Weekend brunches are my favorite meals of the week. I am not South Indian, but this was the most common evening snack when I was growing up, it was like that exotic snack, which is not Gujarati but exotically different, you know, like bursting out of the culture capsule?  “oh ajje upma banaviyo che eh” ( oh you made upma today) my grandad would say, as we settled down to eat. 

My Aunties would make this during Ekadasi, and my Mum would make it for quick evening meals for us, when Dad was not at home. 

I usually make this for weekend brunch when everyone else is feasting on eggs and pancakes, or when impromptu guests pop in, in fact I might even say it is one of my top 5 stranded on a desert island foods.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semolina (rava / sooji)
• 1 cup ( ½ cup carrot cut into even small cubes or shredded,  ½ cup frozen green peas)
• 1 tablespoon Urad dal -(Split & skinless black gram lentil)
• 1.5 tablespoon Olive oil oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 6-7 curry leaves
• 2 dried red chilies/Kashmiri
• 2 teaspoons ginger paste (optional)
• 2 Thai green Chilies /chopped (I also added some sliced jalapenos)
• Pink Himalayan salt to taste
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
• 3 cups hot water (or 1 cup yogurt mixed with 2 cups water)
• Roasted cashews for garnish (optional)
  

Instructions:

• Dry roast 1-cup semolina/sooji on a low flame for 4-5 minutes until fragrant, stirring continuously. 
  
  
• It shouldn’t burn and turn brown. Then transfer to a bowl and keep aside to cool completely.
  
  
•  Heat the oil in a wok/karai/ cast iron pan.
  
  
•  Add the asafetida, mustard seeds, urad dal and onions, green chilies (and ginger if using and you can also add Cashews at this stage if you like) and sauté on a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, the dal should turn a soft pink.
  
  
• Then add curry leaves, dried red chilies, give it a good stir, and add the carrot cubes and peas, sauté for 1 minute and the 3 cups of water and salt ( and lemon juice if using).
  
  
•  Add the semolina in batches and sauté continually to prevent lumps from forming, on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes until the sooji absorbs all the water.
  
  
•  Lower the flame, cover, and let the Upma steam cook for another 3-5 minutes.
  
  
• Add the coriander and lemon juice, mix well and cook on medium flame for 1 minute, while stirring occasionally.
  
  
• Serve with coconut chutney or own its own with some ginger chai!
  
  

NOTE

Yoghurt: yogurt adds a wonderful flavor to upma, but you can also go without it to make it vegan.

To get a perfectly moist upma the water to rava ratio should be 1:3. So for every one cup of rava, add 3 cups of water.