Rava Upma Recipe ( How to make Rava Upma )

Hi guys!! Very happy to meet all. I am really sorry about my long break. I just thought of taking a small break during holidays but it got stretched this far. But this doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking and clicking, just the opposite....I tried and tested so many recipes for you during these holidays.  I just can't wait to share all the recipes that I tried :)

Ok now back to our food,
Today's recipe is our age old default breakfast - Rava Upma!

There is always a fine line between a good dish and perfect dish. In this post I am going to share a few tips and tricks that I learnt from my MIL that makes your upma stand out from others. It will be very soft at the same time very fluffy!!!

The main things that yield a perfect fluffy upma are...

• Roasting the rava till nice aroma comes without browning it.
• The amount of water added.
• Allowing the water to come to a boil before adding the rava.
• Cooking the rava by closing it with a lid.
• And the very final and important step is to fluff it with the ladle twice!

Now onto the recipe...

 

Rava Upma

 Soft and Fluffy Rava Upma!
 Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 10 min
 Total time: 15 min |Yield: 4 to 5 servings

Ingredients:
Rava: 2 cups
Water: 4 cups 
Oil: 1 tsp + 1 tbsp
Mustard: 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal: 1 tsp 
Shallots: 3 (finely chopped)

Curry Leaves: 1 sprig
Red Chilli: 3 
Salt: To taste 

METHOD:

1) Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and roast the rava for 5 minutes in medium high flame.
2)  Keep stirring( don't let it burn! ) till nice aroma comes. As they say in tamil, manal madiri varukanum ( roast till it resembles dry sand ) Transfer to a plate. [ This step is very essential in making the upma fluffy ]
3) In the same kadai, heat 1 tbsp oil and temper with mustard seeds and when it splutters add urad dal. When it turns golden colour, add the onions, red chilli and curry leaves and fry for few seconds till onion turns translucent.
4) Now add water and salt and bring the water to a boil.
5) Bring the kadai to simmer and add the roasted rava with one hand, while stirring continuously with the other hand ( this ensures that no big lumps are formed ) Close with a lid and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
6) Now open the lid. The upma will be like a whole piece of cake. Fluff it with a ladle or a wooden spoon.
 7) Close it again and switch off the stove. Let it standby for another 2 minutes. Then again fluff it with the ladle before serving or placing it in a hot box.

There you have it the soft and fluffiest Rava Upma!!!

Serve it with Sugar and Banana ( my daughters' and SS favorite combo!) or any Chutney of your choice....

NOTES:

1) Roasting the rava is very important as it makes the upma soft by absorbing lot of water and at the same time keeps it fluffy.
2) Don't let the rava brown while roasting it.
3) This is the very basic version of rava upma, you can make many variations to this by dding vegetables or flavour it with tomato... 

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Vegetable Sandwich ( easy veg sandwich )

This is a quick and refreshing sandwich. Easy to grab one and run on a  busy morning :) Being a bread lover I just love this, plus this is my family favourite so this will surely be on breakfast menu at least twice a month.

I have made this sandwich with the same coriander chutney that I posted earlier. You can check out the recipe here. Being a sandwich freak I made this in my sandwich maker, you can make it in a regular pan too. I have also made a stove top version below, do check that out. 

Delicious Sandwich paired with a tasty juice can brighten any day!!! Now on to the recipe...

INGREDIENTS:

Coriander chutney:
Coriander leaves - 1 cup (packed)
Coconut - 1/2 cup (scrapped)
Green Chilli - 2
Tamarind - 3/4"
Garlic - 2 cloves
Curry leaves - a few
Salt - to taste
Water - 1/4 cup ( or as required )
For the Sandwich:
Bread Slice - 6
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Capsicum - 1/2
Cucumber - 1
Potato - 1 ( boiled )
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp

METHOD:
1) For the coriander chutney: Grind the first 7 ingredients under the list Coriander Chutney with little water ( don't make it too runny )
2) Mix the salt and pepper in a bowl and keep it ready. Slice all the vegetables.
3) Apply the coriander chutney on the bread slices.
4) Arrange the sliced vegetables on the 2 bread slices. Sprinkle some salt and pepper mixture and cover with the remaining 2 bread slices.
5) Prepare your sandwich maker as per the manual. Lightly grease the sides with oil. Arrange the prepared slices on the sandwich maker. Close and toast for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.
Stove Top Version:
1) Apply coriander chutney as before on both slices. Arrange vegetables on one slice and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Cover with the other slice. Heat oil in a pan.
2) Place the bread slice on the pan and cook for about half a minute ( or till golden brown ). Flip and cook on the other side too. Cook on medium flame to avoid burning.
That's it yummy veg sandwich is ready....Enjoy it with your favourite juice!!!!!!!

NOTES:
1) You can use any choice of vegetables you like.
2) You can even apply some melted butter on the bread before toasting them,


Cheers,
Sindhiya.S

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Bread Upma

This is a very very simple yet tasty dish for all the bread lovers. It can be prepared in less than 10 minutes. Pair it with a juice to have for breakfast or pack it as a quick lunch or enjoy it as an evening snack. As a variation, you can add eggs to this upma. Check notes for details.
Now onto the recipe...

INGREDIENTS:
Bread - 6 slices
Onion - 2
Carrot - 2 (grated)
Green Chilli - 2
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander Leaves - to garnish
METHOD:
1) Chop your bread into small cubes. Chop the onions and grate the carrot. Keep aside.
2) Heat oil in a pan and temper with mustard, after it splutters add  urad dal and green chilli. When the urad dal turns light golden colour add the onions and curry leaves.
3) Fry till the onions are transparent and then add the grated carrot. Fry till the carrots are cooked without any raw smell - about 3 minutes ( as the carrots are grated, they will cook fast ). Add salt and mix well.
4) Finally add the Bread pieces and toss well. Keep it in simmer for 2 more minutes, slightly tossing in between so that the bread pieces are coated well. Finally garnish with coriander leaves.
Simple, Delicious Bread upma is ready to eat!!!!

Serve hot and enjoy!!

NOTES:
1) For egg version of this upma, scramble 2 eggs with salt in 1 tsp oil. Follow the same procedure till step 3, then add the scrambled eggs then followed by the bread pieces ( the remaining steps are the same). I normally do egg version when I serve hot and the eggless version if I am packing for lunch.
2) Don't skimp on the oil as it really uplifts the flavour as the bread pieces gets tossed in it.

Cheers,
Sindhiya.S

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