In Marathi, my mother tongue we call this dish ”Uppit” and in the south of India its called Upma.
It’s a fluffy cooked breakfast made of roasted semolina and spices and can be customized by adding green peas and small carrot bits. I love eating this steaming hot garnished with a generous sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander and some finely grated fresh coconut – umm perfection, can almost feel a strong waft of the aroma swirl around my nose as I sit here and type the recipe 😉
After Kande Pohe this has to be my number one favourite Indian breakfast option. Agreed there’s a lot of ingredients but there’s a lot of flavour too!
In the Matunga area, there are many good Udipi restaurants who do upma on their breakfast menu and it’s so good gobbling fresh hot upma and dowing a cuppa or tow of hot filter coffee before getting to work on a busy weekday morning in Mumbai city. It’s very filling and budget-friendly too:) All you need is some time before rushing for the daily commute to ensure you can squeeze yourself into the restaurant and sit on one of the long wooden benches with complete strangers and hope to God you don’t have coriander stuck in between your front teeth if they smile at you 😉
Upma/Uppit (उप्पीट)- a classic Indian breakfast recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rava approx 100 grams
- 1/2 tsp urid dal
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- A pinch of asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 heaped tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder actually 1/2 a tsp for the ones who do not like their Indian food too spicy
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 green chillies chopped fine
- 5-6 fresh curry leaves
- 2 pods of garlic chopped fine or simply smash them and drop in the saucepan with skin on!
- 1/2 red onion finely chopped
- 1/4 th of a juicy red tomato
- Salt as per taste
- Juice of a quarter lime
- A pinch of sugar
- Fresh coriander to garnish
- Fine grated fresh coconut
Instructions
- I usually roast the whole packet of 1 kilo of semolina I buy on a flat pan on a very low flame stirring constantly and then allow it to cool down completely.
- Then store the roasted semolina in tins ready to use when I need to make this dish or the sweet version called Gooda Sheera/ Sooji Halwa which is a popular Maharashtrian sweet dish and especially important during festivals as we serve it as Prasad to Lord Ganesh or during Satyanarayan Pooja
- In a saucepan add the oil and as it starts to heat, add the asafoetida, mustard cumin seeds and urid dal. The urid dal brown very quickly so stir this around a bit
- When the mustard seeds begin to pop add the curry leaves, green chillies and garlic and chopped red onion.
- When the garlic begins to turn a toasty brown and the onion reduces add the tomato and give this mixture a proper stir
- Now add the turmeric, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well
- Then add double the amount of water as compared to the quantity of rava/semolina, cover the saucepan with a lid and let the water come to a boil
- If you wish to add green peas and carrots finely chopped for an extra burst of taste do it just when the water begins to boil and let it cook in the hot water
- Now slowly stir in the semolina ensuring that it does not form lumps
- Add the juice of a quarter of a lime, sprinkle a pinch of sugar
- Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook on a low flame for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent lumps forming or the mixture becoming too dry, if it is very lumpy sprinkle water and mix well
- Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander and freshly grated coconut.
I am just beginning to experiment with photos taken using my new 50mm f1.8 Canon lens – A’s gift to me for my birthday this year, I quite like the steady pattern of gifts coming in, starting with my first DSLR for my birthday last year. Just need to figure ways to wiggle out other gifts *evil laugh follows* 😉
