Categories: Upma

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rava / Cream of wheat (Sooji / Upma Rava)
• 1 medium potato, chopped skin on
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp grated coconut
• small handful of cilantro, chopped
• salt
• 1-3/4 cups water
• 1/2 medium lemon
• for the tempering:
• 1 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• dash of hing/asafoetida
• 2 green chillies, seeded and sliced into rounds
• 1-1/2 tsp split bengal gram / chana dal
• 1-1/2 tsp split black gram /urad dal
• 8-10 curry leaves
• pinch of turmeric

Directions

1. In a medium kadai / heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat, dry roast the rava until fragrant or for about 10 -15 mins. Remove rava on to a plate and keep aside. Optionally, microwave rava spread on a microwave safe plate for about 2 mins at 1 min intervals.

2. Add oil to the same kadai /saucepan placed over high heat. When the oil is hot enough, add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, reduce heat to medium and add green chillies, hing, chana dal, urad dal, curry leaves and lastly turmeric in the same order. When the lentils turn golden brown, chillies show white spots, add onion and sauté until translucent.

3. Add potatoes, stir well and cook covered until potatoes are tender. To this, add peas, grated coconut and salt and stir well.

4. Add water and bring it to a boil.  Adjust salt if required now. When the water comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat to low and add roasted rava to the kadai stirring simultaneously to avoid lumps. Mash to get rid of lumps, if any and when no more lumps remain, simmer covered for 5-10 mins. Sprinkle grated carrots, squeeze lemon juice and stir to mix well.

5. Serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro with a side of pickle and/or yogurt.

6. How to make your own instant Upma mix at home:

7. 1 cup Rava / Cream of wheat (Sooji / Upma Rava)

8. 2 tsp peanut oil

9. 1 tsp mustard seeds

10. dash of hing/asafoetida

11. 2 red chillies, seeded and torn into 1/2" pieces

12. 1-1/2 tsp split bengal gram / chana dal

13. 1-1/2 tsp split black gram /urad dal

14. 8-10 curry leaves

15. pinch of turmeric

16. 1 tbsp desiccated coconut or grated dried coconut (Kobri)

17. 1 tbsp dried onion flakes (optional)

18. 1 tsp dried cilantro (optional)

19. salt

20. First roast the rava as explained above in “How it’s done”

21. Do the tempering in a kadai as explained in "How it’s done" with the listed ingredients here. Make sure that curry leaves turn crumbly crisp.

22. To this tempering, add roasted rava, salt and optionally dried onion flakes and dried cilantro and sauté for a few mins to mix well.

23. Remove on to a large plate and let cool. Store in an airtight container when cooled and use within 2-3 weeks.

24. How to use instant upma mix:

25. In a sauce pan, bring 1-3/4 times the water (e.g. 1 cup rava needs 1-3/4 cup water) to a boil. Reduce heat and add instant upma mix and cook along the lines of regular Upma.

26. Tips:

27. To hasten the cooking, you can optionally heat the water in a separate pot and keep ready instead of adding cold/room temperature water.

28. Rava can be pre-roasted in larger quantities and stores well in an airtight container for up to a couple of months at room temperature – saves time and makes upma easier.

29. Home made instant upma mix comes handy on short trips or tours for a quick fix meal

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