10 Grain Cereal Upma and Quinoa Upma

Upma ("Oop-maa") is a staple in south India, usually as a tiffin item for breakfast or sometimes a light dinner, made with coarse grits-like farina. There were two schools of thought about the ideal upma in our family when I was young: the grainy, non-lumpy, non-sticky kind with  lots of vegetables like carrots, peas, onions, ginger, tomatoes, chilies etc; and the gooey, ghee-dripping kind with just some tempering and possibly chilies and ginger and a touch of salt to taste.

Over the formative years, I've gone from liking one kind to the other and back again. These days, in my kitchen, it depends on my mood.

For the gooey porridge-like upma, I prefer the coarse meal 10 grain cereal sold in bulk food stores: wheat, corn, rye, triticale, oats, soy beans, millet, barley, brown rice, oat bran and flaxseed. Sometimes, I add an optional 11th item - viz., quinoa - to this mix.

For the grainy coarse upma, I like just the quinoa, or a mix of quinoa and bulgur. I cook it al dente first and then make the upma as below.

Veggies in either case depends on what's handy. Typically, onions, ginger, chilies, cabbage, bell pepper, carrots, peas are the staple. Sometimes I add cauliflower, edamame, kale or spinach.

Tempering: heat a tablespoon of canola oil in a pan, when oil is hot, add split urad dal, when the dal turns golden brown, add mustard seeds, and when mustard seeds pop, add curry leaves and the vegetables.

Saute the veggies, then, add the 10 grain cereal for the gooey upma. Add boiling hot water to the cereal in the ratio 1.5 : 1 - i.e., one measure of cereal gets 1.5 measure of boiling water. Cover and cook on medium low heat till the cereal is cooked through. Add in ghee or flax oil Omega butter™. Stir well and serve warm with Indian pickles.

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.