Ragi Semya Upma

Blogging Marathon# 59: Week 2/ Day 3

Theme: Instant Breakfast

Dish: Ragi Semya Upma

Today's quick and easy breakfast is Ragi Semya Upma. I have to say this upma takes a little longer than regular semya upma, but it can be made under 20 minutes. The most time taking is probably getting the steamer ready to steam the noodles, so if you get that going breakfast will be on the table in no time.

I don't even remember when I picked up a packet of Anil ragi semya. I found it safely stored in the pantry. After reading the instructions on how to prepare the semya, I almost gave up for today's theme. Regular semya just needs to be boiled until tender, but ragi noodles are first soaked in plenty of water and then steamed until tender.

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Jonna Rawa Upma (Jowar Upma)

Blogging Marathon# 48: Week 1/ Day 2

Theme: Nashta Time

Dish: Jonna Rawa Upma

For day 2 of this week's blogging marathon, I made a healthy and filling upma (porridge) with jonna rawa (broken jowar). I have been watching lot of recipes using jonna rawa on Telugu cooking shows recently, so asked my mom to send me some. Jonna rawa has a slightly coarse texture even after cooking, it doesn't get too smooth and creamy.

I usually cook it in the pressure cooker to speed up the cooking process, but it also be made in the pan -- it will just take longer. This upma is a nutritious way to start any day because it keeps you full till lunch. I added only tomato here, but any vegetable or mix of vegetables can be added.

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Quinoa khichdi with Peanuts (Sabudhana Khichdi Style)

Blogging Marathon# 48: Week 1/ Day 1

Theme: Nashta Time

Dish: Quinoa Palli Upma

We are starting a brand new edition of 'Blogging marathon' for this year today and my theme for this week is 'Nashta/ Tiffin Time'. Nashta is a hindi word that can mean breakfast or an evening snack. To me, it is a light meal taken either in the morning or in the evening to sustain you until lunch.

For the first day, I made quinoa upma with peanuts and potato. Recipe is adapted from Vegetable Platter. This dish is made almost like sabudana upma, but uses quinoa instead of sabudana/ sago/ tapioca pearls. Adding coarsely ground peanuts and boiled potato make it taste very much like the original sabudana khichdi.

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Cheela (Vegan Omelette) & Vegetable Upma

It is Spring break time for my son this week and making interesting meals for him has been a challenge for me. So I referred to the cookbook 'India: The Cookbook' by Pushpesh Pant and found this quick and easy Cheelas. I've always wanted to make these vegan omelettes, but never got around to make them. My son really liked them and gobbled up a couple with some ketchup. They taste the best when served hot out of the pan.

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Madhya Pradesh -- Indori Poha with Jalebi

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 15
State: Madhya Pradesh
Dish: Indori Poha with Jalebi

We are exploring Madhya Pradesh today. Madhya Pradesh is in Central India and the name literally means 'Central Province'. It is nicknamed 'Heart of India' because of its geographical location in India and it is the second largest state in the country by area. Madhya Pradesh is home to a large tribal population, who have been cut-off from the main stream development.

Cuisine: Like any other state the cuisine of Madhya Pradesh varies regionally. Wheat and meat are common in the North and West while South and East are dominated by rice and fish. Bhopal is known for meat and fish dishes. From what I've read, Indore is foodie's paradise and therefore it's now on my bucket list :-) Street food of Indore is renowned with eateries that have been active for generations.
Specialties: Dal bafla (consisting of a steamed and grilled wheat cake dunked in rich ghee which is eaten with daal and ladoos), Poha and Jalebi.

Today's Dish(es): When I read that the most famous breakfast item in Indore is Poha (flattened rice) with jalebi, I knew I had to make it. Jalebis are made all over India, but the combination of poha with jalebi is something that is very unique to Indore.

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Upma-Pesarattu

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter U
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes of Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Upma-Pesarattu

The final 6 letters were quite challenging to find dishes for. I had to play around with the names a little bit to come up with dishes to match.

Letter U stands for Ullipaya (onion), Uppudu rawa (idli rawa). I was kind of stuck for a long time on what to make for letter U. Then I thought of Upma, but upma is not Andhra special, pair it with Pesarattu, it definitely is Andhra special. So I finally settled with Upma-Pesarattu (hopefully the purists will forgive me for reversing the order in the name).

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Quinoa Upma

Quinoa is such a versatile grain, just like rice, but nutritionally way better than rice. I love the way quinoa swells up with the distinct white ring and the kernel turning transparent – it’s just beautiful. I also like the slightly nutty bite and taste that the cooked grains have. I use quinoa pretty much like rice and make pilafs or even pulihora with it.

When I saw this recipe for Quinoa upma in India Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant, I wanted to try it right away. I don’t know if it happens to you too but sometimes when I see a recipe I can just feel it is going to be yummy and sometimes I know right away that a recipe will not work just by reading. But there are sometimes when I think it is going to turn out awesome, the end result just lets your intuition down. Well I’m happy to report that this recipe definitely falls in the first category and the end result was truly delicious.

Ingredients (makes just about 2 servings**):
Quinoa – 2/3 cup

Dry Red chili - 1

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Curry leaves - 20

Onion - 1 large, finely chopped

Green chili - 1, slit vertically

Ginger - ½" piece, finely grated
Tomato - 1, coarsely chopped

Red chili powder - ¼tsp (or to taste)
Cilantro - 1tbsp, finely chopped

Sugar - ½tsp

Salt - to taste

Lemon juice - 1tbsp

Method:

• Soak quinoa for 15 minutes. Then drain and rinse with cold water. Add quinoa and 1¼ cups of water to a heavy-bottom pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer covered for about 18-20 minutes or until the grains are cooked and the characteristic white ring around the kernel is formed.
• Heat tbsp oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the dry red chili and mustard seeds and once the seeds start to splutter, add the curry leaves and fry till they are nice and crisp.
• Add the onions and cook until they start to turn golden, about 6-8 minutes. Next add the green chili and ginger and stir for 1 minute.
• Add the chopped tomato, salt and red chili powder and cook until tomatoes turn mushy and the mixture starts to dry out.
• Add the cooked quinoa and cook until heated through.
• Finish with sugar, sprinkling of cilantro and lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot.

** I say about 2 servings because this upma filled only 1½ lunch boxes for my husband and me and I ended up taking something else for lunch. So the recipe will probably make 2 servings if eating with other dishes, otherwise increase the proportions accordingly.

Vermicelli Pilaf (Semya Upma) for National Noodle Month

Did you know that March is National Noodle Month? I wanted to make something on this occasion (??), for the past 31 days and as usual the month flew by right in front of my eyes. Well since there are a few more hours left to complete the month I thought I’ll post this yummy semya upma (aka vermicelli pilaf in a fancy way).

I usually end up making a sticky lumpy mess when I make semya, usually because I second-guess myself when adding the water and end up adding way more than needed. But my mom’s method of boiling vermicelli (just like pasta) in lots of salted water for 2-3 minutes until cooked through has solved my sticky mess problem.

Here’s how I made this dish.
Ingredients:
Semya (Short cut vermicelli) – 2 cups (I used Bambino brand available in Indian groceries)
Onion – 2 medium, finely chopped
Potato – 1 medium, diced
Roasted Peanuts – ¼ cup
Tomato paste – 1tbsp
Tomato – 1 medium, chopped
Kitchen king masala – ½ tsp (or to taste)
Lemon juice – 2tsp

For tempering:
Urad dal – ½tsp
Chana dal – ½tsp
Mustard seeds – ½tsp
Cumin seeds – ½tsp
Dry red chili – 2

Method:

• Boil 4-5 cups of water in a large saucepan, and once water comes to a rolling boil, add 1tsp and the vermicelli. Boil for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through (this should not take very long). Drain the water from the vermicelli and keep aside until ready to use.
• Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauté pan, add tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, add the onions and sauté until lightly browned around the edges.
• Add potatoes and roasted peanuts; cover and cook until the potatoes are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
• Next add the tomatoes and tomato paste, cook until they turn mushy. Season the veggies with salt and kitchen king masala.
• Finally add the cooked semya* with the lemon juice and more salt (if needed), mix everything gently. Cover and cook for 2 minutes, so the flavors get a chance to mingle. Let rest for 5 minutes and garnish with coriander leaves before digging in.

This is a great dish for BLD (Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner). We had ours for dinner with some homemade fruit juice.

* Note: Cooked Vermicelli might turn into a mush if left in the colander/ strainer for too long. Don’t worry, just rinse them under some cold water and squish them around with fingers to separate the noodles.

Broken Wheat Upma with Veggies & Peanut Chutney

Growing up I was not a big fan of upmas, especially the one with sooji & godhuma rava (dalia). I would eat them grudgingly but never really liked them. As an adult, I slowly developed a taste to these upmas, may be because they are so quick & easy to make and can be dressed up or down as per occasion. I like the one made with Godhuma rawa more than any other and usually try to keep stock of it in the fridge (so it doesn’t turn rancid).

It is also my go-to ingredient when I have to make something quick for my son’s lunch and he seems to like it (or so I think, 'cos he can't really say "I don't like it" yet).

Ingredients:
Godhuma Rava (Broken wheat/ Dalia) – 1 cup
Onion – 1 small, chopped fine(I used a medium sized shallot)

Mixed veggies – 1 cup (I used chopped potato with frozen mixed veggies with carrots, string beans, peas & corn)

Tomato – 1, chopped
Chili powder – ½ tsp
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Salt – to taste

For Tadka:
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 6

Method:

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a sauce pan; add the tadka ingredients and after the seeds pop add the chopped onion and sauté till translucent.
  
• Then add mixed veggies (thawed if frozen) and tomato; cover and cook till veggies are cooked and tomato is mushy. Season with salt and chili powder.
  
• Add rava and sauté for couple of minutes. To this add 2½ cups of water; bring the mixture to a boil on medium-high heat. Turn the flame to low; cover and simmer till all the liquid is absorbed and the rawa is completely cooked.
  
• Stir in lemon juice and enjoy with either peanut chutney or raitha or any pickle.
  

This is my entry to CFK: Healthy Lunch Boxes being hosted by Neha @ Easy n Tasty Recipes. Cooking for Kids is the brainchild of Sharmi @ Neivedyam.

Peanut Chutney: This is my favorite chutney and I make it all the time. Great for idlis, dosas, upma or pongal.

Ingredients:
Peanuts – 1 cup
Dhalia (Putnala pappu) – ¼ cup
Grated coconut – ¼ cup (I use dry, but fresh coconut will make the chutney taste much better)
Tamarind paste – 1 tbsp
Garlic cloves – 2
Green chilies – 2
Coriander leaves – ¼ cup

For tadka:
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Dry Red chili – 1
Curry leaves – 6-8

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients from Peanuts to Coriander with salt and ½ - 1 cup water into a smooth paste. Remove into a bowl.
  
• Heat 1tsp oil in a small saucepan; add the tadka ingredients and once the seeds start spluttering add to the chutney; mix and serve.
  

This is my entry to JFI: Peanuts. Remember to send in your entries before July 31st.