Rava Upma / Semolina Upma

To the few diligent readers of my blog, my apologies for posting so many upma recipes that are far too simple and basic for you! But upmas are such quintessential dishes in the South-Indian community, that in keeping with the main objective of this blog, I think they have to be recorded, however mundane they appear today. After this upma recipe, I promise to not post another upma recipe for a long long time!

Rava upma is considered as the mother of all upmas. It is the most common form of upma that features routinely in South-Indian families. It is often regarded as an easy quick-fix and a pre-evening "tiffin". 

Rava upma is commonly prepared with just onion, but I added broccoli along with onions. You can add any vegetable of your choice. 

Aloo Poha / Potato Aval Upma

Poha or aval is nothing but beaten rice flakes. Since rice is beaten into thin flakes, it cooks in no time and is a fantastic time saver when you are strapped for time and need to put a filling meal on the table. The versatility of poha lends itself to several kinds of dishes - from simple salads, snacks, main dishes, to desserts. And you can make the dishes as low-key or as fancy as you would like. 

Plain aval upma is usually put together with no vegetables. The rice flakes are soaked in hot water for a few minutes, during which time they plump and cook. They are then sauteed and stir-fried with some oil and mild spices, and that's it - an energizing meal is ready in minutes. Commonly, lemon juice or grated coconut or tamarind extract is added to make lemon aval, coconut aval or tamarind aval. By adding more vegetables and nuts, the upma is dressed up a little more, and is both more nutritious and appetizing! In this version, my mom adds lemon juice, coconut, and potatoes to make a flavorful upma!

It sounds like a carb-fest to add potatoes to rice flakes, but they go so well together, it's hard to resist! This is often called poor man's food, but don't let such titles trick you into not trying this simple, hearty meal. 

Godhuma Rava Upma / Cracked Wheat Upma

Cracked wheat is called Godhuma Rava. Since cracked wheat cooks easily, it is usually resorted for an easy dinner with simple and mild spices and grams. If vegetables are added, it is all the more nutritious, and results in an easy one-pot meal. 

I never liked cracked wheat when I was growing up. However, with time constraints and long days, anything that can be made within half an hour is an appealing choice for dinner or lunch!

Arisi Upma / Rice Upma

Arisi upma is a popular upma made with partially ground rice and lentils. It is seasoned with a classic mix of South-Indian spices and pulses that are simple and defining in terms of the flavor they impart. 

This upma can be made into pudi kozhakattais, wherein the partially cooked mixture is formed into dumplings and steamed as opposed to the whole mixture being steamed. 

Arisi upma is a very common weeknight dinner at most South-Indian homes. It goes very well with spicy side dishes such as sambar or chutneys. 

Quinoa Upma & Semiya Upma

Upma is an easy meal that's usually lightly seasoned with a few pulses and chillies and cooked with semolina, cracked wheat, beaten rice flakes (poha), vermicelli, bread pieces etc. Some vegetables can also be added for more nourishment. This is a very simple and wholesome one-pot meal in most Indian families.

Semiya (vermicelli) upma is similar to most other upmas. But this is my favorite kind. Here is the simple recipe for it.

Since my parents have also embraced quinoa, my mom has been using quinoa to make upmas. Good news is that the same ingredients and procedure can be used with a simple substitution - quinoa instead of vermicelli, cracked wheat, semolina etc.

Tapioca Upma

Tapioca upma is commonly known as Sabudana Kichidi in Maharashtra. Tapioca pearls are cooked and sauteed in a spice ground that mainly comprises of roasted peanuts and chillies to result in a warm, spicy meal. But when such dishes make their way to the south, hard bred people like me convert it into an Upma by adding familiar South-Indian spice blends to it.

So, this is another recipe that I took down from my mother-in-law and tweaked it generously to arrive at a Tamil variation of the Kichidi.

Ingredients (feeds four)

1. 4 cups of Tapioca pearls soaked in water for 8 hours. If you forget to soak it on time, worry not, just soak the pearls in lukewarm water for 4-5 hours.
2. ¾ cup of unsalted, shelled, peanuts
3. 5-6 dry red chillies (or green chillies if you prefer)
4. 1 medium onion, finely chopped
5. 1 teaspoon of brown mustard seeds
6. 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds / jeera
7. 1 teaspoon of Hing
8. 1 teaspoon of turmeric
9. 3 teaspoons of coriander seeds (dhania)
10. 1 teaspoon of bengal gram dhal / kadala paruppu / chana dhal
11. 1 teaspoon of Toor dhal / yellow or orange lentils / thuvaram paruppu
12. 1 teaspoon of urad dhal / spilt dehusked black gram / thuvaram paruppu
13. 2 tablespoons of oil
14. Salt to taste
15. Curry leaves and coriander leaves for granishing
16. The juice of half a lemon

Preparation

1. Dry roast the peanuts, coriander seeds, bengal gram dhal, toor dhal, urad dhal, red chillies and Hing.
2. Grind the roasted spices
3. In a pan, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add cumin seeds, pinched curry leaves, and turmeric and stir.
4. Let the diced onions join the party in the pan. Saute onion till it turns translucent. Stir on medium heat.
5. Next, add the drained tapioca (make sure to drain and squeeze out water, without mashing up the tapioca). Stir the tapioca to incorporate the onions (about 4 minutes)
6. Now add the ground spice powder (of peanuts and others) and stir well. Keep stirring the tapioca so that it blends with the spices and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
7. Add salt, and cook the tapioca for about 8 minutes (stirring often). When the tapioca pearls cook, they turn glossy and translucent.
8. Finally, switch off the heat. Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. I made the unforgivable sin of not stocking up on enough coriander leaves - so my upma was devoid of its lovely aroma.

Since Tapioca is high in starch, the upma will be a little sticky. The spices may seem excessive, but they are absolutely necessary to add some flavor to the otherwise bland and starchy Tapioca. This upma goes down well with some creamy, cooling yogurt that cuts the edge off of the spices.

Bread Upma

Bread Upma? What happened to Rava Upma, Semia Upma, and other upmas endorsed by and perfected by Meenakshi Ammal and the rest, you ask. Good question. Although it seems like I often stray away from the aforementioned project (and book), I have been diligently trying out her recipes. I have a huge backlog of recipes/stories/dishes to post, but they are a little involved and require the most elusive ingredient of all - time. And right now, too many things are going on. So I am utilizing my lunch break to type out the simpler posts.

Bread upma is basically a quick-fix. Every South-Indian resorts to this when a meal needs to materialize within 15 minutes. It doesn’t involve roasting the rava/semia/bread or time to properly cook it, and hence becomes a tad more easier to make.

Upma presents itself as an empty canvas. You can add your own spices, seasoning, and vegetables once you understand the fundamental formula. Actually, every dish is like that. Once you connect with the basic principles, you’ll find plenty of room to innovate and adapt. But the core remains the same. So, it’s essential that one understands and masters the core.

Ingredients

1. 7 slices of bread (any kind of bread. Whole wheat, multi-grained is a healthy choice). Remove the crust, and cut the bread into bite-sized pieces. 7 slices may seem like a lot, but bread reduces in size as it touches heat, oil, and the spices.
2. 1 medium-sized onion, finely diced
3. 2 tomatoes, diced
4. ½ cup of carrots
5. 1 cup of mixed vegetables, such as beans, corn, any other left over vegetable (I usually have a bag of mixed vegetables in the freezer for such quick fixes)
6. 2 green chillies, finely sliced
7. 1 teaspoon of finely diced ginger
8. 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
9. 1 teaspoon of jeera (cumin) seeds
10. 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
11. 1/4 teaspoon of Hing
12. 2 teaspoons of curry powder (any spicy powder of your choice)
13. 2 tablespoons of vegetable/olive oil
14. Salt to taste
15. Coriander leaves for garnishing
16. A slice of lemon for garnishing

Preparation

1. In a pan, heat the oil. When oil is heated, splutter the mustard seeds. Then add the cumin seeds, chillies, ginger, turmeric powder, and Hing, and saute a bit.
2. Next, add the onions and saute till it becomes translucent or golden brown. Some people don’t like their onions well roasted, so it depends on your choice.
3. Add the tomatoes and saute till it becomes soft.
4. Now dump all the remaining vegetables and stir them all together.
5. Add salt, and curry powder. Saute till the vegetables are evenly coated with the spices.
6. Pour ½ cup of water, close the lid on the pan, and wait for it to come to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, check whether the vegetables are cooked. Else, cook for a little while with the lid closed. Make sure all the water is evaporated. (The more finely chopped the vegetables, the faster they cook).
7. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the bread pieces. Reduce the heat to low, and gently mix the bread in the vegetable curry until all the pieces are evenly incorporated with the spices. The bread tends to soak up all the oil and turn mushy, so take care not to vigorously stir - you will then end up with bread paste. You may add a little more oil to fry/roast the bread before adding it to the vegetable mix. But I prefer to keep oil to a minimum.
8. Once the bread is mixed, turn off the heat. Garnish with a liberal bunch of cut coriander leaves, and the juice of half a lemon.
9. Serve with a side of spicy pickle or cooling yogurt.

Lemon juice actually spruces up all the flavors of a dish. I never used to add lemon juice at the end of most dishes, for I feared the dish would be overpowered by the intense lemon flavor. But, trust me, a small amount of lemon juice amplifies the flavors of the dish, and doesn’t stand out as being tart and lemony.