscuits ( savoury)

We closed our Mother’s Day Contest some days ago on OMBC where many amazing bakers shared the lovely ways in which they experienced the act of ‘mothering’ – something that someone else did for them.

Here is a little bit about one of my own experiences of being mothered. Cliched as it might sound, one never forgets the moment one becomes a mother. It can be overwhelming, enriching, disturbing, joyful, unsettling – all at once. Who are the people who are standing with you apart from your immediate family members? For me, it was the nurses in the maternity ward. When my first child was born, they realized what a first-time mother goes through. Yes it is their routine work, but being gentle is not something that is part of a job description. You are that way, or you are not. They were firm when I would be overwhelmed, just as a mother will be with her child. But they were holding my hand all the way and speaking words that remain etched in memory. Words that can uplift and strengthen.

When my second child was born, the set of maternity ward nurses was different – but the gentleness was the same. They spoke with love and comfort. They didn’t assume that just because someone has already had a baby, they should be worried or scared. One of them was a young girl with no children of her own as yet, but the way she patted my head and told me how brave I was, made me realize that this is exactly what a mother would do.

So you see, there are those who mothered me so that I could become a mother.

And this bake here is a little tribute to them – I craved for sweets during my first pregnancy and extremely spicy food in my second. These Wholewheat Oats Beetroot Biscuits with the sweet tones from beetroot and spicy ones from chilly flakes, brings together both those journeys together.

Recipe –

1 cup wholewheat flour

1/2 cup oats flour

1/2 cup grated beetroot which has been soaked in a little water

Chilly flakes, salt – as per taste

1/4 cup cold pressed sunflower oil

Black sesae seeds to top

Method –

1. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 170 degrees C.
2. Mix the flours well.
3. Add the salt an chilly flakes and whisk well.
4. Add the oil and rub it into the flour-spice mix.
5. Add the grated beetroot ( take it out of the water it was soaked in ) and mix with your hands.
6. Slowly add the water in which the beetroot was soaked to bring the dough together.
7. It should be rollable and not sticky.
8. Shape it as you want or roll it thin and cut with a cookie cutter.
9. Sprinkle black sesame seeds.
10. Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes at the same temperature.
11. Allow it to cool off completely and then store in an air tight container. kis

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