Quinoa Upma

Quinoa is a grain that introduced to me about 4 years ago. One afternoon we walked into a local 'Whole Foods' Store when we were in US and they were doing a food demonstation. The dish being prepared was a curried quinoa. Just fell in love with the grain that instant. Have been buying it and making dishes out of it since. Quinoa upma is our favourite dish made out of Quinoa.

If you have never tried making Quinoa, please do give it a go. You will love it.



Ingredients

Onions 1
Vegetables 3 cups
Quinoa 1.5 cups
Water 3 cups
Cashew 2 tbsp
Peanuts 2 tbsp
Channa Dal 1 tbsp
Urad Dal 1 tsp
Jeera 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Hing a little
Kitchen King 1 tsp (you can use any masala here - like garam masala, pav bhaji masala, biriyani masala etc)

Oil and salt to taste



Method of Preparation

1. In a pot, boil water (3 cups). When it comes to boil, add the quinoa. Cook for till the water is drained (about 10 min). Let is rest for another 5-10 minutes.

2. In the meanwhile, in heat some oil in a pan. Add the cashews, peanuts, channa dal and urad dal. You can go low on the quantity of nuts and dal. I just love the crunch and my little one loves the cashews.

3. Add in jeera and turmeric. Let it sizzle.

4. Add the onions. Saute till it starts to brown.

5. Add the vegetables. Mine was frozen. I steamed in microwave before adding. If using regular vegetables, cook for a longer time (or microwave that as well before hand).

6. Add hing and kitchen king masala (or whatever you are using). Mix well. Add some salt as well.

7. Add the cooked quinoa and toss well.

Enjoy super healthy upma.

Broccoli Poha

Poha is one of my favourites. We in south call it Aval Upma. As I have mentioned before my husband is not a big fan of Poha, mainly cause of the dryness. I have been trying to experiment with a few different varieties to make it interesting for him. This is another variety that I tried. Do check out the other versions that I prepared.

Tomato Poha
Soya Poha



Ingredients

Poha 2 cups
Broccoli 6 florets plucked into small pieces
Onions 1 finely chopped
Peanuts 2 tbsp
Channa Dal 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Lime Juice 1 tbsp

Oil and salt to taste


Method of Preparation

1. Take Poha in a sieve and run it under the tap for a minute or two. Let it sit and drain.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard. When it sputters, add the channa dal and peanuts. When they start to brown, add the turmeric and jeera. When it sizzles, add the onions.

3. Saute onions till it is slightly browned. Add broccoli and salt. Cook till broccoli is done and crunchy.

4. Switch off. Add the poha and lemon juice and mix well.

Sweet Aval - Vella Aval

Sweet Aval or Vella (jaggery) Aval is quite famous in Tamil Nadu. This is made especially during Krishna Jayanthi. Considered Krishna's favourite.

My dad and I are crazy fans of anything with Jaggery. This one is an family favourite and easy one to make. Newest fan of this is my little one.



Ingredients

Aval/Poha 1 cup
Jaggery 1/2 cup and a little more :-)
Coconut 1/4 cup
Cardamom 1/4 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Take Poha in a sieve and run it under the tap for a minute or two. Let it sit and drain.

2. Powder the jaggery and add to the poha.

3. Add the coconut and cardamom and mix well.

It is ready to serve. If you let it sit for 10 minutes, it tastes even better.

Semiya Upma

I was just browsing my blogs to see what recipes I am yet to post that are popular in my house. I was surprised to see that I have not posted semiya upma (vermicelli upma). I make this atleast once a month. So here you go. Simple and comforting bowl of breakfast.

As usual, I want to highlight the goodness of this kind of recipes. Notice the amount of vegetables going in in this. I always make sure that whenever I make upma, I add more vegetable that the base ingredient. Great way to get start your day.



Ingredients

Semiya 1.5 cups
Vegetables 5 cups
Water 2 1/4 cup (1:1.5 ratio)
Peanuts 1 tbsp
Channa Dal 1 tsp
Urad Dal 1 tsp
Jeera 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves few
Green Chilli 1
Ginger a small piece
Onions 1

Oil and salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Heat a little oil (1 tsp) and add the semiya (vermicelli). Saute till it changes to light brown in colour. This is an important step as it prevents the upma from sticking together and becoming guey.  Remove from pan and keep aside.

2.  Heat some more oil in the pan. Add the mustard.

3. When it sputters, add the peanuts, channa dal and urad dal. Saute till it starts to brown.

4. Add the jeera, curry leaves, green chilli (chopped), ginger (chopped) and let it sizzle.

5. Add chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent.

6. In the meanwhile, steam the vegetables in microwave for 10 minutes. I used frozen. If using fresh vegetables, you can either steam in microwave longer or just add after the onions and saute till it is cooked.

7. Add the vegetables and mix well.

8. Add water. I add in 1:1.5 ratio. Bring to boil. Add salt as well.

9. Add the roasted semiya and mix. Simmer and cook till all the water is evaporated stirring in between.

Serve with coconut chutney or just as is.


Linking this to South Indian Cooking - Event by Anu, Hosted by Sangee

Tomato Poha

Husband is not a big fan of Poha. He thinks its is way too dry. I really like it. So I am always looking for ways to make it so that he will also like it. When I was in India, I ate a version of Poha with Tomatoes in it. I liked the idea cause the moisture from the tomato will prevent the poha from being too dry. I also really liked the tanginess that the tomato gave to the Poha...



Ingredients

Poha/Aval 3 cups
Onions 2
Tomatoes 2
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Peanuts 1 tbsp
Channa Dal 1 tsp
Split Urad Dal 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves few
Green Chilli Slit 1
Lemon Juice 1 tsp

Oil and salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Take Poha in a sieve and run it under the tap for a minute or two. Let it sit and drain.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard. When it sputters, add the channa dal and urad dal. When they start to brown, add the curry leaves, turmeric and jeera. When it sizzles, add the onion and green chilli.

3. Saute onions till it is slightly browned. Add tomatoes and salt. Cook till tomatoes are done.

4. Switch off. Add the poha and lemon juice and mix well.

Soya Poha

As you read in my post for Soya Pulao and Kofta, I got myself some soya chunks. My son loved it so much when I used it in the soy pulao preparation. I decided to throw some in when i made poha. A nice addition to my poha.

I usually make all my upma varieties with a lot of vegetables. Sometimes, many of my tiffin items have more vegetables that the main ingredient itself.



Ingredients

Poha/Aval 2 cups
Soya chunks 1 cup
Mixed Vegetables 2 cups
Onion 1 big
Green Chilli 1
Ginger 1 inch
Curry Leaves Few
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Channa Dal 1 tsp
Split Urad Dal 1 tsp
Peanuts 1 tbsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Hing a little
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Lime Juice 2 tbsp



Method of Preparation

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard.

2. When it sputters, add the Channa dal, Urad dal and Peanuts.

3. When it starts to brown, add the cumin, turmeric, hing, green chilli, ginger and curry leaves.

4. Add the onions and saute till it starts to brown.

5. In the meanwhile, get the poha ready. Mine just requires a little washing under the tap in a sieve.

6. Boil some water and add the soy chunks for 5 minutes. Switch off and drain. Keep ready.

7. Once the onion is ready, add the vegetables and soy chunks.

8. Add some salt and chilli powder. Mix well.

9. Finally add the poha. Mix and switch off.

10. Add the lime juice at the end.

Super healthy breakfast which will leave the kids asking for more.... Sending this to the Toddler Healthy Breakfast/Dinner (Nithu's event) hosted by me this month

Vegetable Rava Upma with Spices

Rava upma is a tiffin I run to on a Saturday morning if I did not think thru the previous night. No soaking or prep is required. Plus it will be ready in less than 30 minutes. I ate this spice version somewhere a long time ago. I prepare this sometimes and it adds a nice aroma and taste to the upma. You can add the spices to the semiya upma as well.



Ingredients

Rava (Semolina) 1.5 cups
Vegetables 3 cups
Onion 1

Channa dal 1 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Cashews few

Cinnamon 1 inch piece
Bayleaf 1
Star Anise 2
Clove 2
Jeera 1 tsp

Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Hing a little
Curry leaves
Ginger 1 inch piece chopped
Green chillies 2 chopped

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Heat a pan and dry roast the rava(semolina) and keep aside.

2. Heat the pan and add some oil. Add the mustard.

3. When it sputters, add Channa dal, Urad dal, and Cashews.

4. When they start to brown, add the Cinnamon, Bayleaf, Star Anise, Clove, Jeera, Turmeric, Hing, Curry leaves, Ginger, Green chillies

5. Saute a little till the aroma comes and they start to sizzle. Add the onions.

6. Saute till it starts to brown. Add the vegetables. If it is frozen, just heat for a few minutes. otherwise, let it cook.

7. Add water to it. Use 1:1.5 ratio for normal rava and 1:2 for wheat rava. Bring it to a boil.

8. Add the rava and salt. Stir well. The water will all get absorbed immediately. Don't worry. Do not add any more water. Just cook in low heat till the rava is cooked.

Arisi Upma

For actual recipe of Arisi Upma, follow the recipe of Arisi Upma Kozhakkatai till the step where you stir the rava and get ready to steam. This one is my variation to use left over Kozhakkatai. I do not like the Arisi Upma before the steaming process as it has a sticky consistency. Plus I get to add vegetables into it.

Ingredients

Arisi Upma Kozhakkatai 20 (or whatever you have left)

Onion 1 finely chopped

Mixed vegetables 2-3 cups (microwaved and ready)

Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Idli Molaga Podi 1 tbsp. (or any spice of you choice like chilli powder or garam masala)

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Cook the Kozhakkatai as in the recipe.

2. Heat some oil in the pan. No need to add any thing for tempering as everything is present in the kozhakkatai itself. Add the onions and turmeric powder.

3. Once slightly browned, add the vegetables and saute for a for few more minutes. Add enough salt and idli powder. Remember that the Kozhakkatai already has salt in it. So does the idli powder.

4. Crumble the Kozhakkatai. Add to the vegetables and stir. Switch off. Upma is ready to be served.

Bread Upma

I was not really in a mood for a multi dish cooking. And I looked in the fridge and there was a packet of bread. It was bought 3-4 days ago and with no sign of being consumed. I keep buying bread cause my son sometimes insists that he will not eat anything but toast in the morning. And last week he did not eat any. I completely forgot about it and the whole packet was used to feed ducks in a nearby pond. I have to say, we had a really great time sitting there and feeding the ducks. Anyways, I was determined not to waste bread this week. So decided to make Upma with it and had Kesari for sweet.

Ingredients

Bread slices 8 numbers

Onion 1 big finely chopped

Mixed vegetables 3 cups. I heat my frozen vegetables in the microwave for 15 min.

Tomatoes 2 finely chopped

Chilli powder 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves for Garnish

Oil

Salt

For Tempering

Mustard 1tsp

Jeera 1 tsp

Turmeric 1 tsp

Hing - little

finely chopped green chillies, ginger and curry leaves

peanuts or cashews 10

Method of Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Pan and add the mustard. When it sputters, add peanuts or cashews.

2. When it is slightly browned, add the Jeera, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, Turmeric Powder and Hing.

3. Saute for a few seconds and add the onions.

4. Once the onions are slightly browned, add the tomatoes.

5. When they are cooked, add the mixed vegetables, chilli powder and salt and cook for a few minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

6. In the meanwhile, slightly toast the bread. (It should not be too hard, just enough to get the softness and mushiness out of the bread). I just stuck it into the toaster. Cut it into small pieces. I made around 12 pieces of each bread.

7. Just before eating, add the toast into the mix prepared in step 5. This will prevent the bread from becoming soggy.

Idli Upma

Idli Upma is a good way to use up some left over idli. It also helps to get some vegetables into the food.

OK now comes the confession. I do not like the simple plain idli. Ok I know. Most of you are thinking - what is wrong with her. But its the truth. One form I like eating it is when it is smeared with Molaga podi, packed for a picnic. After marriage, I have learned to tolerate it :-)

So for me, Idli upma is not an idea to make something with leftover idli. I made some idli the previous night and kept so that I can make this upma in the morning. You cannot make this with fresh soft idlis and you will not be able to crumble them.

Ingredients

Idli 10 numbers

Onion 1 big finely chopped

Mixed vegetables 3 cups. I heat my frozen vegetables in the microwave for 15 min.

Idli Molaga podi 3 tbsp

Coriander leaves for Garnish

Oil

Salt

For Tempering

Mustard 1tsp

Jeera 1 tsp

Turmeric 1 tsp

Hing - little

finely chopped green chillies, ginger and curry leaves

cashews 10

channa dal 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Pan and add the mustard. When it sputters, add channa dal and cashews.

2. When it is slightly browned, add the Jeera, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, Turmeric Powder and Hing.

3. Saute for a few seconds and add the onions.

4. Once the onions are slightly browned, add the mixed vegetables, Idli Molaga podi, and salt and cook for a few minutes.

5. Crumble the idlis and add to the pan. Garnish with coriander leaves.