Upma

Having grown up in Sothern India, this is my daughters staple school lunch. She takes it at least once a week. This is common weekend breakfast for us as well. Even though this is super common in South India, folks in Kolkata are just picking this up. I got a call from one of my relatives asking about upma and hence I am writing this down.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sooji ( Cream of wheat )
• 2 tbsp. small dices of carrots
• 2 tbsp. thin slices of beans
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tbsp. chopped ginger
• 1 tsp. chopped green chilies
• 1 tsp. hing ( Asafetida )
• 1 tsp. urad dal
• 1 tsp. chana dal ( Bengal gram )
• 1/2 tsp. black mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 8 – 10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. oil

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with whole mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and chaana dal. Fry on low heat till they turn golden brown. Add chopped onion, ginger, green chilies and curry leaves to it. Sauté on low heat till the onion turns pink.

Add 2 cups of water and season it with salt and sugar. Stir well. When the water comes to a boil slowly add suji while whisking it continuously.

You will see the water is al absorbed by the suji in no time. Turn off the heat and keep it covered for another 2-3 minutes.

Serve with thick coconut chutney.