Upma Recipe/ How To Make Upma

Uppuma or Upma is a South Indian Breakfast that is very popular. It is also known as Uppitu or Sajjige in Mangalore. Practically all households make it every week because it is so easy to make. However, we did not like it at all. We hated Monday mornings as that was the weekly menu. My Mum tried her best to enticed us and failed miserably. No matter what she did, it was never our favourite food. You can imagine my chagrin when my husband told me it was one of his !!! As I grew older and got married and established my own kitchen, I started making it too. And now I quite like it.

The Recipe:

A courser kind of semolina or sooji is used to make this. It is called Bombay Rava and is double roasted to ensure a lovely, grainy, nonsticky texture. Semolina or sooji is made from wheat and cooks very quickly. Believe it or not, we actually ate it with banana and sugar, the only way we could tolerate it!

The Ingredients:

1 cup double roasted Bombay Rava; 1/4 cup frozen peas; 1/4 cup frozen corn; 1/4 tsp mustard; 1 tbsp oil; 1 sprig curry leaves; 1 medium onion, sliced fine; 2 large cloves garlic, crushed; 1/4 inch ginger. crushed; salt to taste; 2 tbsp broken cashew nuts; 2 green chillies, slit in half.

The Method:

Heat the oil in a large wok. Lower heat to medium and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the curry leaves and stir fry a minute. Throw in the chilies and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add onions and cook till glazed. Next, add the crushed ginger and garlic and cook till the raw smell goes. Throw in some cashew nuts and stir fry to a golden brown followed by the frozen peas and corn and cook till done. They will cook in their own water and this takes about 3 minutes. Add the Bombay Rava and the water and mix well. Increase heat to high and as soon as the mixture begins to boil switch off the heat. Cover and keep for 5 to 7 minutes. Gently fluff with a fork before serving with coconut chutney, sambhar, or dhal or even with some scrambled eggs.

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