Upma

Upma is a south Indian tasty nutritious dish, but it is popular all over India, no matter where you are In India Upma is a hot favorite breakfast food. It can also be eaten as a snack or for Brunch, it so wholesome you can even make a meal of it. Upma is prepared with rava (sooji, cream of wheat) and very easy to make. When upma is being prepared at home, the aroma from the roasting of sooji Infuses in the air and makes one’s appetite stronger for breakfast or lunch. It is A no fuss dish and needs a very few ingredients and is sure a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

1    Cup cream of wheat (sooji, rava)
½    Cup of fine chopped onions
1     Cup green peas (Muttar)
1     Medium green chili – chopped
1    Tablespoon Urad dal
1    Tablespoon Chana dal
1     Teaspoon mustard seeds
1    Whole dry red chili – Break them into 2 pieces
1     Pinch of asafetida (Hing) or to your taste
6   Curry leaves
2   Tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ Teaspoon salt or to your taste
½ Cup plain yogurt (optional)
3 Cups of water
1   Tablespoon peanuts (optional)
1    Tablespoon broken cashews
1 Slice of Lemon (optional)

(Serving for four)

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Cream of wheat (Sooji / Rava)

Green Peas (Muttar)

Chopped onions

Chopped Green chilies

Curry leaves

Urad Dal

Chana Dal

Yogurt

Mustard seeds

Asafetida (Hing)

Whole dry chili

Broken Cashews

Peanuts

Lemon

Oil

Salt

Water

Directions:

1. Add both the Dal in a bowl and wash and rinse.

Mix Urad and Chana Dal

Wash Dal's well

2. Soak Urad Dal and Chana Dal in hot water. (in hot water Dal's get soaked
quickly)

3. Once Dal's are soaked drain the soaking water out and wash and rinse. Keep
them aside.

Soak Dal's in hot water

Dal's are soaked

4. In a cup add yogurt and water, with the spoon mix yogurt and water well.
Keep it aside.

In a cup add Yogurt

Add water in Yogurt & mix

5. Heat a frying pan on medium heat, add cream of wheat and add 2 Tablespoon
of oil and mix with Rava and roast it. (If you wish, roast cream of wheat
without oil) for 10 to 12 minutes or until it become light brown.

In a pan add Rava

Add oil in Rava

6.With a spatula stir frequently so that it does not burn from the bottom.

7. Once cream of wheat become light brown or desired color turn the heat off and
transfer the roasted cream of wheat in a bowl and keep it aside.

Mix oil with Rava & roast

Rava is roasted

8. In the same pan heat 2 tablespoons oil.

Roasted Rava

In a pan heat oil

9. Add Mustard seeds and Asafetida and fry them for 2 minutes or until they are
fried

Add Mustard seeds & Asafetida & fry

Mustard seeds are fried

10. First add Peanuts and sauté. Peanuts take little longer to fry.

11. Add broken cashews and sauté.

Add Peanuts and sauté

Add cashews & sauté

12. Add chana dal and urad dal and fry them for 2 minutes or until they become
light brown keep stirring frequently.

Add soaked Chana & Urad Dal & sauté

Dal's are sautéed

13. Add broken red chili pieces and sauté for ½ minute or until chilies becomes
brown.

14.Add curry leaves and sauté for few seconds.

Add broken chili pieces & sauté

Add curry leaves and sauté

15. Add chopped onions and sauté them for 5 to 6 minutes or until they become
soft and translucent.

All the ingredients are sautéed

Add chopped Onions

Sauté Onions

Onions are sautéed

16. Add green peas, chopped green chilies, ½ teaspoon salt and mix with all the
other ingredients.

Add Green peas & Green chilies

Add salt

17. Cover the pan and let the green peas cook on medium low heat for 8 to 10
minutes or until green peas become tender.

Mix Green peas well

Cover the pan and cook

18. Once the green peas are tender pour yogurt mixed water and constantly stir for
few minutes.

Green peas are cooked

Add yogurt mix water

19. Bring water to boil on medium low heat. You will see that yogurt is curdled ,
but once you add Rava it will be all right.

Mix Yogurt water with Green peas

Let the Yogurt water boil

20. Once yogurt water comes to a boil, lower the heat and add pour the roasted
Rava in a very slow stream with one hand and constantly stir the water with
the other hand. This incorporates the Rava well to the water without turning
lumpy.

21. Add rest of the salt and mix

Add roasted Rava & keep mixing

Add salt

21. Stir Rava well and check for any lumps, if any be cautious at the moment, as
it begins to splash.

Mix Rava with water well

Cover the pan and cook

22.  Once the water start boiling and cream of wheat start getting thick cover the
       pan and turn the heat to low and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, turn the stove off
       and let it sit for at least 7 to 8 minutes with the cover on.

23. Open the lid and fluff up Upma.

24.  When ready to serve squeeze the lemon juice over the upma and mix well
and serve with Tomato chutney and Mango pickle.

Upma is cooked

Squeeze Lemon and mix

Upma

Tomato chutney

Mango pickle

Tips:

1. Any other vegetables could be added to upma.

2. Instead of yogurt mix water you could add just plain water. Yogurt gives a
     little tart flavor.

3. Roast the cream of wheat to your preferred color light brown or dark brown.

4. Make sure to roast the rava otherwise umpa will become sticky.

5.  Roasted Rava gives earthy flavor and fine taste to the dish. So, do not
  forget to roast Rava in oil or Ghee first. And then proceed to make it.

6. The water quantity depends upon the consistency of upma you like. If you like
     your upma to be fluffy then add less water if you want lumpy and gooey then
     add little more water.

Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.

Thank you

Geeta Seth

Other recipes:

Uthappam with rava (Cream of wheat)                 Mathri (Crispy, salty crackers)

Sooji halwa (Cream of wheat halwa)                    Dosa

Sooji dokhla (Cream of wheat dokhla)                 Idli