Rava Upma

One of the simplest & humblest south Indian breakfast ever! Hot rava upma with an array of chutneys, spicy sambar, couple of medhu vadai and a cup of hot & strong filter coffee to finish.. pure bliss.. the day can't start any better, could it?!

Arisi (Rice) Upma

Try this recipe of arisi upma and you are sure to get a flaky & flavorful upma, the kind of upma you've always wanted! This simple dish can be put up in a jiffy especially when you have the rice rava ready.

When it comes to arisi upma, my mom makes the best of the bestest! You might be one of those persons who gives a damn about upma(s). Try this recipe and I bet you will become an ardent fan of this humble dish. My mom's recipe has couple of secret ingredients & tips (have an eye for them in the recipe) to get such fluffy, rich & delicious upma.

Basic Info

Complexity - Medium

Prep time - 20 mins

Cook time - 30 mins

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1.25 cups

Milk - 1 cup (Secret Ingredient #1)

Fresh Coconut - 2 tbsp (grated / finely chopped)

Ginger - 1 inch (grated)

Salt - to taste

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Black peppercorns - 1/4 tsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Channa dal - 1/2 tsp

Red chillies - 2 nos

Green chillies - 2 nos

Curry leaves - Few

Coconut oil - about 2-3 tbsp for tempering (Secret Ingredient #2)

Method

Wash rice in cold water and drain the water immediately (do not soak). Spread the wet rice on a clean & dry cloth / kitchen paper towel for the excess water to be absorbed. Alternatively, you can also heat a pan (on medium) and transfer the wet rice into the pan and dry it (on very low heat) for about 1-2 mins. Do not leave it for too long otherwise rice might get roasted and texture/taste of the upma might be different.

Using a mixer, grind the rice into coarse powder like sooji/semolina. 

Tip #1 - Separate coarse rice rava from powdered rice rava using a fine sieve (If you miss this step, there are chances that upma might get gooey). Now, measure the coarse rice rava for about 1 cup and keep it ready.

In a deep pan, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard seeds, fry cumin seeds, hing & pepper corns, roast urad dal & channa dal until golden brown, finally add green chillies, red chillies & curry leaves and give it a stir.

Add 1 cup of milk & 3/4 cup of water and bring it to a boil (on low-medium heat). Now, add sifted/coarse rice rava, grated coconut, grated ginger and keep stirring until all the water evaporates and the mixture starts to thicken (Tip #2).

Now, transfer the mixture into a vessel & pressure cook for 2 whistles. Once the cooker cools down and is ready to open, transfer upma into a broad serving dish and fluff it up with a fork.

Serve hot with spicy chutney / pickle & enjoy!

Rava Kichadi

Rava kichadi is one of the easiest and quickest recipes that comes handy when you run out of ideas for morning / evening tiffin. This is very simple yet healthy recipe with a mix of saute'ed vegetables and can I say, a revised version of rava upma?

It tastes great when hot and served with chutney/pickle. Or if you are like me, just a tsp of sugar sprinkled on top can do the trick for you :-)

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 15 mins
Cook time - 20 mins
Serves - 4-6

Ingredients:
Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup
Water - 4 cups

Onion - 1 no, finely chopped

Ginger - 2 tsp, grated

Green chillies - 2 nos, slit vertically
Tomato - 1 no, finely chopped
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Potatoes  - 2 nos, small, finely chopped
Carrots - 2 nos, small, finely chopped
Beans - 10 nos, finely chopped
Peas - 1/4 cup

Salt - to taste

Ghee - 1 tbsp (optional)
Oil - 2-3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Channa dal - 1 tsp
Whole urid dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method

In a pan, roast rava/sooji until fragrant. Keep it aside.

In a deep pan, heat 2-3 tbsp of oil, splutter mustard seeds, fry channa dal & urid dal until golden brown. Add green chillies, curry leaves, ginger and saute for about 30 secs until fragrant. 

Add onions and saute until transparent. Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and saute until the tomatoes are completely cooked. Add chopped vegetables, salt and cook until the vegetables are soft. Next, add water and let it come to a rolling boil. Reduce heat, add roasted rava slowly, while stirring. Keep stirring so that rava doesn't form any lumps. Adjust salt, if required.

As soon as the rava expands and all the water is absorbed, remove from heat. Garnish with roasted cashews and serve hot with chutney/pickle of your choice.

Notes
- Kichadi might look little runny when super hot. Let it cool a little to get this gooey, scoop'able consistency.
- Ghee adds a nice flavor/fragrant to the recipe. However, you can skip it totally for vegan options.
- Sending this off to Made with Love Mondays!