Upma

Can you smell the spices just LOOKING at this? I can. 

Part two of the two-part series of favorite south Indian brunch foods brings us another traditional goodie: upma. This is one of my go-to dishes when people come over for brunch. They always look at it with skepticism and end up loving it (or at least they tell me they do, and they usually have seconds). It's just semolina, cooked and seasoned into a mush of spicy complexity that works for any meal of the day.

A good day in the garden.

In the middle of winter, this dish works pretty well with frozen peas and carrots. But on this day, I had collected tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, a chili pepper, garlic, and shallots from the garden. So that's what went into the upma. And oh my, it was delicious.

I've made upma many times without the urad dal. In that case, it looks and feels more like couscous when it's done. The urad dal causes it to be more creamy and risotto-like, not to mention healthier. I'll be making it this way from now on.

I used to make upma from a box of upma mix. But then one fateful day, there was no upma mix at the Asian market, and so I bought plain semolina instead. And it's way better that way.

The Recipe:

1 lb semolina

1 red onion, chopped (or a couple of shallots)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tb ginger root, chopped

1 hot chili, chopped (or chili paste)

2 cups vegetables (I recommend tomato and potato plus whatever else looks good)

1/2 c urad dal

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

salt to taste

Serve with: chopped cilantro, plain yogurt, toasted mustard seeds, Indian pickle

• Toast the semolina in a dry pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it is light brown. Set aside.
• Cook onion, garlic, ginger, and chili over medium-high heat until onion softens
• Add spices and stir for 30 seconds until your kitchen smells amazing
• Add other vegetables and urad dal and stir for 1-2 minutes
• Add 4 cups of water, cover, and cook 20-30 minutes until urad dal is cooked. Add more water along the way if necessary.
• When urad dal is cooked, make sure your mixture is still plenty wet - see photo below. Add more water and heat through as needed. 
• Add the toasted semolina, stir, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit about 3 minutes until semolina is soft. (If it's too dry to hydrate all of the semolina, add more hot water. If the semolina is softened and it's too wet, turn back on the heat and stir until the extra water evaporates. It's hard to mess this one up.)
• Top with chopped cilantro and mustard seeds, and serve with plain yogurt and Indian pickle.

It should be this wet before adding the semolina.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A+

Overall reason: I find this addictive like pizza or movie popcorn, but it's actually healthy!

Time to prepare: 1 hour

Husband quote: "Spicy! Good."