Avul Upma (Pohe)

Recommended Season :All seasons.
Ingrediants : Beaten Rice 250 gms Tamarind 2 inch piece Turmeric powder a pinch Salt 1 teaspoon Chilly powder ¼ teaspoon Sugar ½ teaspoon Roasted Groundnuts a handful Grated coconut 1 tablespoon Green peas 2 tablespoons Potato 1 small (optional) Mustard ½ teaspoon Black gram 1 teaspoon Curry leaves to garnish Coriander leaves to garnish

Select thick (small sized, dull coloured - hand pound) beaten rice. Cook green peas. Soak the tamarind in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Wash the rice well and drain the water. Add turmeric powder, salt, chilly powder and sugar to the rice. Squeeze the tamarind well and filter the tamarind juice into the wet rice. Add water to the tamarind and squeeze till the water remains clear and there is no more juice in the tamarind. Now, mix the rice well so that all the ingredients are evenly mixed and keep it covered for 10 to 15 minutes. When you open it, all the water would have been absorbed by the rice.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and black gram; when black gram turns light pink in colour, add curry leaves. Then add the marinated beaten rice and mix well. Add roasted groundnuts, mix and keep it covered on a slow flame for 5 minutes. Add boiled green peas and coriander leaves, and mix again. You can add small pieces of potato that have been either boiled or shallow fried in oil. Turn off the flame, add grated coconut and mix well.

Alternatively:

Beaten Rice 250 gms Green peas 2 tablespoons Mustard 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon Tomatoes 2 big Curry leaves 7 or 8 Salt ½ teaspoon Turmeric pinch Chilly powder ½ teaspoon Coriander leaves handful

Select beaten rice of medium thickness (medium sized, light coloured - machine pound). Cook green peas. Wash beaten rice, drain the water and keep it covered for 15 to 20 minutes. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan, add mustard, cumin seeds, chopped tomato pieces, curry leaves, salt, turmeric and chilly powder, mix well and cook till the tomato pieces turn into paste. Add the beaten rice to the cooked tomatoes. Mix well and add green peas and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well again and turn off the flame.

Rawa Upma

Recommended Season :All seasons.
Ingrediants : Semolina (Rawa) 200 gms (2 cups) Water 450 to 600 ml (4.5 to 6 cups) Vegetables 2 cups (Carrots, Beans and Green peas. Cabbage and / or capsicum optional) Ghee / Oil 3 or 4 tablespoons Mustard 1 teaspoon Black gram 2 teaspoons Curry leaves 7 or 8 Salt 1 teaspoon + ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder a pinch Chilly powder ½ teaspoon Coriander seed powder ½ teaspoon Coriander leaves ½ cup

Dry roast the semolina in a thick pan and keep aside. Chop the vegetables into small pieces. Heat ghee or oil in a pan, add mustard and black gram, and when black gram turns pink, add curry leaves and vegetables, including green peas. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, chilly powder, coriander seed powder and sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes. If the vegetables need more time to cook, add ½ cup water and cook covered to soften them quickly. Then add the remaining water and 1 teaspoon of salt and let the water boil furiously. Now turn down to a slow flame, add the semolina little by little, stirring all the time to avoid forming any lumps. Mix well and cook covered for 5 minutes on a slow flame. Add chopped coriander leaves, mix again and cook covered for another 2 or 3 minutes.

Pori Upma

Recommended Season :All seasons.
Ingrediants : Puffed Rice 150 to 200 gms (for 3 people) Mustard 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon Tomatoes 2 big Curry leaves 7 or 8 Salt ½ teaspoon Turmeric pinch Chilly powder ½ teaspoon Coriander leaves handful Powdered (roasted) groundnuts 1 to 2 tablespoons Or Powdered roasted Bengal gram

Soak puffed rice in water for 20 minutes. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan, add mustard, cumin seeds, chopped tomato pieces, curry leaves, salt, turmeric and chilly powder, mix well and cook till the tomato pieces turn into paste. Remove the puffed rice from water and add to the cooked tomatoes. Mix well and add chopped coriander leaves. Mix well again and turn off the flame. Add the powdered groundnuts or powdered roasted Bengal gram, mix well and serve.

Arisi Upma (Broken Rice)

Recommended Season : All seasons.
Ingrediants : Broken Raw Rice 200 gms (2 cups) Split green gram 2 tablespoons (dehusked) Tamarind 2 inch piece Oil 2 to 3 tablespoons Mustard 1 teaspoon Black gram 2 teaspoons Curry leaves 7 or 8 Salt 1 teaspoon Chilly powder ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder a pinch Water 600 ml (6 cups)

Soak the split green gram in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Wash the tamarind and soak it also in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Wash the green gram well and drain the water. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and black gram, and when the black gram turns pink, add curry leaves, green gram, and sauté for 5 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind in the water to make juice and filter it into the pan. Add the 6 cups of water and the chilly powder, salt and turmeric powder, and bring it to a boil. Turn down to a slow flame and add the broken raw rice little by little, stirring all the while. Mix well and cook covered till the water is absorbed and the broken raw rice looks fluffy. Keep stirring to avoid sticking to the bottom and burning. Roasted groundnuts can be added to the upma.

[How to make Broken Raw Rice at Home - Wash rice well, drain the water and spread the wet rice on a clean dry cloth or towel under the fan and let it dry 80%. Then dry grind this rice in a mixer to get coarse rice powder. Use a very thin sieve to sort out the flour and a broad sieve to sort out the very big pieces of grains. The remaining rice is to be used for this purpose.] Broken raw rice is also available in the market.

Rice Sevai

Recommended Season : All seasons.
Ingrediants : Rice flour 4 cups Water 4 cups Salt 1 teaspoon Oil 2 teaspoons

Heat the water in a thick bottomed pan, add salt and oil, and let it boil furiously. Turn to a slow flame, and add the rice flour stirring all the while to avoid lumps. Cook for 5 minutes, till the white colour changes to a dull colour. Remove from fire and keep it covered for about 10 minutes.

Take a portion of the cooked flour onto a plate, dip your hands in water and knead it well. If it is too hot, you can try to use two ladles to knead the flour. Then make large, oblong balls of the flour. In this manner, make balls of all the cooked flour. Heat a large vessel half-full of water to boiling point, and drop the balls in the boiling water. Cover the vessel with a lid and cook the flour balls till they float to the top of the water surface. This is the indication that they have been cooked.

To make noodles, if you do not have the traditional sevai pressing device, you will need a pressing device that is used to make snacks like sev (omapodi) and select a disc that has small holes. If the noodles are thin, it is better.

Keep a large basin or wide bowl ready. Fill the press with the cooked flour balls to its full capacity and press it so that the noodles drop into the basin or bowl. Take out the balls from water using a curved spatula with holes, so that water is drained from the balls. It is easier to make the flour into noodles when the balls are still hot, than when they get cold. So keep them hot after removing from the water. Let the sevai or noodles cool. If the strings are too long, then break them gently into smaller pieces. This rice sevai can be seasoned in different ways as given in the following pages.

Coconut Sevai
Ingrediants : Grated Coconut 1 small or ½ big Mustard 1 teaspoon Black gram 2 teaspoons Red chillies 2 or 3 Cashew nuts 5 or 6 Curry leaves 7 or 8 Asafoetida a pinch Oil 2 or 3 tablespoons

Shallow fry the cashew nuts to a light pink colour. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, black gram and red chillies, when black gram turns pink, add asafoetida and curry leaves, and turn off the flame mixing well. Pour these seasonings over the cooled sevai, add the grated coconut, mix well and serve. This seasoning can also be used without coconut and can be served with coconut chutney.

Sweet Sevai
Ingrediants : Sugar 2 cups Water ¾ cup Cashew nuts 5 or 6 Cardamom powder ½ teaspoon

Shallow fry the cashew nuts to a light pink colour. Mix the sugar and water and boil till you get a one-string consistency or more, add the fried cashew nuts and turn off the flame. Add the cardamom powder, add the sevai and mix well. Grated coconut can also be added to this seasoning after turning off the flame.

Tamarind Sevai
Make the tamarind seasonings like it is made for tamarind rice or puliyodarai, and mix it with the sevai.

Black gram Sevai
Ingrediants : Black gram 1 cup Salt 1 teaspoon Red chillies 2 or 3 Mustard 1 teaspoon Asafoetida a pinch Curry leaves 5 or 6

Soak the black gram in water for at least one hour. Wash well, drain the water and grind to a smooth paste, adding red chillies and salt. The paste should be neither too firm not too watery. Fill this paste in a greased idli mould and steam it for about 15 minutes on a high flame. Stick a knife into the black gram idlis to test if they have been cooked. If the knife is clean, then they are ready. If some paste sticks to the knife then they have to be steamed for some more time. Once they are cooked, transfer them to a plate and after cooling break them down to a powdery mass.

Heat 4 or 5 teaspoons of oil in a pan, add mustard, when it pops, add asafoetida and curry leaves, and the powdered mass of steamed black gram. Mix well and then add the cooled sevai. Mix again and turn off the flame.