Upma Ravi

I was on a call and mentioned that I enjoy cooking. Next thing you know an incredible list of recipes comes through. So much so that I would like to attempt to make a new recipe each day for a year. Fingers crossed this will be something that I can keep up with. 

The first recipe in this incredible recipe is one that I have had many times when staying the night over at friends’ houses or on retreats. It is a favorite dish that I didn’t know was so quick, easy, and quite healthy. Since I don’t eat onions and garlic, this version of Upma Ravi is made without onions and garlic. 

This recipe will make approximately 3-4 servings. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sooji
• 1 tbsp ghee (or 2 tbsp oil or 1 tbsp butter)
• 1 tbsp chana dal (split garbanzo beans)
• 1 tbsp urad dal (black lentil dal)
• 6-8 split cashews
• 2-3 small potatoes
• 1 tsp ginger or 1/2 in finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1-2 Thai chilies slid or dry chilies
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric 
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 can of green beans
• 1/4 cup of cilantro

Recipe:

1. In a small pan, heat your pan and add 1 tbsp of ghee. Once you see that the ghee has melted and a thin coat has formed over the base, add 1tbsp of chana dal, tbsp of urad dal, and 6-8 split cashews. 
2. Roast the beans and cashews until you start to smell the wonderful aroma of the beans. Trust me, once the beans start to roast there is a nice smell that will indicate that you are good to go. While roasting the beans place the heat on medium to low to ensure that the beans and cashew become golden brown. 
3. While the beans and cashews are roasting. At this point, finely chop your potatoes and place them in a bowl. Mix the raw potatoes with 1/2 tsp of turmeric and 1/2 tsp of ginger powder.
4. Going back to your pan, add 1-2 Thai chilies that have been sliced or sliced dried red chilies. During this step, add the mix that was created in the previous step. And sauté. 
5. Add 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of sugar, and squeeze half a lemon into the mixture. At this point turn off the heat to the pan. 
6. In a 2-in-depth pan or 4-6 in the pot. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
7. Once the water is boiling reduce the heat to medium and add 1 cup of sooji to the water. Using a wooden spoon stir the sooji and add your mixture from step 5. 
8. At this point, everything that you have made in the pan is mixed well into the sooji. 
9. To ensure that nothing sticks to the pan you can add a little more ghee. This will make the upma a little more creamy, but it is optional. The next thing to do is add 1/2 can of green peas. 
10. Once you see that the mixture is creamy but not runny, you know that it is ready. Plate the upma and garnish with cilantro.