Ingredients (use vegan versions):
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon, or more, ground coriander
- cayenne to taste (I use at least 1/8 teaspoon)
- handful finely chopped fresh veggies (your choice)
- 1 and 2/3 to 2 cups water
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- salt to taste
- pinch nutmeg
- 5 to 6 tablespoon quick cook Malt-o-Meal, or similar product
- additional 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- little minced garlic, or scant 1/8 teaspoon asafetida powder
Directions:
Comfort food like Indian polenta! I
make it when I'm on my own for lunch,
but recipe could easily be doubled or
tripled.
To begin, heat first teaspoon oil in
pan (just a little oil, as you'll add
more at the end). Add black pepper,
cumin, coriander and cayenne to oil, and
fry for about 1 min. until fragrant.
(Pepper and coriander are best freshly
ground; use whole cumin if you like.)
Add veggies and, if using, the garlic.
(Cabbage and peas are good; chop small
to reduce cooking time. A few chopped
cashews wouldn't hurt.) Sauté veggies
until mostly soft; add a spoonful or two
of water if veggies get dry, stick or
burn.
When mostly cooked, add rest of
water, along with turmeric, salt and
nutmeg. Bring to boil. Slowly add
Malt-o-Meal, reduce heat, and stir till
thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
In
separate pan, heat last teaspoon oil, and add
mustard seeds. Let fry till they start to
pop. After popping for a few minutes,
remove from heat and add asafetida, if
using, and let that sizzle for just a
second, then add oil and fried spices
directly to uppma. Oil might pop up at
you, so be careful. Stir it in to mix
the flavors--and eat.
Dish can be as
thick or as loose as you like, depending
on proportion of Malt-o-Meal to water.
Uppma is, I think, traditionally made
with semolina. That's tasty too, but
adjust proportions and cooking time.
Don't skip the black mustard seed
step--it makes the dish! Gives a great
nutty, slightly charred flavor. Yellow
mustard seeds are probably more easily
found at the store. I've never tried
substituting them for the black ones,
but I'm sure it would work okay.
Serves: 1-2
Preparation time: 20 minutes
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