Vegetable Upma

Serving size : 4
Total Preparation time : 8 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients :
1 cup medium sized semolina, roasted
1.5- 2 tbspn oil/ ghee

For the tempering :
A pinch of asafetida
1 sprig/ 7-8 curry leaves
1 tspn cumin seeds
1 tspn mustard seeds
1/2 inch grated ginger
3 finely chopped green chilies
1 tspn Split and skinned black gram/chana dal/bengal gram
1 tspn Split and skinned black lentils/ urad dal
1 tbpsn peanuts
1 tbspn cashew nuts

For vegetable mix :
1 tbspn finely green peas
1 tbpsn chopped green beans
1 tbspn finely chopped carrots
2 tbspn finely chopped onions
2 tbspn lime juice
1.5 tspn salt
2 tspn sugar
2 cups hot water

For the garnishing :
1 tspn freshly grated coconut (optional)
1 tbspn finely chopped coriander leaves


Method :
Heat a wide heavy bottom non stick pan with ghee/oil on medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and fry till they crackle. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds along with the chana dal and urad dal. Add the cashew nuts and peanuts and fry them along with the lentils/dals. Add the green chilies,curry leaves along with ginger, saute for 1 min. Add the chopped onion and fry till transparent. Now add the chopped vegetables, salt and sugar and mix well. Turn the heat to medium, add hot water to the vegetables, mix well and bring the water to a boil. Cook till the vegetables are tender. Now turn the heat to medium and add the roasted semolina in 3- 4 batches stirring continuously to make sure there are no lumps. Keep on stirring and cook the semolina till it absorbs the water and swells. Lower the heat and cook the mixture till it becomes dry. If the mixture is too dry add some more water. Simmer for another 2 mins stirring making sure the mixture doesn't stick at the bottom. Turn off the heat, add the lime juice and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and freshly grated coconut and serve hot.

Best served as a snack or breakfast with green coconut chutney, lemon wedges or pickle

Tip :
Using hot water to cook the semolina helps in saving cooking time.
You could skip the veggies totally and use only the nuts and lentil.
Veggies leave water upon cooking so add water in parts, you could add more water if required.
Adjust sugar, salt and lime juice as per required taste.