nlm@ulysses.UUCP (Nancy Mintz) (11/21/84)
This recipe comes from an Indian cooking class I recently attended.
Upma is a fairly spicy vegetable-grain dish, whose chief ingredients
are peas, carrots, cauliflower and cream of wheat.
( Yes, cream of wheat - but this is nothing like the stuff you
were served for breakfast as a kid!! )
Upma and a salad make a good dinner, especially if you have plain
yogurt and Indian pickles to go with the upma.
The dish is simple to prepare - most of the work is in organizing
the ingredients beforehand. Once you start cooking, there'll
be very little time for measuring & chopping, so have everything
in order before you begin. The ingredients are listed in the
order that you'll need them.
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal (see comments on ingredients below)
1 dried red chili, broken into pieces
1/2 cup cashews, finely chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 or more hot green chilis, slit and seeded (optional)
1/2 inch piece ginger, finely chopped
1 cup mixed vegetables: peas, carrots, small cauliflower flowerets
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup cream of wheat
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, packed
1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan or casserole over a medium high flame.
When it's hot, add the black mustard seeds, cover, and shake the pot.
The mustard seeds will pop noisly for several minutes. After the
popping dies down, uncover the pan and add the urad dal and dried
red chili. Fry for perhaps 30 seconds, stirring.
Note: Be careful if you uncover the pot while mustard seeds are still
popping: they can fly out and burn you. Since they're covered with
oil, they'll cling to your skin and if you get one in your eye,
it'll really hurt.
2. Add the cashews, fry until golden. Add the onions & green chili,
fry until the onions turn golden. Add the ginger and cook for a
minute more.
3. Add the vegetables and stir. If it looks dry, add a little water.
Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove lid, raise heat, add 1 1/2 cups water, and bring to a boil.
**Slowly** pour in the cream of wheat, stirring vigorously
to avoid lumps. Turn heat to very low, cover, let sit for
a minute.
5. Turn off heat. Add lemon juice and coriander leaves, stir,
and serve with plain yogurt and Indian pickles.
Comments on ingredients:
black mustard seeds: these are supposedly more pungent
than the more common yellow seeds
urad dal: "dal" is a dried legume. urad dal is the
hulled & split seed of the black gram bean.
don't worry if you can't find it - it's just
used here to flavor the oil.
chilis: the number depends upon your taste for hot food.
the recipe from the cooking class called for one
only, but the instructor said that if cooking for
her family she added 6 - 8 chilis. personally,
i find 3 or 4 to be sufficient.
mixed vegetables: you can use frozen (defrosted, please!)
peas & carrots, but the cauliflower should be fresh.
cream of wheat: also called farina or semolina. the
instructor said that the semolina sold in Indian
stores is a finer grain than that sold in American
groceries. If you should use the finer grained,
decrease the amount of water.
fresh coriander leaves: also called cilantro or Chinese
parsley. make an effort to find these - they add
a very distinctive flavor.
You can cook this in advance and refrigerate or freeze it. If frozen,
thaw slowly until at room temperature. Re-heat in a 350 oven for
approximately 20 minutes.
enjoy!!
nancy mintz
...ihnp4!ulysses!nlmpartha@ihuxq.UUCP (Partha Raghavachari) (11/21/84)
I would like to point out that the dish needs salt also. By the way, my
mother fries the cream of wheat also to golden brown before adding water.
This gives a good flavor to the dish.
Partha Raghavachari
AT&T Bell Labs, Napervillelcb@mhuxt.UUCP (BARBALAS) (11/26/84)
> > 1 tablespoon oil > 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds > 1 teaspoon urad dal (see comments on ingredients below) > 1 dried red chili, broken into pieces > 1/2 cup cashews, finely chopped > 1 medium onion, sliced > 1 or more hot green chilis, slit and seeded (optional) > 1/2 inch piece ginger, finely chopped > 1 cup mixed vegetables: peas, carrots, small cauliflower flowerets > 1 1/2 cups water > 1 cup cream of wheat > juice of 1/2 lemon > 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, packed > ........ > 4. Remove lid, raise heat, add 1 1/2 cups water, and bring to a boil. > **Slowly** pour in the cream of wheat, stirring vigorously > to avoid lumps. Turn heat to very low, cover, let sit for > a minute. I've found that it helps to roast til slightly brown the cream of wheat before you start cooking the vegetables, it really works at keeping the upma from coming out lumpy. > > > Comments on ingredients: > black mustard seeds: these are supposedly more pungent > than the more common yellow seeds > urad dal: "dal" is a dried legume. urad dal is the > hulled & split seed of the black gram bean. > don't worry if you can't find it - it's just > used here to flavor the oil. Regular lentils you find in the grocery store may be used here. Just put a handful in (wash them first!) after the onions. Don't use the red lentils though, they tend to turn to mush before anything else is cooked. > chilis: the number depends upon your taste for hot food. > the recipe from the cooking class called for one > only, but the instructor said that if cooking for > her family she added 6 - 8 chilis. personally, > i find 3 or 4 to be sufficient. > mixed vegetables: you can use frozen (defrosted, please!) > peas & carrots, but the cauliflower should be fresh. > cream of wheat: also called farina or semolina. the > instructor said that the semolina sold in Indian > stores is a finer grain than that sold in American > groceries. If you should use the finer grained, > decrease the amount of water. > fresh coriander leaves: also called cilantro or Chinese > parsley. make an effort to find these - they add > a very distinctive flavor.