Upma is a popular breakfast in maharashtra and south India
upma and poha are two breakfast dishes i make when i am in a hurry as they are quick to prepare with easily available ingredients.
I prepare it with the standard upma seasoning redolent with the fresh flavor of curry leaves and green chillis, and tomatoes being the main star ingredient.
the reason being i like a recipes made with tomatoes. the tang from the tomatoes uplifts the overall flavor in this upma which is tangy and spicy.
i have not added any veggie except tomato but you may add carrots,green peas,beans,corns etc in addition to tomato to enhance nutrition value
tomato upma is best served hot drizzled with a bit of ghee on top.
For variation i have added 1/4 tsp red chilli powder ,in case you are not using red chilli powder you can increase green/red chilli to 3 or 4 .also you can try adding 1 tbsp sambhar powder , bisi bele bath masala powder or vangi bath powder in this tomato upma.
Ingredients
•1 cups semolina (rava-medium size),
•2 1/2 to 3 cups water,
•2 chopped tomato
•1 onion chopped
•2 red/green chilies, 1 teaspoon(s) ginger chopped
•1/4 cup soaked and shelled peanuts or broken cashewnuts,
•2 tsp sugar,
•salt to taste,¼ tsp red chilli powder/lal mirch powder (can also add vangi bath powder or bisi bele bath powder)
•2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) /oil,
•2 tsp mustard seeds + 2 tsp split black gram (udid dal)+1 tbsp bengal gram (chana dal)
•1/2 teaspoon asafoetida,
•10-12 curry leaves,
•coconut and coriander leaves for garnishing.
Method:
1.Put 1 tsp ghee in a pan. Roast rava over medium heat till the color changes to golden brown and it gives out nice aroma. (for 10 to 15 minutes)
2.Keep water to boil in a pan
3.Heat ghee/oil in a pan.add hing. Add urad dal,bengal gram, mustard. As the dal turns reddish, alternatively, when the mustard seeds crackle, add asafoetida, chilies, curry leaves,chopped ginger and peanuts or cashewnuts. Fry for some time. Add tomato & chopped onion, & saute for 2 minutes.next add rawa & mix it well. Add salt and sugar and keep stirring
4.When the water comes to a boil, add water slowly mixing after each addition, to keep from forming lumps.. Remove the lumps, if any
5.Now cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add 2 tsp ghee and again sprinkle some water over the uppama to make it soft. Cover for a minute.squeeze 1 tspn lemon juice.
6.Garnish with coconut and coriander leaves. drizzle 1 tsp ghee on each bowl and serve hot with mango or chili pickle.
Tips and Variations:
1)corn kernals,green peas, chopped carrots, can be added for a different taste.
2)The proportion mentioned here is for medium size semolina. You may use coarse semolina. Then, for 2 cups of semolina, use 4 to 5 cups of water. For fine rava, reduce the amount of water to 3 cups.
3)Drizzle a little bit of ghee on top before serving.
4)Try garnishing with 'shev/sev' (fried noodles).
5)Ghee is very important to impart flavor to this dish. A combination of oil and ghee/butter can also be used.
