Masala Shavige Uppittu

Delhi was fun! A whole lot of fun! We are back after having a fabulous time there and it’s taken a week to unpack and settled down to routine like usual. I stayed away from blogging on Veg bowl for a while, didn’t blog hop either, nor did I check my mails. I did no business with my laptop, since I needed an intentional short break away from home chores and the daily grind at work, and this family function was just the perfect excuse. The engagement ceremonies went off smoothly and we had a real good time meeting family and friends, chatting, partying through nights, hitting the paranthewali gallis, shop-till-drop on Delhi streets, city sightseeing and needless to say, a hell lot of indulgence in food! We fit in a day’s trip to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri and loved going back to live history with the city. Beautiful indeed.

We came back with lovely memories and tons of photographs to be cherished. I am yet to sort them out, and while they run in thousands, I am clueless where to make a beginning!

Although being away was exciting to break the monotony of the day-to-day routine, it’s a warm, comforting feeling to be back home, and tuck ourselves into the bliss of home cooked food. We dined out mostly while in Delhi and Agra, on the oh-so-common butter parathas and cream laden heavy North Indian delicacies, that were delicious and sinfully good for our occasional indulgences, but far from the simple home cooked meals that we began craving at the end of our trip.

Back home this shavige uppittu was a humble, yet delightful breakfast dish we relished. Nothing fancy, but a simple upma that’s dotted with vegetables and flavoured with green chillies, lime and coriander herbs for the garnish. Served with milk and fruits by the side for the morning, this was the perfect way to revive the comfort of our home-made breakfast.

Well, this makes a great tea-time snack too.

Masala Shavige Uppittu / Masala Semiya Upma

INGREDIENTS

100 g rice semiya (called shavige, as in kannada)
2 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves, torn
8-10 cashew halves (can also substitute peanuts)
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced to small pieces
3-4 beans, finely sliced
2 green chillies, chopped
A pinch of turmeric
Juice from ½ lime
1 tsp. sugar (optional, but highly recommended)
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish

DIRECTIONS

Cook the rice shavige in plenty of boiling water. When it’s al dente, switch off the flame and drain off the water completely. Shock the cooked shavige by running it under cold/tap water for a few seconds. Drain the water off completely and add a tsp. of oil, salt to taste, sugar, turmeric powder to the prepared shavige, toss lightly and keep aside.

In a wok / kadhai, heat a tsp. of oil and add in the mustard seeds. As they begin to pop, add the cashew-nuts and fry them till they brown lightly. Next add the chopped onions and fry till they turn translucent. Add the chopped carrots and beans and fry till they are just done. Add in the green chillies and curry leaves and fry further for a minute. Toss in the cooked shavige to this and stir well. Cook further for another 4-5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Turn off the heat and add in a dash of lime juice. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot as is or with a chutney of your choice.