Upma Special -Veggie Rava Upma and Semiya Upma

Oh...what can I say about Upma? Its just Upma. Some like it. Some don't. I love it though. Especially when its full of veggies. 

My plan for dinner for the family was to make Rava Upma. Very excitedly, I cut all the veggies and was ready to make the upma and reallized I just had about 1 cup rava at home! That surely is not enough to feed 5 people! So, I peeked back into my pantry to look for Semiya and had a new pack full of it. And this day turned out to be a Upma Special day!  I used the same veggies and made it half Rava and half Semiya Upma. 

So, here's my adventure...(Oh... I need a life!)

This version of Upma does not have any onions. I love onions in Upma and always add it - but it was Saturday and my inlaws don't eat onions on saturday and hence I skipped it. 

To start with, chop all your veggies - I used ginger, green chilli, carrots, green beans, Peas, potato and tomatoes. You can also use other veggies as you prefer. Chop all veggies into small pieces. 

 

Before you start making the upma, heat up about 4-5 cups of water in a separate pan. 

In a wide pan, add about 2 tsp of oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters. Then, add 1 tsp of Urad daal and 1 tsp of Channa daal. Then, add a few leaves of karuvepilai (Kadi Patha). 

Now, add the chopped ginger and green chilli and fry well for a min. If you are adding onions, add them now - you can also add garlic. 

 

Add the tomatoes first and fry for a min. Then add all the veggies and fry for a couple of mins. Add salt and turmeric powder to the veggies just enough for the veggies.

Now, add the rava to the veggies and fry for a couple of mins.

 

 

When the rava and the veggies have roasted for a few mins, add the boiling water from the side directly on top of this. Watch out for the steam hitting your fingers! Add enough water to cover the rava in the pan and a little more. Add salt now to taste. Mix well and cover the upma to cook. Make sure that the stove is in medium. 

When most of the water has evaporated and cooked the upma, at this stage below, add a couple of tsp of ghee. This is what makes Rava Upma tasty...really tasty. And this will also ensure that the upma does not become hard when cooled down.

Keep cooking in low flame for a few mins. Some people like to keep it for a long time until the bottom of the upma starts to become crisp. That is the tastiest part. But, its totally upto you how you like it! Here it is almost done.

Now that we are done with Rava Upma, here's a quick tour of the Semiya Upma. It is the exact same method as above.

Fry the ginger, green chillies, tomatoes and veggies first. 

Then, add the semiya to the veggies and fry for a couple of mins.

 

Now, add the boiling water just enough to cover the semiya. Let it cook in medium flame. When almost done, add a couple of spoons of ghee. 

 

 

  

 Here it is almost done.

 

Serve Upmas hot with Coconut chutney.

 

 

Enjoy. Peace Out!