Bread Upma

Dear foodies,

Weekday mornings are a rush to get out of the house with breakfast being a speed bump in the process. Weekends on the other hand are days when I relax and cook a leisurely breakfast which more often that not ends up being brunch if we are lucky or a very late lunch. The food typically served for breakfast/tiffin in India are some of  my all time favorite foods. Indians detest sweet things first thing in the morning have come up with a myriad choice of delectable savory foods to kick start the day. A variety of dosa's, idli, upma, puri and all the condiments that go with each one of them are fabulous examples of Indian home cooking. Tiffin is the colloquial name given to these meals - a light meal that could be perfect for breakfast or a mid-day snack. 

Upma, for those unfamiliar with the dish, is a savory porridge made from Semolina/Rava/Sooji. The word upma/uppindi (Tamil/Telugu) comes from: uppu -salt, maavu/pindi - flour, combining to mean seasoned flour. But don't be fooled by its humble name, made well it could be an explosion of flavors & textures. This is also the famed dish that got Floyd Cardoz his final win on Top Chef Masters! Upma is traditionally a breakfast item and has as many variations are there are cooks. It can be made rich & divine by cooking it with ghee and toasted cashews (jeedipappu upma) or made healthy & colorful with seasonal vegetables. Wrapped inside a pesarattu (green lentil dosa) it's bound to make you take long nap :)

Upma begins with the rava/semolina lightly toasted in a pan and reserved. Ghee/oil is then seasoned with mild spices, veggies of choice and water are added and the whole thing is brought to a rolling boil. Rava is then slowly streamed into the seasoned water and allowed to steam for a few minutes. Served with a tiny dollop of ghee this is divine! This basic recipe evolved and transformed into many delectable variations that use ground whole wheat (dalia), vermicelli, noodles, poha (flattenned rice), oats, tapioca pearls/sago, bread and even left over idli's. There might well be other variations that I'm not aware of.

At home, my mom is the go-to person for all things upma, well all things food! But bread upma, as far as I remember has been my Dad's domain (I know I'm going to hear about this). This is probably one of the few dishes I've seen him help out with consistently over the years. He came up with this neat technique to transform dry, stale bread into tender, flavorful chunks by sprinkling buttermilk over the bread cubes. It instantaneously gives it tang, very much like sourdough and makes the bread tender and moist again. And once you have buttermilk as the vehicle you can enhance the flavor with a dash of chilli powder, some turmeric for color, a few pinches of tandoori masala/garam masala or any other spice mix of choice. So if you have stale bread lying around this is the perfect way to use it up.

Bread Upma

Prep Time - 15mins
Cook time - 20mins

Servings - 3

• 10-12 slices - day old bread slices (any kind would work)
• 1/4 cup - Yogurt/Curd, homemade or store-bought 
• 1/2 cup - Water
• a pinch of Turmeric
• 1/4 tsp - Red Chilli powder (optional)
• 1/4 tsp - Garam Masala/Tandoori Masala/Sambar Powder/Coriander Powder (optional)
• Salt to taste

• 1" round of Ginger, thinly sliced or grated
• 1/2 cup - Onions, sliced
• 3/4 cup - Tomatoes, cubed
• 1-2 - Green chiles, slit or 1/2 tsp - Red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp - Garam Masala/Tandoori Masala (optional)
• 1/8 tsp - Turmeric
• pinch of Asafoetida/Hing
• 1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp - Urad/Channa dal
• 6-8 - Curry leaves
• 2 Tbsp - Oil

Method:

1. Prepare your vegetables first, have everything sliced and ready to go. In a bowl whisk together yogurt, water and seasonings. Spread bread cubes on a wide platter and sprinkle the seasoned buttermilk as evenly as possible over all them. You don't want them to be entirely soaked in buttermilk but just barely moist, so use as much or little as needed.
2. Heat oil in a wide, shallow pan and add mustard seeds, cumin and dals. Once the seeds begin to splutter, add turmeric powder, hing, onions, curry leaves, ginger and slit green chillies. Sprinkle some salt on the onions and cook until they are softened slightly.
3. Add cubed tomatoes and cook until they begin to fall apart and become mushy. Add the spice powders next, if using.
4. Carefully stir in bread cubes, coating them with the onion-tomato gravy without breaking them up. Increase heat to medium high and spread them out in a uniform layer so they can cook and char around the edges a bit. Cook undisturbed for 2-3 mins and then carefully stir so the other side chars as well. This is crucial step that adds needed texture to the otherwise mushy center of the bread cubes.
5. Finally garnish with cilantro and serve hot with some tomato ketchup & lime/lemon wedges on the side.

This is a quick, filling breakfast to make and that will leave you with more time devour weekend newspapers and channel surf. Its a great way to use up stale bread lying around on the kitchen counter as well so you can stock up again for the week ahead. Fresh green peas are in season now and they would be great in this upma, and so would grated carrots or roasted peanuts.

Citrus fruit & Berrries are back in season again!

On another note, my camera gave up on me last week! :( An Err99 message showed up and after much anguish we found out that the shutter needs to be replaced. I am planning to upgrade to another camera instead of investing more on the old one (Rebel XSi). I am leaning towards a Canon T3i/600D but haven't decided yet, any inputs/tips/advice ?

Sabudana Upma/Kichidi

Dear Foodies,

I've talked a lot about upma's here - wheat rava/dalia, beaten rice/atukulu, bambino and even maggi upma style have found a cozy spot. So here is yet another yummy tiffin item to add to that list, Sabudana/Sago Upma.

Upma's are mostly sought out when you need something quick, healthy and nutritious on the plate. I usually make them when I don't have any veggies at home, atleast not the quantity that can serve as a stand alone dish. The odd carrot, capsicum, beans, peas or a few handfuls of greens dutifully find their way into the upma. It helps perk up the upma, making it more satisfying and closer to a whole meal. Sabudana upma though, stands out from the group in a few aspects. This upma doesn't exactly fit into the 'fast-food' tag. It needs a few hours of prep time and so cannot be whipped up in the last minute like the rest. Its also not derived from a grain like the rest, but is actually made from the starch extracted from a root vegetable called cassava, read more about it here. The tapioca flour is also used as a egg substitutes in a few recipes due to its starch content.

The pearls can be used in making delicious payasams and puddings or in savory dishes like vada/cutlet and this upma. My mom also makes yummy sundried goodies called javvarsi vadiyalu with these. A couple of weeks a year would be dedicated to making an assortment of papads and vadiyam to last through the year. It was soo much fun! Cooked with ground green chillies, cumin seeds & salt, we spooned them out onto huge sheets of plastic during the summer months to dry. We would then have a scrumptious supply of treats for the rest of the year. I also love the ones stored in the stores, they are round and colored with food colors. We made a few of these at home using bottle lids to act as moulds for the round shape.

Sago upma is just as easy to make but with one tricky step, the soaking of the sago pearls. Its the difference between a good upma and a chewy, gummy, unpalatable mess! I've made that too, more than once! And its impossible to salvage the dish once that happens. It turns into such a gooey, gummy mess that you might loose your teeth trying to chew on it. It sticks to everything, infact it might make a good industrial glue base I think!

I've tried a few methods for soaking and finally found the one that works the best for me (touchwood :P). Wash and drain the sago pearls thoroughly, like you would rice, in 2-3 changes of water. Just as in the case of rice, washing wipes out a little of the starchy overcoat, which helps in keeping the grains fluffier & separated when cooked. Spread them out in a wide dish and sprinkle a few handfuls of water on top, so that they are barely moist but NOT swimming in water. Let it sit overnight. The next morning use your hand to break any clumps and you should have a pretty bunch of pure white pearls waiting to be made into a delicious upma. Be sure to buy a fresh stock of these by checking the packaging date. They do store well in the pantry but batches that are more than 8-10 months old will ruin the upma no matter how well you soak it.

anti-clockwise from top left - sabudana pearls left for soaking, after soaking overnight, added to the sauted onions.

Sabudana/Sago Upma
(2 medium servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - Sabudana, before soaking
• 1/4 cup - Peanuts
• 1/2 cup - Onions, diced
• 2 -3 nos - Green chillies, slit lengthwise
• 1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds/Jeera
• 1 tsp - Channa dal
• a pinch of hing/asafoetida
• 1 Tbsp - Oil
• 4-5 - Curry leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste
• optional - 1 medium potato, diced and boiled in salted water

Method:

1. Wash, drain and soak the sabudana as mentioned above. They will plump up a bit, run your hand through them and break any clumps.
2. Heat oil in a skillet and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once they begin to pop add the chana dal, as it starts to change color add green chillies, curry leaves and a pinch of hing.
3. Add the onions next and saute till they turn translucent. In the meantime, dry roast the peanuts, cool and coarsely grind them. A few pulses in the blender will do, the coarse bits add the needed crunch to the upma while the finer ones soak up the moisture and keep the upma dry. (If using cubed potatoes, add them now and saute for a couple of minutes)
4. Add the sago pearls and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the peanut powder & salt, stir carefully and cook for a few more minutes. The pearls are initially white and opaque, but turn slightly translucent as they cook. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and allow it to rest for 5 mins. Serve with a dollop of yogurt on the side.

I love peanuts, and...I love this upma :D This is one of my favorite weekend brunches, if I remember to soak the sabudana the previous night that is :) Its fun to eat this upma, the sago is slightly chewy and the peanuts crunchy, giving this dish a perfect balance of textures. Its a very simple dish with just two main components apart from the tadka/seasoning. Once you have the pre-soaked sabudana it hardly takes more than 15-20 mins to put the dish together. I bought some organic, roasted peanuts (unsalted) from the bulk bins of my local store and that shortened the prep time even more. If roasting them, make extra and store them for later use.

Bambino or vermicelli..!

Dear foodies,

I din't know bambino wasn't the name of the product but just the brand name until a few years back. Just like how maggi == noodles until I discovered Italian cuisine :P and LG== hing/asafoetida! I started taking notice of the word vermicelli on the pack only after I came here I think...hmm, until then it was just a word in the jingle. How many of you thought the same ? (please don't single me out) But well, whats in a name, its the taste that matters. I absolutely love
bambino
...err vermicelli upma, its such a simple and tasty breakfast/tiffin item and ...its quick! It is one of my favorite lunch box dishes too, just as good served cold and I like it with a sprinkling of sugar on top, no, not the powdered sugar we usually find here, but the granular kind that lends a nice crunch.

So if you need a breakfast idea or even a evening tiffin for this weekend, here's one

another day, another version...

Ingredients :

• 1 cup - Vermicelli
• 1/2 cup - Peas and diced Carrots (I used frozen)
• 1/4 cup - sliced Onions
• 2 nos - Green chillies, slit through
• 1 nos - broken Red chilli (optional)
• 1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds/jeera
• 10-12 - Peanuts (can be substituted with cashews)
• 1 tsp - Chana dal
• 4-5 Curry leaves
• 2 tsp - Oil
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp - lime juice or lime wedges for garnish and coriander leaves (optional)
• 1 3/4 cups - water

Method:

1. I like to roast the vermicelli a little even if its the pre-roasted kind. Heat a pan with 1 tsp of oil, on medium heat. Roast the vermicelli until it turns a light brown color, stirring regularly to avoid burning them. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Add the rest of the oil to the pan, splutter the mustard and cumin seeds, roast the peanuts and then add the chana dal, once they turn a deep orange, the red & green chillies, curry leaves go in.
3. Next add the onions and saute until they soften and turn translucent. The frozen (or fresh) peas and carrots go in next, saute them for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, microwave 1 3/4 cups of water and add it to the veggies along with salt.
4. When the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat a bit, add the vermicelli, stir to avoid lumps. Cover and cook for 5-6mins until they soak up the water and soften.
5. Take off the heat and add the lime juice or serve the wedges on the side. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with a sprinkling of sugar and some pickle.

I made this for a late brunch one weekend and had it with fresh cut-mango pickle my mom had made when she was here. Sometimes I skip the pickles and sprinkle some karapodi/idlipodi on top and some yogurt too on the side. When I was in school, my mother would make a tiny potlam/pouch of sugar for me to add right before I had it for lunch, cos the
bambino
vermicelli upma would still be warm when she packs it in the morning and the sugar would dissolve if added right then, pampered... yes! :D You can substitute the peas with edamame or lima beans, other veggie options could be corn, diced green beans, capsicum, tomatoes, boiled and cubed potatoes Or just skip them all together :D Whats your twist to this recipe ?

Happy Friday!
(and hattrick for me, yayyy!)

Upma with wheat rava

Dear foodies,

I might have mentioned it before, but I always disliked upma made from the semolina rava, the normal rava upma. I don't know why. My mom would make maggi for me whenever she was making this for tiffin or dinner. But I would eat upma made from broken/cracked wheat aka , wheat rava and I also loved bambino and poha upma, the semolina rava was the only one detested.

But even that changed after I came to the US. My roomie Pari, loves upma and she made it quite a few times for us. The first time she made it, I was kinda uncomfortable to say I did not like it and make something else for myself, well, who wants to cook when its not your cooking turn :P. But after I tasted it, things changed. It tasted great and I even learnt her method for cooking it ( I did not take the recipe from my mother before coming here thinking I would never ever make it :D). Since then I have had bowlfuls of her upma and even started making some for myself after we moved out.

But hey, we were talking about the wheat rava upma here, lets not steal its thunder. Wheat rava, or broken wheat is rich in carbohydrates and fiber and less refined when compared to semolina rava. The way its sold in the market, the grains are a little coarse and when cooked they fluff up quite a bit. It could easily be served for a light dinner as opposed to being just a tiffin item. I posted a recipe that my mom sent to me earlier...err 2yrs back, that was in August too! Its been a loooong time since I started this blog then!!


I made this upma a few weeks back. I totally miscalculated the amount though. I used 2-21/2 cups of rava, and ended up with 1/2 a huge cooker full of it. I had it for countless meals before having to throw away a tiny portion cos I could not take it any longer!

Here is the recipe to make the upma, my additions to this were

• 1/2 cup - Edamame, shelled soybean or substitute with peas/lima beans/tuvar lilva/chickpeas
• 1 ea - golden beetroot and kohlrabi (only because I had them, you can use other vegetables like carrots, potatoes, tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup - thawed, frozen spinach
• 1 tsp - chopped ginger

I used lesser oil (1 Tbsp) and used the cooker just like my mother shows in her recipe. After turning off the heat, fluff up the upma with a fork or spoon and serve warm. I had mine with fresh cut-mango pickle and curds, sprinkled some idli podi. This upma is really flavorful and hearty, with the rava having a nice texture. If you haven't tried this yet I recommend that you do. The options are endless and you can spice it up anyway you like with the vegetables in your pantry. You could also add peanuts or cashews to it.

A couple of days after Suganya posted her fiercely red tomato soup, I bought a few vine ripe tomatoes and made it at home. My intention was to have it last for a couple of dinners, but I found myself having two cups of it for dinner that night and the rest for lunch the next day! It was super delicious and damn easy to make. Its the most perfect tomato soup I've had. If you don't believe me, give it a try and you will know :D I topped it with some grated beets and it was really yummy.

Hope this Monday is treating you right? and hey, did you guys watch the Olympics opening ceremony on the 8th, wasn't it just fabulous ?

Wheat Rava Khichdi/Dahlia Upma

Dear Foodies,

My mother's entry to Pavani's WBB # 4 event this fortnight
and also to Anthony's Curry Mela :-)
( This pic is a bit blurred, will try putting up a better one soon)

Here comes another wonderful tiffin recipe from my mother. Its a really healthy and very tasty breakfast recipe. Though the recipe is very similar to the usual upma recipe, the taste is distinctly unique. I for one have always hated the normal upma made from rava/sooji. Whenever my mother made it, she had to make something else for me or I would'nt eat. But this was restricted to rava upma alone,I just love this wheat rava khichdi.

I have'nt tried making this upma here, and when my mother sent me the recipe with the pictures, I knew it had to be sent to the WBB event. So here goes the recipe for wheat rava 'Khichdi',

Wheat rava khichdi(Dahlia)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups - Wheat rava (dahlia)

• 1 nos - Onion, sliced

• 1 nos - carrot, julienned/grated
  

• 5 nos - Green chilles, slit across the length

• 2 nos - Red chillies

• 1 sprig - Curry leaves

• 4 Tbsp - Oil

• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds and Channa Dal
  

• Salt to taste

• Coriander leaves for garnish
  

Procedure:

1. In a pan/cooker, heat the oil, and let the mustard seeds splutter, then add the channa dal, chillies, curry leaves and onions. Saute till the onions turn transparent.
   
2. Add the carrots, saute for a while and add 6 cups of water (rava-water ratio is 1:2).
   
3. As the water begins to boil, add the salt and then slowly stir in the Rava, avoiding any lumps.
4. Steam cook the upma for 5-8 mins if using the cooker or cover the pan with a lid and cook for the same amount of time.
   
5. Garnish with coriander and serve hot :-) I just love it with some ginger or tomato pickle and thick curd ;-)
   

Notes:

• You can add vegetables of your liking to the upma. Eg: peas, tomato, potato.

Here is another variation (with better photos).

Atukulu Upma/ Rice Flakes Savoury

Dear Foodies,

My Entry to Nandita's Weekend Breakfast Blogging-2

Atukula upma or Poha upma is one of my favourite breakfasts. Its very easy to make and not time consuming at all too, you can get it ready in around 20 mins from scratch. This is my own version of how I think my mom makes it :-). Everyone has their own subtle varaitions to this recipe I guess.
Atukulu are also very flexible in the way that they adapt to the major ingredient in the recipe. I've heard of Poha being used instead of rice in Pulihora, Curd Rice, Tomato baath, Aloo baath. Well I guess its just upto your mood and taste where you want to use them, so go on and experiment :-)


Ingredients:

• 2 cups - Atukulu/thick Rice flakes

• 1 nos - Onion, finely chopped

• 2 Tbsp - Peanuts

• 1 tsp - Urad dal

• 1 tsp - Channa dal

• 1 tsp - Mustrad seeds

• 1 tsp - Cumin seeds/Jeera

• 1 tsp - Turmeric powder

• 2 tsp - Chilli powder/ 2 green chillies, finely chopped

• 1 pinch - Asafoetida/Hing

• 1 sprig - Curry leaves

• 2 Tbsp - Oil

• 2 Tbsp- Lime juice

• Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Wash the atukulu in 2-3 changes of water, drain and let it sit for 5-8 mins. You can chop the onions in the mean time.
2. Now take the atukulu in handfuls and squeeze the water out of them. But be careful to not crumble them out of shape. Just take a little in your fist and squeeze out as much water as you can. You will know that the water is out when the atukulu are still flaky without lumps in them. The time that you soak them in water also affects their flakiness.
3. Heat oil in the wide pan and toss in the peanuts and roast them till they start opening up. Add the mustard and cumin seeds, once the mustard seeds start spluttering add the urad dal and channa dal. As they turn a slight red color add the curry leaves and hing.
4. Add the chopped onions and turmeric powder and saute till the onions turn translucent.
5. If you are using green chillies add them along with the onions, else add the chilli powder just before the Poha is added.
6. Toss in the poha, salt and mix lightly trying to keep the poha intact. Cover with a lid and let it stay on low heat for a couple of minutes so the spices get absorbed into the poha.
7. Turn off the heat , add lemon juice and toss well.