Dal and Rava upma (yellow lentils and semolina)

Yesterday was Mahashivrathri and I took the orikkal, complete with keeping awake the whole night. So I was awake till 6:00 AM. In that spirit, I was actually going to post a recipe for 'Sabudana Khichdi', the only food I had for more than 24 hours. But I just googled it and saw more than enough recipes of the same.

So instead, I am posting yet another experiment of mine this past week. Instead of making just the normal rava upma, I decided to add some dal to it. It was quite a tasty combination, and with a pappad, it is a full meal.

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustad seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera/ cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Yellow lentils /dal - 1/2 cup (I used a mix of masoor and thur dal)

Onion - 1 large (chopped fine)

Ginger piece - 1 inch (grated or cut very fine)

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Red chilly powder - a pinch

Green chillies - 2 (cut fine)

Rava/ semolina - 1 and 1/2 cups

Water - 3 cups (more or less)

Salt - to taste

Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add the jeera, then add the onion, ginger, and green chillies.

Once the onion is yellowish brown, add the turmeric and red chilli powders and fry well. Now add the 3 cups of water, add the dal and cook well. I did not use the pressure cooker for this at all. If mixing the dals, they have a slightly different cooking points. Once the dal comes to a boil, keep the flame to medium, put a lid and cook for about 15 minutes for the dals to cook.

Once the dal is cooked to your satisfaction, add the salt and then then the semolina. Mix well, keep the flame on low and cook for 5 mintes. Add a few drops of lemon juice and some ghee for added taste.

For extra colour, you can add a freshly grated carrot, cooked green peas and a bunch of coriander leaves (cut fine).