Home-made Granola

A few months ago I was searching for a good granola recipe that I can use on a regular basis and found this one from allrecipes the most appealing. Reason being, it has zero oil, low sugar and a lot of fruit & nut to make up the nutritional bounty that granola is all about. It derives its sweetness mainly from the bananas & dates used for moistening the oats. Not to mention, it is the yummiest we've tasted. I have used this one several times so far and it is a hit at the breakfast table always.

I did make changes to the ingredients & cooking method based on the comments the recipe received, the kind of ingredients available in my kitchen regularly & my experience with certain other recipes. I especially followed the instructions given by the last user. With all due credit to those two great cooks, I'm jotting down the list I use & my little set of notes to aid the preparation next time.

Ingredients

• 2 bananas, peeled and diced
• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2-3 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon elaichi powder
•  6-7cups quick cooking oats (that's all my bake-ware will hold in one shot)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 cup mixed nuts (I use almonds, walnuts, pistachios & cashews)
• 1/2 cup coconut powder

Procedure

1. Blend together the banana slices, chopped dates and honey. Dissolve the sugar in hot water & add it to the mix. Blend it all into a smooth puree.
2. Chop the nuts roughly either by hand or by pulsing on a mixer and put them in a large bowl.
3. Add the oats, raisins, coconut powder, elaichi and vanilla to the bowl and give a good mix.
4. Add in the banana-date puree and mix thoroughly so little lumps are formed here and there. 
5. Spread the granola on a large cookie sheet.
6. Bake in a 275 F oven for 1 hour. Take the sheet out once in every 15-20 mins and give the granola a good toss to prevent burnt edges.
7. Leave it in slightly longer if crunchier granola is desired.

The recommended serving size is 1/2 a cup of granola with 1 glass of milk at breakfast.The recipe makes about 20 servings. Or if you want to snack on it instead, feel free to do so :)