Cornmeal Upma

My 186th recipe, "Cornmeal Upma", a slight twist on the quick and easy South Indian breakfast upma. Upma is a classic South Indian breakfast dish usually made from semolina / rava or vermicelli. I make it frequently at home since it is one of RK's favorite. While watching shows on the Food Network TV, I have seen many times people making dishes like polenta and grits using cornmeal. While the recipes are completely different from that of an upma, to my eyes, the concept seemed similar. It posed an opportunity for me to try making a upma using the cornmeal. I did not have any hesitation in giving it a try. I anyways had a box full of cornmeal left after making my corn muffins. Since I do not bake corn muffins very frequently, I was happy to put it in use via the upma. I used the same process as a regular upma, just increasing the water quantity and cooking time. The resultant cornmeal upma was a hit. While it tasted just as a regular upma to my taste buds, RK liked it very much. He said he liked it better than the usual rava upma. A new addition to my ever growing list of easy and healthy breakfasts 😉

Cornmeal Upma

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Prep Time 3 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

• Cornmeal - 1 Cup
• Green Chilli - 2 small slit
• Onion - ½ medium sliced
• Curry leaves - 4
• Salt - ½ tsp adjust per taste
• Water - 2 Cups
• Ghee - 1 tsp optional

To temper

• Oil - 1 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - ¼ tsp
• Chana Dal - ½ tsp
• Broken Urad Dal - ½ tsp
• Jeera - ½ tsp

Instructions

 

• First, dry roast the corn meal in a large pan in medium flame until a nice aroma arises. Transfer it to a plate and set aside.
  
   
• In the same pan, heat the oil to temper. Add the mustard seeds and once it splutters, add the other ingredients listed under "To Temper", in the given order. Once the dal turn slightly golden brown, add the green chilli, onion, curry leaves and give a quick mix. Add the salt and continue to saute until the onion turns translucent.
  
   
  
   
• Add the water, mix well and let the water start to boil.
  
   
• Just when the water starts to boil, add the roasted corn meal to the pan. Mix well until combined and there are no lumps. Cook covered in low-medium flame until the corn meal is fully cooked through. It took me about 5 mins for the corn meal to cook through.
  
   
  
   
• Turn off the flame. Optionally add a tsp of ghee, mix well and serve hot with coconut chutney.
  
  

Notes | FAQ

- Roasting the cornmeal is important to get the right texture for the upma. Do not roast until the corn meal changes color.
- A slightly coarse ground corn meal will work best for the upma.
- Optionally, you can also add veggies like carrot, green peas, green beans, etc. If doing so, add it along with the onion.