Today’s post of Arisi Upma (Broken Rice Upma) comes from my MIL’s kitchen repertoire. This was one of the earliest dishes she made for us while visiting us right after our marriage. Apparently, she makes Rava Ladoo, Jaangri (a Urad dal based sweet) & many other Kuzhambus awesomely well, but this recipe has stayed with me. There are different ways of making this, but this is to document her style.
We are running “Flavours of India” this week presenting 3 different dishes that dont appear on restaurant menus but are mostly made by homecooks.
This is a breakfast as well as a evening tiffin dish. Its spicy on its own, and must be eaten hot. We make it mostly on weekend nights in place of an elaborate dinner or sometimes for a Sunday evening tiffin (early supper) and skip our dinner as its very filling .
Accompanied here is this Gothsu (Tamarind based spicy dip) thats used as a side dish for Ven Pongal or Rava Pongal. It can also be had with any Kuzhambu variety.
Off to the recipe, now ! Follow the steps enclosed for a yummy Upma 🙂 Hope you also make this and enjoy it..
Prep time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 adults generously.
Arisi Upma – a Vegan, GF Rice – lentil based savoury dish
Cuisine : Tamilnadu (South Indian), Course : Breakfast or evening snack / Dinner alternative.
Ingredients:
- Raw Rice – 200 ml (use short grained variety)
- Toor dal – 50 gms
- Jeera / cumin – 1 tsp
- Whole Black pepper corns – 1/2 tsp
- Red chillies – 2 or 3 (remove the stalk)
- Salt – to taste
- Boiling water – 4 times the rice quantity (depends on the quality of the rice)
- fresh or frozen Grated coconut – 3 tsp (optional but recommended)
Tempering:
- Oil – 3 TBSP
- Ghee – 1 tsp (skip for Vegan version)
- Mustard seeds – 1/2 TBSP
- Urad dal – 1/2 TBSP
- Channa Dal – 1/2 TBSP
- Cashew nuts – 2 tsp (broken or halved)
- Curry leaves – few
- Hing / Perungaayam / Asafoetida – a generous pinch (skip for GF version)
Method:
In a spice grinder, pulse the dal with the jeera and pepper corns a couple of seconds into a slightly broken consistency (take care while splitting them else it would become a smooth flour – we are just breaking it into two keeping it very coarse). Add the rice now & red chillies and just pulse it once for 1-2 second. You would get a heterogeneous mixture of rice, dal, spices. Sieve it once to remove any flour material and keep aside.
In a non stick pan or any deep bottomed pan, heat oil (sesame oil or Nallennai works best here). roast the cashews till golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon.
Now quickly add the dals and mustard seeds and saute till mustard splutters and dals brown a bit, then add asafoetida, curry leaves, the hot water , grated coconut & salt.
When the water boils for 1 min more, slowly add the rice-dal-spice mixture in a steady stream and keep stirring the mixture like you would for Upma. Mix quickly before it gets lumpy, close the lid and let it cook for 10-15 min on a very low flame (Rice takes quite some time so watch intermittently).
Once done, mix well, add the ghee (if using), fried cashews. mix once more and serve hot. I love this personally with a bowl of yoghurt or this Gothsu.
Sending toBM 73 under “Flavours of India”
Looks delicious.. never tried making upma with broken rice.
Ah thats a good one, Kalyani you are a pro where healthy dishes are concerned.
ah that looks amazing Kalyani. I love Arisi Upma and miss not making it often..
I love all types of upmas. This looks too god Kalyani. I am craving for some right now..
Been ages since I have had this. I never make this, maybe it's time to change that!
Looks delicious..i have never tried this upma so far..It reminds me of pongal.
Love this no-fuss, no-frills recipe. Looks so comforting and delicious.
perfect comfort food combo!
Interesting addition of toor dal.
This upma is my grandma's signature dish, love this dish very much especially with some spicy coconut chutney.
This is how my mother makes arisi upma and I love it.
Broken rice pudding is just like upma, love the flavors.
Our favorite, leftover gets a makeover of pidi next day. Certain dishes are so nostalgic, it brings a flood of good memories. Looks delicious kalyani!! 🙂
One of my favorite dishes Kalyani.The last pic looks so tempting…