Arisi Upma With Basmati Rice

This dish is really apt for breakfast, and it is very commonly prepared by Indians. It's basically made of rice and Toor dal that are turn into semi-coarse grits along with other ingredients such as black peppercorns and cumin seeds. Pepper and cumin are really good for digestion and to increase your immune system. It soothes your throat infection and increase your appetite. Fresh coconut is added in the end to elevate the flavor of upma to another level. Every ingredient has it's own benefit, so using it in our breakfast will be a guarantee to a healthy lifestyle.

Arisi Upma With Basmati Rice 

INGREDIENTS: 

Basmati rice - 1 cup

Toor dal - 1 tablespoon

Cumin - 1/2 teaspoon

Black peppercorns - 1/2 teaspoon

Water - 5 cups 

Grated white coconut - 1 big handful

Salt to taste

TO TEMPER:

Gingerly oil - 3 tablespoons

Mustard - 1 teaspoon

Cumin - 1 teaspoon

Urad dal - 1 teaspoon

Channa dal - 1 teaspoon

Green chili - 1

Dry red chili - 1

A sprig of curry leaves

Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. First, wash rice and toor dal thoroughly for three to four times. Drain them in a colander for 15 minutes, and after that spread them onto to a clean white cotton towel to air dry leaving no water. 

2. Now, we can move to the grinding process. Take the dry rice and toor dal along with 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and black pepper into a jar and grind into a slightly coarse but not too coarse just like the semolina texture. This you can store in an air tight container for an instant upma anytime for breakfast.

Coarse upma grits

3. This is prepared for three people, so I used all the ground rice-dal grits. 

4. Heat a deep bottom pan, and start pouring 3 tablespoons of gingerly, and temper all ingredients under the 'TO TEMPER' section.

5. Add 5 cups of water, salt to taste and grated coconut and allow the water to boil. At this stage, gradually sprinkle all the ground rice-dal mixture into the rolling water. Start stirring vigorously and continuously in order to avoid lump formation. 

6. Allow this grit to cook by closing the pan with a lid. This will make the cooking process faster. 

7. Switch off flame when the grit has absorbed all the water and seemed to be semi-dry. You can see the edges has developed oil, and it's good. 

8. Serve this hot with tomato chutney

Thank you

Abby