Ingredients
- 1 cup semolina (rava/sooji)
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 small red onion
- 1 small leek
- ½ inch piece ginger
- 3 – 4 dried red chilies
- 1 strand curry leaves
- Few cashew nuts broken into small pieces (optional)
- 2 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 cup boiling water
Method
- Roast semolina in a kadai for about 10 minutes in a very low flame (stir continuously to make sure semolina does not get burned or become golden)
- After roasting, leave the semolina on a tray to cool
- Slit the carrot lengthwise and then chop them into thin slices. Chop onion into very small pieces. Also slice the leek into very thin pieces
- In the same vessel, add oil and add mustard seeds
- When the mustard seed start splattering add onion and carrots and fry until the onion start turning light brown on the edges
- Add leek, cashew nuts and fry for another 3 – 4 minutes
- Add ginger, dried red chilies, curry leaves and fry for another two minutes
- Add roasted semolina, salt and fry for about 3 – 4 minutes
- Add boiling water little at a time and stir the semolina mixture continuously with a wooden spoon
- Close the vessel with a lid and leave it on a very low flame for about one or two minutes and then stir well
- Serve with any pickle, coconut sambol or any gray (tomato gravy goes best with this)
Note: To make the Upma spicier, you can add a little bit chili powder just before adding the semolina to the vegetable mix.
Yields: 2 – 3 servings as main dish
