Vegetable Rava/Sooji Upma

Upma is a very traditional South Indian breakfast dish.  Savor this dish with coconut chutney

Serves: 4 persons

Cooking time: 20 minutes                             Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups semolina/rava/sooji
• ½ cup chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies
• 5 curry leaves
• ¼ cup chopped carrots
• ¼ cup chopped beans
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon asafoetida
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable/Sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoon ghee
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Method

Cook the carrots and bean. See Cooking Vegetables

Roast the rava on medium heat in a frying pan until you get the light roasted smell. Don’t allow it to brown

Heat oil in frying pan; add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle

Add onions, ginger, curry leaves and green chilles and sauté until onions are tender

Add asafoetida and 4 cups of water. Allow it to reach boiling point

Turn the heat to low

Add salt, the cooked carrots and beans, and pour the rava slowly into the hot water, stirring constantly to avoid lumps

Keep stirring until cooked and thick; about 10 minutes. Add the ghee and lemon juice and stir for another 5 minutes. The more you stir the less mushy and gooey it will be. The more you stir, the rava absorbs the water and ghee coats the upma

Ghee enhances the flavor of the upma. This is another tricky dish if you have not made it before; experience helps you get the desired texture. Serve hot with coconut chutney