Hundred Thousand Dollar worth Rava Upma (Indian Semolina Polenta)

Now you must be thinking, who doesn't know to make Rava Upma? What is so special about it? Every 5th person residing in India knows to make it and is a common breakfast item in almost all the Indian household. We Indians take this dish for granted. Well up until a week back, even I thought the same about this dish and looked down on Rava Upma. Not anymore. Last week I read a news about an Indian born, New York Chef Floyd Cardoz who won the top prize of £100,000 in an American show called "Top Chef Masters". No prize for guessing, he made RAVA UPMA!! After reading the article, I immediately decided that the recipe of a basic version of Upma must be on my blog. And here I am sharing the if not a "million dollar", then atleast a "hundred thousand dollar worth Upma Recipe". :)

Upma is a popular South Indian Breakfast dish, mainly prepared by Semolina. It has a great resemblance with the Italian Polenta. It can be made with many variations by adding vegetables, spices & various seasonings. Am just sharing the very basic version of Rava Upma. You never know, when luck smiles at you, so try making the Upma if you have never tried before.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coarse semolina/sooji/rava
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup boiled peas
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 4 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
• turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp clarified butter or ghee (opional)
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves (optional)
• 1 tbsp shredded coconut (optional)
• salt for seasoning

Method:

1. Heat a deep frying pan or a Kadai & dry roast the semolina until light golden. Stir it frequently to get the colour evenly. This will take approximately 3-4 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in the same pan and put the mustard seeds & curry leaves to it. Let the seeds splutter. Now add the chopped onions, green chillies & ginger to it. Saute well till the onion turn golden brown. Add some salt so that the onions get cooked sooner.
3. Now add the boiled peas, turmeric powder and other boiled vegetables (if you want to add) to the pan and mix well. Then add 2 cups of water to it. Taste the water & if you need more salt, this is the time to add it. Let the water come to a good boil.
4. When the water is boiling, simmer the heat & slowly put the roasted semolina to the water. The Semolina starts to get thicken very easily and starts to form lumps. You need to be stirring well & continuously to form a lump free Upma.
5. If the Semolina has fully absorbed the water and you think it has been cooked, switch off the heat. Add in the chopped coriander leaves, ghee & shredded coconut to top it off before serving with a nice Indian pickle, chutney, yoghurt or even sugar.

You can view the Chef's winning recipe by clicking http://yesugarden.blogspot.com/2011/06/upma-recipe-wins-100000.html