Uppupindi - A traditional South Indian Breakfast

Traditional south Indian breakfast in a hundred year old copper pot*

This traditional south Indian dish of upma made from broken rice is a perfect breakfast for those sleepy and hurried mornings when you want to get the breakfast on the table quickly without having to spend too much thought on it. It's a tasty, comforting, mildly spicy food. The combination of green chillies and ginger gives the dish it's pep, and the semisoft texture of the cooked grains, makes every mouthful pure bliss especially when topped with a dollop of ghee.  The dish provides a perfect balance of carbs and proteins and is light and satisfying at the same time. The last time my in laws came to visit us, my MIL shared this recipe with me.

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Ingredients

1 tbsp. oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

3 red chillies slit lengthwise

 3 green chillies slit lengthwise

1 sprig curry leaves

0.5 inch piece of ginger grated

6 pepper corns

1 cup rice rava (buy it at any Indian store or make it yourself#)

0.25 cup moong dal

1.5 cups water

Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan or wok and put water to boil in a separate vessel

2. When oil is slightly hot, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and red chillies.

3. When the seeds start to splutter, add green chillies, grated ginger, curry leaves and peppercorn. Stir the mixture for 15 seconds and then add the moong dal

4. After the moong dal changes color and takes on a reddish hue add the rice rava and salt and stir the entire mixture till the rava loses its raw smell

5. Now, check the vessel of boiling water. When the water is boiling rapidly, add the rice rava mix slowly, stirring all the time to avoid lumps. When almost all of the water is absorbed, transfer the vessel to a pressure cooker and cook for three whistles. Enjoy it piping hot with ghee and some pickle.

* The copper pot is more than a hundred years old and belonged to my great great grandmother.

# recipe source: sizzling tastebuds