Upma is liked by some and disliked by many. During my school days, I remember when someone brings upma for lunch, they call upma as "concrete". And this name - "concrete" is still kept alive.
To make upma, a veggie delight, there are few secret ingredients that I have used to enhance its flavors. In this recipe, cashew nuts and ghee are treated as secret ingredient, because I liked the crunchiness of cashew nut and richness of ghee. The recipe is simple, but the flavors are bold and rich.
Ingredients
2 cups Semolina | Rava (Medium rava or Bhansi rava)
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Channa Dal
5 Cashew Nuts (optional)
1 small piece ginger, grated
4 Green Chilies, chopped
2 sprigs of Curry leaves
1 Onion, chopped
1 Carrot, cubed
1 Potato, cubed
1 Bell Pepper, cubed
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
3/4 tsp Coriander powder
4 tsp Ghee | Clarified Butter
4 sprigs of Cilantro
4 cups of water
Salt
Method
- Heat one tsp of ghee in a heavy bottom vessel. Roast semolina for 3 minutes. keep it aside.
- In the same pot, heat remaining 3 tsp ghee, add mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, channa dal, curry leaves, ginger, cashew nut (optional) and green chilies. Saute for few seconds
- Add Onions, carrot, potato and bell pepper. Saute until vegetables are completely cooked
- Add turmeric powder and coriander powder. Saute for a minute
- Add 4 cups of water and adjust salt as per taste. Bring it to boil. Turn to low heat setting
- Now slowly add roasted semolina and stir in one direction without forming lumps. Cover the pot and cook in low heat setting until water is completely absorbed
- Add cilantro. Serve hot
Tip--
- Different vegetables can be used like peas, egg pant, brinjal, tomato, beans or cabbage
- Towards the end, you can add some more ghee to enhance flavor
- Freshly grated coconut can also be added at the end
- Regular oil can be used instead of ghee
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