Onion tomato Upittu/Upma

Uppittu in Karnataka and upma for the rest of India is a healthy breakfast/snack item. It is easy to make and very filling. There are a thousand ways one can make upma in... I will try to give a few variation here, you can add or delete a few ingredients and make an upma that you love... I must say this is one of the most versatile items you will ever learn to make. Can be a good snack for kids after school or sports.

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Servings: about 3

Ingredients:

1. Semolina - 1 cup, dry roasted
2. Onion - 1 medium, diced
3. Tomato - 1 medium, diced
4. Green chillies - 4 to 5 (add according to taste), finely chopped
5. Curry Leaves - 1 String, finely chopped
6. Coriander/Cilantro - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
7. Chana Dal (split chick pea) - 2 tsp
8. Urad Dal (split black gram) - 2 tsp
9. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
10. Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
11. Oil - 2 tbsp
12. Salt - to taste
13. Turmeric - a pinch
14. Water - 1 1/2 to 2 cups
15. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece grated or 1/2 tsp paste

Method:

• To dry roast semolina, heat a pan [which can hold all the upma ingredients] on medium heat, pour semolina into it and keep sauteing continuously till it get fragrant and slightly brown, remove from pan and set it aside for later use. You can also buy pre-roasted semolina in the market, then you can skip this step.
• In the same pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin and let it splutter. Add both urad dal and chana dal and roast till they get red. Add green chillies, curry leaves and ginger and saute for a few seconds.
• Add Onions and saute till the get slightly transparent. Now add turmeric and saute for a few more seconds.
• Add tomatoes and enough salt for the entire dish and saute for a few seconds.
• Add water, put a lid on the pan and let the water boil.
• Now slowly stir the water in the pan in a circular motion, once it starts going round slowly and steadily add roasted semolina into the water. Once all of it is added, simmer the stove, put a lid on the pan and let it cook well about 5 minutes. You will know when all the semolina has turned transparent, if semolina is not cooked and all the water has evaporated, add a little more water and close the lid for 3 more minutes. Check if it is done, put the lid back on and let it sit for 5 more minutes.
• Now add cilantro and mix well serve...

Variation 1: [Follow the same cooking method for all variation, just substitute ingredients]

Instead of tomatoes, add surati papdi lilva and also add some crushed black pepper.. this is called kaal uppittu. Very tasty. You can also eliminate onion and add 1/4 cup grated coconut.. even tastier.

Variation 2:

Use Brinjal/Indian eggplant instead of tomatoes and add 1 tbsp vangibath powder it makes yummier upma..

Serving suggestion:

Goes well with any chutney or pickle.

Tips:

If you want to use coconut, don't use onion and vice-verse.. somehow spoils the taste.

Just before you serve, a squeeze of lime gives it more taste and a dash of sugar makes it much more better.