Rava Upma

Upma, (oop-maa), is one of my favorite breakfast/tiffin that can be a meal in itself.
I prefer making this with coarse sooji (or even with bulgur) as the dish turns out almost like tabbouleh - not sticky or lumpy but separate grains that are well cooked; but, upma can also be made with Farina or cream of Wheat; the water has to be adjusted for farina as it will get lumpy and sticky.


Ingredients
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas
1/2 cup finely chopped frozen green beans
1 medium onion diced
2 green chilies chopped finely
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 cups coarse Sooji (Rava) - Coarse Semolina (wheat) - available in most indian stores
4-6 Tbsp ghee or butter, or canola oil
salt to taste
2-4 cups hot water (depends on the type of rava used)

for tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/2 tsp urad dal


Preparation

1. Tempering: Heat 2 Tbsp ghee/oil in a non-stick pan till it shimmers a bit, add the urad and chana dal; when the dals turn golden brown, add the mustard and cumin seeds; mustard seeds will spatter - have a screen lid handy
2. As soon as spattering dies down a bit, add the ginger, chilies and onion, sautee till onions turn translucent
3. Add the veggies, salt and sautee a bit more; then, add the sooji and toast it lightly;
4. Add the water, turn heat down to medium low; cover the pan and let the veggies and sooji cook for about 8-10 mins; check once or twice to make sure there is enough moisture to complete the cooking - not necessary to stir if there is enough water
5. When all the water is absorbed and sooji + veggies seem cooked, remove from heat stir in rest of the butter/ghee - i find ghee's flavor really brings out this otherwise simple dish
6. Serve warm with indian pickles (achar) like mango pickle, or lime pickle etc. I like it as-is even without any pickle.