Arisi Upma - How to turn a BLAH dish into a WOW dish!

This recipe is for my friend Kamakshi..and she happens to be the blog's very first follower too! Thank you Kamakshi..here's your on demand recipe! Do try it out and let me know how it turns out!

This is a very simple, quick and easy Upma recipe. But, before I start - let me tell you this. A lot of people cook this and then pressure cook it the second time. I like it just pan cooked. Also, nobody adds cashews to this upma...I do. I'm crazy but I do like a little bit of cashews in all my upmas! It kids of make it so tasty and gives a rich kick to a simple dish! Kind of like the 15 mins of fame! Goes from a blah dish to a wow dish! Get it?

To make this upma, wash about 1 cups of rice and 1/4 cups of toor daal separately. Drain all the water and let it sit for about 30 mins.

 

Then, in a mixie or food processor, grind the daal first coarsely like this.

 

Now add the wet rice to this and then add 1 tsp of cumin, a few red chillies and 1/2 tsp of black pepper. Grind all of this together again coarsely.

 

This is the consistency we need. Not too fine. Not too lumpy.

 

In a wide pan, add about 1 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of ghee. Add mustard seeds and splutter. Then, add about 1/4 cup of cashews to this and roast it a little bit till they begin to brown.

 

Now, add the powdered mixture to the pan and roast for a min.

 

Add salt to taste. Add about 2 cups of water or enough to cover all the mixture and another 1/2 inch on top.

 

This much water. Now, cover the pan. Turn the stove to simmer and let this cook.

 

When all the water is gone, and the upma looks cooked, add another 1/2 tsp of ghee and mix well. You are done! How easy was that?!

 

This is the chutney that goes good with Arisi upma. This is raw coconut chutney - that means nothing in here needs to be cooked.

Just take a mixie bowl and add all of these -about 1/2 cup fresh or frozen coconut, 1 tbsp urad daal, 2 green chillies, about a small piece of tamarind, salt and water. Grind well to a chutney consistency. You are done! Perfect tangy chutney for the upma. You do have to cook just the tadka on top - splutter mustard seeds and add on top.

 

Here's the wonderful upma and coconut chutney!

 

This guy needs his close up shot published!

 

These are for pure obsession!

 

 

This is how my daughter loves to eat them. She calls them Rice balls. And eats it with sugar! I made a smiley face for her with the rice balls!

 

Enjoy! Peace out!

Upma Special -Veggie Rava Upma and Semiya Upma

Oh...what can I say about Upma? Its just Upma. Some like it. Some don't. I love it though. Especially when its full of veggies. 

My plan for dinner for the family was to make Rava Upma. Very excitedly, I cut all the veggies and was ready to make the upma and reallized I just had about 1 cup rava at home! That surely is not enough to feed 5 people! So, I peeked back into my pantry to look for Semiya and had a new pack full of it. And this day turned out to be a Upma Special day!  I used the same veggies and made it half Rava and half Semiya Upma. 

So, here's my adventure...(Oh... I need a life!)

This version of Upma does not have any onions. I love onions in Upma and always add it - but it was Saturday and my inlaws don't eat onions on saturday and hence I skipped it. 

To start with, chop all your veggies - I used ginger, green chilli, carrots, green beans, Peas, potato and tomatoes. You can also use other veggies as you prefer. Chop all veggies into small pieces. 

 

Before you start making the upma, heat up about 4-5 cups of water in a separate pan. 

In a wide pan, add about 2 tsp of oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters. Then, add 1 tsp of Urad daal and 1 tsp of Channa daal. Then, add a few leaves of karuvepilai (Kadi Patha). 

Now, add the chopped ginger and green chilli and fry well for a min. If you are adding onions, add them now - you can also add garlic. 

 

Add the tomatoes first and fry for a min. Then add all the veggies and fry for a couple of mins. Add salt and turmeric powder to the veggies just enough for the veggies.

Now, add the rava to the veggies and fry for a couple of mins.

 

 

When the rava and the veggies have roasted for a few mins, add the boiling water from the side directly on top of this. Watch out for the steam hitting your fingers! Add enough water to cover the rava in the pan and a little more. Add salt now to taste. Mix well and cover the upma to cook. Make sure that the stove is in medium. 

When most of the water has evaporated and cooked the upma, at this stage below, add a couple of tsp of ghee. This is what makes Rava Upma tasty...really tasty. And this will also ensure that the upma does not become hard when cooled down.

Keep cooking in low flame for a few mins. Some people like to keep it for a long time until the bottom of the upma starts to become crisp. That is the tastiest part. But, its totally upto you how you like it! Here it is almost done.

Now that we are done with Rava Upma, here's a quick tour of the Semiya Upma. It is the exact same method as above.

Fry the ginger, green chillies, tomatoes and veggies first. 

Then, add the semiya to the veggies and fry for a couple of mins.

 

Now, add the boiling water just enough to cover the semiya. Let it cook in medium flame. When almost done, add a couple of spoons of ghee. 

 

 

  

 Here it is almost done.

 

Serve Upmas hot with Coconut chutney.

 

 

Enjoy. Peace Out!