South Indian cracked wheat upma

 

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 diced carrot
• 1 diced bell pepper (any color or mix them)
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1/2 cup cut green beans
• 1 cup cracked wheat
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 green chilies (optional)
• 1 tea spoon mustard seeds (optional)
• 1 tea spoon black gram skinned (urad dhal/gota - optional)
• 4 curry leaves (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (optional) 

Recipe

If using the optional ingredients, do the following: 

•  Heat a pan in medium flame. 
•  Once the pan gets heated up, add 1 teaspoon mustard. The mustard will make a popping sound and splutter. The seeds splutter and give aroma to the dish. 
•  After they all splutter, add the skinned black gram and roast until it turns golden color. This should take less than a minute.
• Now add the curry leaves & green chili. Fry them for a minute.
• Add the asafoetid. This gives a pungent smell and a unique flavor. I am not sure if many will like this.
• Do not leave the asafoetid in dry heat for more than 2 seconds. it should not change color.
• Set this aside and start with step 1.

1. Dry roast the cracked wheat in a pan in medium flame for 5 minutes. This releases the natural aroma. 
2. Sautee the onion in water until it is cooked.
3. Add the diced bell peppers and Sautee for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, optional ingredients and turmeric. Cook them all together for 10 minutes. Add water if needed.
5. Add the diced carrots, beans & peas.
6. At this point, you can complete the dish in an Instapot, rice cooker or continue with the pan.
7. If using Instapot, add 1 cup of the roasted cracked wheat, 2 1/2 cups of water and all the cooked vegetables to the Instapot. Pressure cook for 10 minutes.
8. If using rice cooker, you can add 1 cup of the roasted cracked wheat, 2 1/2 cups of water and all the cooked vegetables to the rice cooker. Set it in the rice option.
9. If continuing with the pan, add 2 1/2 cups of water to the cooked vegetables. Let it come to a boil. Now add the cracked wheat and keep stirring until it is cooked. It should increase in size and become soft once cooked.
10. Serve hot

Tips

• The optional ingredients should be available at an Indian store near you.
• If you do not have one, then you can order at an online store.
• I have ordered before at Indus foods https://indusfoods.us/. I have used their service and had a good experience. I am not advertising for them. You may be able to find other services like them.
• If you have any questions on the Indian ingredients, let me know through the comments.