This simple dish, perfect for breakfast or a light meal, is made with coarse rava (sooji) and uses a lot of onions to flavor the uppit. Unlike other styles of uppit that use vegetables or beans, this onion uppit is a minimalistic style of uppit, resulting in a dish where you can smell the nutty aroma of the roasted rava, the sweet taste of onions, and each of the simple spices in each mouthful.
I make this style of uppit when I want a quick lunch while working from home. I and pair it with some plain yogurt and Indian pickles on the side for a more complete meal.
Simple Onion Uppit
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Yellow onion diced finely
- 2 tbsp Vegetable or Canola oil
- 1/2 tsp Black mustard seeds
- 1.5 tsp Urad dal
- 1.5 cups Roasted upma mix or medium coarse rava (300 g)
- 10 Curry leaves
- 2 tbsp Cilantro chopped
- 1.5 tbsp Fresh grated coconut either grated fresh, or frozen
- 3-4 Green chilis minced. Adjust based on the spice level of chilis
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1.5 tsp Salt 10 g to taste
- 4.5 cups Water
- 1 tbsp Ghee optional
Instructions
- Gather and prep all the ingredients for the uppit.
- Heat the oil in a wide saucepan and add the mustard seeds. It’s ok to add the seeds when the oil is heating up. Cover the saucepan and wait for the seeds to pop.
- When the popping stops, lower the heat and add the urad dal, green chilis, and curry leaves. Stir for a minute until the urad dal turns golden brown.
- Add the chopped onions and half the salt and cook for a few minutes, while stirring, until the onions turn translucent. Do not rush this step.
- Add the roasted upma mix or rava and stir to combine. If using roasted upma mix, you only need to stir for a couple minutes until the rava is heated through. If you are using unroasted rava, then stir the rava and vaggarnae mix for a little longer until the rava becomes fragrant.
- Add the rest of the salt and stir to combine.
- Add the 4 cups of boiling water to the rava mix now. The uppit will bubble up aggressively for a few secionds if your pan is really hot. Stir the mixture until everything is evenly combined.
- Cook the uppit while stirring for another 2-3 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rava becomes soft. If the uppit seems to be too dry before the rava is fully cooked, add a half cup of water and stir some more. You will have to use your judgment based on how soft you want your uppit.
- Taste and adjust the salt at this stage.
- Turn the heat off, and add the ghee and a good squeeze of the lemon. Stir to combine and cover the saucepan and let the uppit rest for at least 5 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and fresh grated coconut and serve hot.
Notes
- The lemon juice is important at the end to elevate the finished dish. But if you are out of lemons, it is ok to leave it off.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator.
- Reheat and break up any lumps that form in the uppit when it cooled down.
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