Recipe Text
Ingredients:
- Semolina – 100gms (1 Small Glass)
- Water – 3 Small Glasses (For every one cup of semolina take 3 cups of water)
- Fenugreek Seeds – 5 Seeds
- Black Gram – 1 1/2tsps
- Mustard Seeds – 3/4tsp
- Cumin Seeds – 1/2tsp
- Curry Leaves – Few
- Green Chilies – 9
- Ginger – Small Piece
- Cashew Nuts – 2tbsps
- Ghee – 2tsps
- Salt to Taste
- Lemon Juice – 2tbsps
- Oil – 8tsps
Wash & clean ginger, green chilies and grind them to a coarse paste in a mixer grinder. Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add the cashew nut pieces and fry them. Fry the nuts till they turn golden in color and keep them aside.
Method:
Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add fenugreek seeds and black gram. Fry till the seeds start changing color. Then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry till the seeds splutter. Then add curry leaves and ground ginger-chili paste. Fry well. Now add water and salt. Mix well. When the water starts boiling lower the flame and add the ghee. Then add semolina little by little and mix. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and mix the upma well. Switch off the flame and add fried cashew nut pieces and lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot.
Points to Notice:
Take care while adding semolina to the boiling water. Add very little quantity of semolina and mix with a spoon. As there is more water compared to the semolina we have added, it will get mixed immediately. Then add some more semolina and mix. Like this finish off the semolina which has been taken. If one follows the above procedure there won’t be any lumps. If you add all the semolina at once, then it forms into a big lump and will not get mixed with the water.
Adding right amount of salt brings the perfect taste to the dish. After adding salt taste the water and check it. It is better to add salt at this level which gets mixed well with the water. If you add salt after the upma preparation is over, it will not get mixed well and spoils the taste.
Variations:
To avoid lump formation one can dry roast the semolina before adding it to the boiling water.
Some prepare upma the following way:
Take water in a bowl and let it boil. Simultaneously prepare the seasoning on another stove. After frying the seasonings add the semolina, ghee & salt and fry well. Now add the boiling water to the mixture and mix well. Add fried cashew nuts, lemon juice to the upma. Mix well & serve hot.
I avoid doing upma the above way because when we add boiling water to the semolina it splutters and makes a mess to clean the gas stove.
This upma is also served with Pesarattu and we call it Pesarattu-Upma or MLA Pesarattu.
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