Uppama
Ingredients
2 cups semolina (rava-medium sized), 3 1/2 cups water, 1 tbsp beaten yogurt, 3-4 red chilies, 1/4 cup soaked and shelled peanuts or broken cashewnuts, 2-3 teaspoon sugar, salt to taste, 3 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter) /oil, 2 teaspoon black gram, split (udad dal), 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida, 6-7 curry leaves, coconut and coriander leaves for garnishing.
Method 1. Put 1 tsp ghee in a pan. Roast rava over medium heat till the color changes to golden brown and it gives out nice aroma. (for 10 to 15 minutes) 2. Heat ghee/oil in a pan. Add udad dal. As it turns reddish, add asafoetida, red chilies, curry leaves and peanuts or cashewnuts. Fry for some time. Add beaten yogurt and water. 3. When the water comes to boil, gradually add roasted rava in batches mixing after each addition, to keep from forming lumps. Add salt and sugar and keep stirring. Remove the lumps, if any. 4. Now cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add 2 tsp ghee and again sprinkle some water over the uppama to make it soft. Cover for a minute. Remove lid and garnish with coconut and coriander leaves. Serve hot. Variation: Chopped onions, green peas, chopped tomatoes can be added for more flavor. The proportion mentioned here is for medium sized semolina. You may use coarse semolina. Then, for 2 cups of semolina, use 4 to 5 cups of water. For fine rava, reduce the amount of water to 3 cups.