Vegetable Upama (ऊपमा )

Upama requires very less time to cook and very less preparation before hand. Yet it is very healthy dish, you can eat as your breakfast or in snack.

Ingredients:-
(1). 1  cup soji/rava
(2). 3 tablespoon chopped onion
(3). 1/3 cup frozen mixed vegetable or peas and carrots
(4). 4 florets of broccoli , cut into small pieces
(5). 2 table spoon oil
(6). 1 small chopped green chili(optional)
(7). Salt to taste
(8). 1 teaspoon mustard seed
(9). pinch of asofoetida
(10). 2 cup warm water
(11). Coriander leaves

Recipe:-

• In medium size non-stick pan heat oil.
• Add mustard seeds, wait for them to crack. You can add 1 teaspoon urad daal in tadka.
• Add asofoetida ,green chili, onion and pinch of salt. Wait for onion to become slightly brown.
• Add soji and mix it well. To make sure there are no lumps, keep stirring. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Now add mix vegetables broccoli and water, mix everything well. Keep stirring so that there is no lump in Upama. Cook Upama for 7-10 minutes, you should see Upama is moving smoothly as whole in non-stick without sticking in pan. Switch off the gas.
• Garnish Upama with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with coconut or peanut chutney.  You can serve Upama with cooked black chana (kadala curry) also.

Tip:- You can make Upama without any vegetable.

Sambar(संभार)

My friend and I used to go 'Sankalp Restaurant'  in my town to eat dosa and sambhar when we craved the authentic South Indian food taste. I love the aroma of spices in sambhar. It makes you more hungry.  I tried to make so many time but it never used to turned out that well than my mother in law showed me how to make it, and now I am making pretty good sambhar. So courtesy of my mom in law I am sharing this recipe. She tells me that you can put any vegetable you like there is no rule and no limitation. Just go creative. She also make sambhar with small onion(shallot) it is called 'Ulli Sambhar' or Onion Sambhar.


Ingredients:-
(1). Two small cup tuver dal
(2). 2 table spoon Sambar powder
(3). 1 big onion cut into big chunks
(4). half green bell pepper cut into big chunks
(5). 1 small cup frozen/fresh ratalu or violet yam pieces (optional)
(6). 1 small cup frozen/fresh yam pieces(optional)
(7). 1 small  cup potato cut into big pieces
(8). 1 small cup eggplant cut into big pieces
(9). 2 table spoon oil
(10). 2 dried red chillies(optional)
(11). 1 teaspoon mustard seed
(12). pinch of asafoetida
(13). 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
(14). salt to taste
(15). 2 tablespoon tamarind paste
(16). half teaspoon garam masala.
(17). Curry leaves dried or fresh
(18). Chopped coriander leaves
(19). 6 pieces fresh drum sticks cut inch in length(frozen should be fine too).

Recipe:-
Start the stove and boil the tuver dal in pressure cooker. In one big deep pan take oil and  put mustard seed. Wait for mustard seed to crack, add asafoetida, red chillies, curry leaves and onions. Let it cook for couple minutes, add salt, turmeric, garam masala, tamarind with other vegetables(from 4 to 8). Mix everything well.  Add one cup of water, let the vegetable cook for 5-7minutes until vegetables starts to soften. Stir occasionally. Now add the boiled tuver dal in this gravy, once again mix everything well. If you think sambhar is thick add 1 cup water. Let Sambhar cook for another 8-10 minutes, stir in between. Switch off the stove  Boil drum stick by adding pinch of salt. Add them in to Sambhar. Garnish Sambhar with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with idli, dosa or uttapam.

Tips:-You can also use pumpkin and sweet potato in sambhar. Do remember Sambhar powder contains good amount of salt ,so salt it wisely. If you don't have tamarind paste you can substitute with lemon juice.