Kharabath

Where do I start and what do I say about this dish! For someone who visits Bangalore, they are bound to make acquaintance with this breakfast/snack dish. Kharabhath is a typical Bangalore breakfast and widely available in every hotel and eatery joint of this city. It's spicy and is generally served with Kesaribath which is a sweeter counterpart. This sweet-spice combo is called as ChowChow Bath and is loved by most Bangloreans. In other parts of Karnataka, minus the tomatoes and it's called as Upma. It is quite filling and can keep you away from hunger for hours!

Kharabath

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Rava/Sooji (Cream of Wheat)
1 large onion, chopped
2 green chillies, slit or finely chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
¼ cup roasted peanuts
A sprig of curry leaves
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste
A dash of lime juice

DIRECTIONS

Roast the rava stirring constantly till the rava gets a light brown color. Then keep it aside. Boil about 3 cups of water and keep it aside. We boil the water so that it is of the same temperature as that of the rava and the other fried ingredients. This helps in faster cooking of the rava.

Now heat 3 tbsp oil in a kadai/pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the seeds begin to splutter, add the curry leaves, channa dal, urad dal and roasted peanuts to it and fry till they turn light brown. Now, add chopped onions and green chillies. Next add chopped tomatoes, turmeric and salt and fry them for another 2-3 minutes. Now add the sooji and fry for few miniutes. Pour the hot water into the mixture. Bring it boil on low heat for about 3 mins. The water should be absorbed by the rava and cooked. Turn off the heat and add a dash of lime juice. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.