Veg Upma

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As a kid I never used to like upma. Not only that, when it comes to food, I am very picky. I realized my mom's difficulties to satiate me only when I became one :-) I learned to make this upma from my MIL who is a great cook. Now this is one of the most preferred breakfast in my family and am sure you will also like it.

  We have a variety of 'upma' served in India known by different names like khara bath, uppittu, uppindi chow chow bath (when kahara bath is paired with another dish called kesari bath) and so on and so forth depending which part of South India you are from.  I would like to say they are all the same but as it goes with Indian food a little variation by an addition or subtraction of a spice and you have a different dish.  Sometimes, I think thats about how cooking goes around the world.   



  The variety posted today is a fluffy soft version as against the slightly wetter one served in restaurants in Andhra and Karnataka.  We will make the other varieties and post them in time with the names given it by the state it hails from.   Apart from the spices the quantity of water that goes into this dish makes for the difference in consistency which accounts for the variations too.


Ingredients

Rawa/Semolina- 1cup
Oil- 2Tbsp
Carrot grated- 1Tbsp
Beans(cut into thin pieces)-1Tbsp
Ivy gourd(thin pieces)- 1Tbsp
Long beans/Pachappayar(thin pieces)-1 Tbsp
Shallots(sliced thin)-1 Tbsp
Ginger grated-1tsp
Green chillies(slit into 2)-2-3
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Grated coconut-1/3cup
Water-1+1/2 cup



Method

1.Dry roast the rawa till the raw smell goes.(I would do it for a couple of minutes more from that point)and spread it on a paper and let cool.
2.Heat oil in a deep pan and splutter the mustard seeds.
3.Throw in the cut veggies,green chillies and ginger into this and mix well.
4.Cover and cook this till the veggies become tender.Open the lid and stir after every 2-3 minutes.This may take 8 to 10mins.When it is almost done add curry leaves also.
5.Pour in the water and mix well.Add salt and grated coconut and allow to boil.
6.When it starts bubbling slowly add the roasted rawa (reduce the heat while you do this)and mix well.
7.Cover and cook for a couple of minutes on low heat.Mix well and serve.
8.You could save a Tbsp of coconut and add it after you mix in rawa and the fresh coconut gives a good twist to the taste.Serve warm with chips, banana,pickle of your choice,Black channa(kadala) curry or as it is.

Kaduku Manga Achar / Pickled Mango

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Kanji, payar and manga achar, (rice gruel, green grams sauteed and pickled mango) this used to be a traditional supper in most homes in Kerala. Thinking of mangoes make my mouth water and when its pickled even more.

Here is my attempt at making some pickle at home because the store bought ones are loaded with salt and whatever other preservatives you can think of. I hope you will enjoy this homemade pickle.



Ingredients:
Mango - 1 Large
Mustard - 1 Tspn
Ginger - 1 Tbspn chopped fine
Garlic - 1 Tbspn chopped fine
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Green Chili - 6 nos chopped
Fenugreek - 1/8 tspn
Asafoetida -1/4 tspn (add less if you don't like its flavor too much)
Salt - to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/8 tspn
Chili Powder - 2 Tbspn
Gingely oil-2 Tbspn
Vinegar-1/2 cup



Method:

There are many ways to pickle. One is to salt the mango and leave it in the refrigerator over night and then pickle it the next day. This is to soften the mangoes. However, I like them crispy so, cut them quite small and then do a tempering of all the ingredients and mix.

1. Clean and dry the mango
2. Cut them into small pieces, hopefully the picture is helpful to guage
3. Add 2 Tbspn of oil into a hot pan and splutter mustard
4. Keep adding each ingredient in the order of curry leaves, ginger, chili, garlic and then the powders sauteing after each addition
5. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar and switch the fire off
6. Once this mixture cools add it to the mango and check for salt
7. Let the salt be slightly on the higher side, because when the mango marinates in the mixture the salt and sourness of the mango will blend to taste good



Contributor: Sunitha

We will be back in a week !!

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We are restructuring and changing the theme, will be back ASAP.  Thanks for your patience and support !