ARISI UPMA - RICE UPMA

     Arisi Upma Kozhukattai is one tiffin item I frequent at home.  All these days, I had thought my husband wouldn't prefer eating it as Arisi Upma.  I couldn't say why, I had assumed it so.  To my dismay, I found that he liked the dish when we dined at Mangalambika Coffee House at Kumbakonam during our recent trip to India.  We went to Kumbakonam with the sole intention of trying out their popular Kumbakonam Degree Coffee, and we were amazed by the Coffee and the tiffin items.  From the long list of dishes we ordered, and we all took turns sharing and eating all the dishes, so that we wouldn't miss out the taste of any.  It was a whole family trip and all loved this Arisi Upma along with Kumbakonam Degree Coffee. 

    So, for the recent reminiscence, Arisi Upma - which is from my long forgotten collection of recipes from my college days.  Just what I needed was to adjust the Rice : Water Ratio as perfect as for Arisi Upma.    Rice/Arisi Upma is one of the popular tiffin items in a Brahmin household. This is a simple recipe made with coarsely ground rice which is called as NOI or KURUNAI ARISI. The only work in terms of this tiffin item is soaking the raw rice, and then drying it indoor for a few hours until all the moist is gone, then pulsing it in a dry mixer grinder jar into a coarse rice powder a.k.a kurunai like texture.  Once you have the rice kurunai(small tit bits), then the job gets easier.

    For Arisi Upma, add a bit of Peppercorns, Cumin and Tuvar dhal before grinding it coarsely.  This gives out a wonderful flavour to the dish.  Then the Rice mixture is cooked along with seasoning until 1/2 cooked and then again it is cooked for about 3-4 whistles in a pressure cooker.  This is the main trick which results in a perfectly textured soft Arisi Upma.

     Arisi Upma, is an easy and tasty breakfast/dinner dish popular in a Tamil Brahmin household.  Some prepare the same adding a bit of extra Dhal(Tuvar/Moong Dhal) to it. As such each household has a unique recipe of their own and this is how I make.  Arisi Upma goes well with tangy curries like Puli Kos, Brinjal Gothsu, Puli Kuzhambu or simply serve it with your choice of Chutney or Sambar.  

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Cuisine : South Indian
Course : Main Course
Difficulty : Medium
Serves : 3-4
Yields : 15 Nos.
Author : SM

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HOW TO MAKE RICE / ARISI UPMA

 

ARISI UPMA - RICE UPMA

INGREDIENTS:

For Grinding:

For Arisi Upma:

To make Noi Arisi:

• Soak the raw rice for 15 mins in water. 
• After 15 mins, drain the water and spread the rice in a clean kitchen towel and allow it to dry completely. 
• Can dry the Rice indoor under a fan.
• Once the rice is dry, add Cumin Seeds, 3/4 Teaspoon Peppercorns & Tuvar Dhal along with the rice & then grind it into a coarse powder in a dry mixer grinder jar.  
• Just pulse it once or twice. It should not be ground into a fine powder.
• Noi Arisi seasoned with spices is ready for making Arisi Upma.

ARISI UPMA - RICE UPMA

RICE/ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

    Rice/Arisi Upma Kozhukattai is one of the popular tiffin items in a Brahmin household. This is a simple recipe made with coarsely ground rice, which is called as NOI ARISI. The only work in terms of this tiffin item is soaking the raw rice, and then drying it indoor for a few hours until all the moist is gone, then pulsing it in a dry mixer grinder jar into a coarse rice powder a.k.a kurunai like texture.  Once you have the coarsely ground rice/noi(small tit bits), then the job gets easier.

    The coarsely ground rice is then cooked along with seasoning, once it is 3/4 cooked we need to make small balls out of it and then again it is steam cooked. This is a simple twist given to the classic brahmin dish Arisi Upma, where the Noi Arisi is well cooked and served as such.  Arisi Upma Kozhukattai taste great with sambar and chutney.  It is usually served as a breakfast item or as an evening tiffin.  This is a simple dish, with very few ingredients.  But the taste and flavour of this dish is quite unique. 

 
     I learnt this recipe from our neighbour aunty, Bhuvana's Amma.  She prepares something for evening tiffin,  almost every day, ammini kozhukattai, aval upma, pidi kozhukattai, mor kazhi - a long list of simple tiffin items.   She always treats me with her specialties, every evening, along with her wonderful Filter Coffee. And this recipe is from her repertoire.  

   I need to mention Anu, my long forgotten friend and neighbour who also makes wonderful Arisi Upma Kozhukattai.  Some recipes remind me of a few people, and this recipe reminds of Anu and Bhuvana's Amma.

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Cuisine : South Indian
Course : Main Course
Difficulty : Medium
Serves : 3-4
Yields : 15 No's
Author : SM

For more SOUTH INDIAN BREAKFAST RECIPES, Click here...

HOW TO MAKE RICE / ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

RICE / ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

INGREDIENTS:

To make Arisi:

For Arisi Upma Kozhukattai:

RICE / ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

 METHOD:

To make Noi Arisi:

• Soak the raw rice for 15 mins in water. 
• After 15 mins, drain the water and spread the rice in a clean kitchen towel and allow it to dry completely. 
• Can dry the Rice indoor under a fan.
• Once the rice is dry, grind the rice coarsely in a dry mixer grinder jar.  
• Just pulse it once or twice. It should not be ground into a fine powder.
• Noi Arisi is ready for use.
  

For Arisi Upma Kozhukattai:

• Boil 21/2 Cups of Water and keep it aside. 
• Heat oil in a pan, splutter Mustard seeds, Bengal Gram Dhal and Black Gram Dhal.
• Fry them until they turn into golden brown colour on a low flame.
• Add finely chopped Green Chillies, Ginger and Curry Leaves and sauté for a while.
• Sprinkle asafoetida powder and give a quick stir.
• Add grated coconuts and fry for a few seconds on a very low flame.
• Pour the water into the above mix, add salt and mix well. 
• Add a Teaspoon of ghee to the water.
• Add the coarsely ground rice gradually into the boiling water, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
• Lower the flame and cover the pan with a lid.
• Cook the rice, stirring it occasionally.
• Once the mix becomes thick and dry, switch off the flame and allow it to cool.
• Make small balls out of the arisi upma mix and steam cook in a steamer for about 5-8 minutes or until well cooked.
  
• Serve Arisi Upma Kozhukattai hot with Brinjal Gothsu, Sambar, Puli Kuzhambu or any preferred Chutney. 

NOTES:

• Do not grind the rice into fine powder, it should be ground coarsely like a kurunai.  Just a pulse or two in a dry mixer grinder jar would do the job.
• Adding some ghee or oil to the boiling water before adding the rice mixture helps to avoid forming lumps. Also, make sure to stir the mixture continuously.
• Adding Coconut is totally optional.
• The whole cooking process happens in two steps - 3/4 while it's cooked with the tempering and 1/4 of the cooking happens while the Arisi Upma Kozhukattai is steamed.

SEMIYA UPMA

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD:

• Chop Onions, Green Chillies, Garlic and Ginger.
• Heat Ghee in a pan, splutter Mustard seeds, fry Bengal Gram Dhal and Urad dhal until they turn into light golden brown in colour.
• Saute Onions, Green Chillies, Ginger, Garlic and Curry Leaves, until Onions turn translucent.
• Pour 4 Cups of Water into the pan and boil.
• Add Salt to taste.
• When Water starts to boil, lower the flame and add a tablespoon of Ghee or oil into it and give a quick stir.
• Slowly add Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya in small batches.
• Stir continuously while adding Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya into the boiling water to avoid forming lumps.
• Mix well and close the pan.
• Leave it on a low flame for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture turns slightly thicker.
• Add some ghee(optional) and stir it at regular intervals.
• Cook on a very low flame until Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya turns soft.
• Serve Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya Upma hot with any Chutney, Sambar or any preferred Curries.  Goes well with Curd/Yoghurt too.
• Can eat with Sugar sprinkled over it.

NOTES :

• I have used ready made roasted Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya in this recipe.
• If you are using normal Vermicelli, roast in along with few teaspoons of Ghee/Oil until it turns into light golden brown in colour.
• Adjust the amount of water to suit the type of Vermicelli you are using.
• Over-roasted Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya tends to become dark and dry even after adding enough water, and under-roasted Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya turns gooey.
• Can add 1/4 Teaspoon of Turmeric and few drops of lemon juice, if you prefer a slight tanginess in your Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya Upma.
• Can also add vegetables like Carrot, Beans or Peas to Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya Upma.
• If adding Vegetables add them immediately after sauteing the Onions, and let the vegetable turn soft, before adding water.
• Can add few teaspoons of Ghee to Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya Upma, at the final stage too.
• Adding Ghee to Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya Upma gives a nice flavour and texture to the dish. 
• Can substitute it with any Vegetable Oil too.

IDLI UPMA

      Idli Upma is an ultimate quick fix with left-over idlis & simple seasonings.  And at times if your idlis turn out to be hard, then this recipe is sure to rescue you.  Why left-over idlis for this recipe?  The two factors I reason out are
     - Fresh- Hot idlis cannot be crumbled up without lumps.
     - They turn out to be sticky too.
       So, Cold ones serve the purpose neatly.
     

    When it comes to South Indian Cuisine the two dishes which comes to everyone's mind should be Idli & Dosa. The staple breakfast item of almost all South Indians households. Variety and Variations of the dishes are served all over the world. The above vegetarian oriented dishes are relatively easy to make, healthy and serve as a quick fix.  You have the batter then you can fix a breakfast or dinner within minutes.
     

    When it comes to Indian food abroad and if asked for one in any Indian restaurant, it would always end up with a variation of North Indian Cuisine.  But you do get South Indian food that would mostly be Idli(Sambar Idli), Dosa mostly Paper Roast/Masala Dosa, Uthappams, Appams, Uzhundhu Vadai/Medhu Vadais prepared mostly to suit the restaurant standards slicked and drenched with lots of oil. Nothing like a simple home-made South Indian Tiffin Items. Even South Indian foodies rarely bother to venture further and try other South Indian dishes.
    

     This humble 'Idli Upma' is one dish which has never been in the lime light and has never ever travelled out from the confined South Indian Kitchens. One dish which can never be seen in a restaurant.  So no wonder even South Indian foodies around the world would least have an idea of the dish. Mostly prepared to use up the leftover idlis, in a simple and easiest way.  All the more it serves well for a breakfast, evening teatime snack or for dinner.  Serve it along with Coconut Chutney & Sambar or any chutney of your choice for an extra note of flavour and taste.
     

    My husband loves this Idli Upma, and he always says if there are left-over idlis, make Idli Upma.  Whereas my kids would ask me to prepare Idli Fries out of it.  So, for the above reasons, I have got into a habit of preparing extra batches of idlis just for the purpose, keep them in the refrigerator and prepare Idli Upma or Idli fries.  Mind you, they are not left-overs or I make Idli Upma because Idlis turned out to be hard😜

    When I write about Idli Upma, I cannot stop writing about the nostalgic memory which always comes along with this Idli Upma and the Tamil Movie 'Suryavamsam', least to mention the background score of Music director S.A. Rajkumar. La... La... La... La... La... La...  Rosapoo chinna rosapoo...

Cuisine : South Indian
Course : Main Course
Difficulty : Easy
Serves : 3-4
Author : SM

Preparation Time : 15-20 Minutes
Cooking Time : 10 - 15 Minutes

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INGREDIENTS :

For Seasoning :

Garnishing :

METHOD :

• Crumble the idlis coarsely with your fingers until they are evenly crumbled without any lumps and keep them aside.
• Heat Oil in a pan, splutter Mustard seeds.
• Add Bengal Gram Dhal & Urad Dhal along with Dry Red Chillies and Curry leaves.
• Fry the above on a medium flame until fragrant and the colour changes into slight golden brown.
• Add finely chopped Onions, Green Chillies and Ginger to the above seasonings and saute until Onions turns translucent.
• Sprinkle the Turmeric Powder and give a quick stir on a low flame.
• Add grated Coconut to the above and mix well, leave it on a low flame for 1-2 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Add crumbled Idlis along with Salt and mix well until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Leave this on a low flame for few minutes.
• Pour in the Lime Juice along with a pinch of Sugar and mix well.
• Garnish the Idli Upma with finely chopped Coriander leaves.
• Serve Idli Upmas hot along with Sambar or Chutney.

• Prepare this Idli Upma with cold Idlis.  Can prepare Idlis in advance and store it up in the refrigerator.
• Fresh- Hot idlis cannot be crumbled up without lumps and they turn out to be sticky too.  
• For white Idli Upma, avoid adding Turmeric Powder.
• Can prepare the Idli Upmas without Coconut too.
• I usually add Lime Juice for an extra flavour and taste.
• Adding Sugar will balance the overall taste of the dish, but it is purely optional.

RAVA PONGAL/SEMOLINA PONGAL

HOW TO MAKE RAVA PONGAL/SEMOLINA PONGAL

INGREDIENTS :

To cook the Dhal :

For Rava Pongal/Semolina Pongal :

METHOD :

• Dry roast Semolina(White Rava) until colour changes slightly for 5-8 minutes on a very low flame.
• Keep it aside to cool down.
• Dry Roast the Moong Dhal until fragrant on a very low flame for about 3 minutes.
• Then wash it and leave it aside to drain in a colander.
• Pour 3/4 Cups of Water to the Dhal and Pressure cook for 3 Whistles on a high flame.
• Lower the flame and cook for other 2 Whistles. 
• Switch off the flame and allow the pressure to release. Heat Ghee/Oil in a Pan, fry Cashewnuts on a low flame.
• Splutter Peppercorns, Cumin Seeds on a very low flame.(care should be taken not to burn the Cumin seeds which will alter the taste of Rava Pongal).
• Immediately add finely chopped Ginger, Green Chillies(slit into two) & Curry Leaves to the above and saute it briefly. 
• Pour in 31/2 Cups of Water(I substituted 1 Cup of Water with Milk) and allow it to boil.
• Add Salt to taste.
• When Water starts to boil, lower the flame and add a tablespoon of Ghee or oil into it and give a quick stir.
• Slowly add Roasted Semolina(White Rava) in small batches.
• Stir continuously while adding the Semolina(White Rava) into the boiling water to avoid forming lumps.
• Mix well and close the pan.
• Leave it on a low flame for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture turns slightly thicker.
• Add cooked Moong Dhal to the cooked Semolina and mix gently until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Add some ghee(optional) and stir it at regular intervals.
• Cook on a very low flame until Semolina (White Rava) turns soft.
• Can add 2-3 Tspns of extra Ghee to the Rava Pongal/Semolina Pongal at this stage, if preferred.
• Switch off the flame.
• Can serve Rava Pongal/Semolina Pongal hot with Sambar, Puli Kolambu, Khara Kolambu, Gothsu or any Chutney of your choice.

• Perfectly dry roasted semolina plays a major role in the texture of Rava Pongal.
• Over-roasted semolina tends to become dry even after adding enough water, and under-roasted semolina turns gooey.
• Can add few teaspoons of Ghee to Rava Pongal, at the final stage too.
• Adding Ghee to Rava Pongal/Semolina Pongal gives a nice flavour and gives a soft texture to the dish.  Can substitute it with any Vegetable Oil too. 
• Dry roasting the dhal enhances its aroma and gives an even texture while cooking. 
• Can crush the Peppercorns & Cumin seeds slightly.  This would increase the flavours in it.
• Splutter Cumin seeds on a very low flame,(care should be taken not to burn the Cumin seeds which will alter the taste of Rava Pongal).
• Temper all the ingredients on a very low flame.
• Can prepare the same recipe with Samba Gothumai Rava/Broken Wheat/any other millet variety. 
• Adding extra Ghee to Rava Pongal/Semolina Pongal is purely optional. 

Nendhrapazham Puzhungiyathu – Nutritious Steamed Bananas

Steamed Bananas - Nendhrapazham Puzhungiyathu: A Nutritious Delight

Steamed Nendhra Bananas—or Nendhra Pazham Puzhungiyathu as we lovingly call it in Kerala—are more than just a healthy breakfast. They're a piece of home. This traditional dish, made by steaming ripe Nendhra bananas, is a classic in every Malayali household, often served during breakfast, Onam feasts, or just as a soul-soothing snack.