How to make perfect vegetable upma

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Semolina/Rawa (not very coarse): 2 cups
Water: 4 cups

Vegetables:
Onion: 1
Tomato: 1
Carrot: 1-2
Cabbage: small piece
Frozen green peas: 2 tablespoons
Ginger: 1 spoon
Green chillies: chopped, to taste
Cashew nuts/ground nuts (optional): a few

Seasoning:
Oil: 1-2 tablespoon
Mustard seeds: 1 spoon
Cumin seeds: ½ spoon
Turmeric (optional – Some people love the golden yellow upma while others prefer white): half spoon
Salt: to taste
Coriander: chopped, little
Ghee: 1 spoon

The trick in this recipe is that if you are not using very coarse semolina, you don’t have to roast it before-hand. You can add it straight out of the packet to boiling water, saving yourself time!

Method:

Finely chop onion, ginger, chilli and cabbage and keep them aside. Peel and grate 1-2 carrots.

In a large pan, heat 2 spoons of oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, cashews, ground nuts, chopped ginger and chilli. When the seeds splutter, add chopped onion and sauté it. When the onion becomes transluscent, add carrots, peas and cabbage. Add a little more oil and sauté all the veggies. Meanwhile, chop a tomato. Now add 4 cups of water to the veggies and add salt to taste.

Add the chopped tomatoes and bring the water to boil on medium flame.

Once the water begins to boil, check if the veggies are fully cooked and taste for salt and heat.

Simmer the hob and slowly add semolina to the boiling water.

Caution: the boiling water may splash, so use a big ladle or turn the hob right down to the minimum.

Stir continuously as you add the semolina so that it doesn’t form lumps. Stir until the semolina absorbs all the water and you get a lovely gooey upma consistency. Garnish it with lot of ghee and coriander. Voila! Enjoy a yummy and light meal of vegetable upma!

Health tip: Try using cous-cous once in a while instead of semolina. Follow the same process but create an even healthier dish!

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