Semiya Upma / Vermicelli upma

Yup, I am back as I had told in the earlier posts that I would be. For the time being I have some drafts which I had been delaying in posting for a while now. Those drafts are gonna feed my blog untill my baby gets settled down in our crazy world. He still has got his nights and days mixed up. So while he is sleeping through the day, I thought I could do something else other than starring at him :). Anyways, this time it is Semiya Upma. Lazy morning breakfast option is what I would describe these to be.

During college days, when we used to attend camps, Rava Upma used to be served quite often. No complaints from my end, because I love Upma. But Upma is not very well accepted by all. Atleast that is what I have seen while I was in hostel or while attending camps. Even my man does not like it. But this semiya upma is well appreciated by him. So this is like a life saving breakfast option for me when we would get up late and have to quickly make something up for breakfast while I would be juggling with the options for lunch, to pack for him. 

This is how I make it usually. Occasionally I add in raisins/ cashews to add richness to it.

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cup of semiya /vermicelli
2. 1 tbsp of ghee/clarified butter
3. 1 tbsp of oil
4. 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
5. 1 1/2 tsp od urad dal 
6. 1 strand of curry leaves
7. 1 -2 tbsp of finely cubed onions
8. 1/2 tbsp of finely chopped ginger
9. One tomato - cut into large cubes
10. 1/2 tbsp of cut green chillies
11. 2 cups of water
12. Salt to taste

Method

• In a skillet, add the ghee and once hot, add the vermicelli to it and dry roast it. Let it turn golden brown. Do not burn it. Transfer it on to a plate and keep it aside.
• In the same skillet, take the oil. Once hot, add the mustard seeds and let it pop. Turn the heat to medium and add the urad dal to it. Roast it till they turn golden brown. Now add onion, ginger, green chilly and curry leaves. Saute it till the onion turns tender. Add the cubed tomatoes and let them turn tender(shouldn't turn mushy) too. 
• Add the water and salt. Let it come to a boil. Adjust the salt as required.
• Once the water boils, add the roasted vermicelli to it and stir it well. Cover it and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Open the lid and toss it gently. Let it cook for another 2-3 minutes untill the water evaporates and the vermicelli is fully cooked. 
• Remove it from the heat and serve it hot.

Tips

1. You could choose to add roasted cashews and raisins to garnish the upma.
2. While you roast the urad dal, you could roast some chana dal/split yellow pea, if you desire to.
3. You could garnish the upma with some coriander leaves to add in more flavour.
4. I love the flavor of semiya roasted in ghee that adds on to the taste. However, you get roasted semiya which you could use to avoid the roasting of semiya.

They are a quick fix for a delicious breakfast. Hope you try it and like it.