Recipe: ARISI UPMA (அரிசி உப்பூமா)

I never used to like Arisi Upma much when my mother used to make it at home. I realise that as I get older, I enjoy the traditional recipes of my home town more and have learned to appreciate them over the years. I recently made Arisi Upma for my family and it was an instant hit.

Ingredients:

Rice (ஆரிசி) – 1 cup
Tur Dal (துவாரம் பருப்பு) – ½ cup
Water – 3 cups
Green Chillies (பச்சை மிளகாய்) – 2 (cut in twos)
Red Chillies (வெத்த மிளகாய்) – 2 (cut in twos)
Curry leaves (கருவேப்பிலை) – A few
Mustard Seeds (கடுகு) – 1 tsp
Channa Dal (கடலை பருப்பு) – 1 tbsp
Urad Dal (உளுத்தம் பருப்பு) – 1 tbsp
Asafoetida (பெருங்காயம்) – ¼ tsp
Grated Coconut (துருவிய தேங்காய்) – 3 tbsp
Oil – 3 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Coarse grind the tur dal and rice to the texture of rava. (Run the dal separately first before adding the rice to it as the former takes longer to grind).
2. Heat a saucepan and add the oil to it. When hot, crackle the mustard seeds in it. As they are crackling, add the channa dal and urad dal to the oil. Keep the gas on medium flame.
3. As the dals turn red, add both the chillies and curry leaves and stir well.
4. Add the asafoetida at this point and stir.
5. Now add the grated coconut and turn once before adding the water. Keep the flame high.
6. Add salt to the mixture.
7. When the water comes to a boil, reduce the flame and add the dry rice-dal powder.
8. Mix well and switch the gas off.
9. Pour the whole mixture in a vessel and add ghee to it and mix well.
10. Place it in a pressure cooker and cook it for three whistles. Alternately, if you have an electric cooker, you can cook it in that for about 15 minutes.

The yummy Arisi Upma is ready to eat now. Arisi Upma tastes great whether hot or cold. Katharikkaai Gothsu compliments this dish perfectly.