Podichundaakkiya Upma
A gluten free, vegan spin on the traditional South Indian recipe - Upma. Serve with banana and sugar (optional). Though Upma is typically served as breakfast, you can serve this as a meal anytime of the day.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw rice.
- 3-4 small shallots
- 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
- 2 whole dry red chilli adjust according to your spice level
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil pluis as required
- 3-4 tablespoon grated coconut
- 4-5 curry leaves optional
- Salt to taste
Equipment
- Bowl to soak the rice
- Indian mixer-grinder/food processor/heavy duty blender
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Heavy bottomed skillet well-seasoned/non-stick or saute pan ((well-seasoned/non-stick)
To Serve
- Banana slices
- Sugar optional
Instructions
- Soak rice overnight.
- Grind the rice along with shallots, jeera, dry red chilli and salt with a little water (about ¼ - ½ cup). The consistency of the batter should be thick. (similar to pancake batter)
- Heat coconut oil in a skillet/saute pan.
- On high flame, pour the ground batter into the oil, give it a few seconds, start stirring, breaking the lumps. Initially, large and sticky lumps will be formed. But as the water evaporates the lumps will become smaller and smaller and non-sticky.
- When the water completely evaporates, reduce the flame, add the curry leaves and keep stirring until the pieces resemble scrambled eggs and does not taste raw.
- To make it extra crispy, add 1 teaspoon oil and cook the upma over low heat for few more minutes. Give it a stir once in a while to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- When done, add grated coconut, mix it and turn off the flame.
Notes
1. Cooking time is approximate and depends on the water content in the batter and how crispy you would like the pieces to be.[br]2. Initially big chunks will be formed and it would be a little hard to break the pieces, but as the water evaporates, you will find it easier to do this.[br]3. Use a well seasoned pan or a non-stick pan to cook the batter. [br]4. I always use fresh/frozen-thawed shredded coconut for garnish.[br]5. This upma is best served with banana because that is the best combination and this upma is not as soft as the regular South Indian upma (if your are familiar with it).