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Arisi upma
Broken rice and dal upma
அரிசி உப்புமா: broken rice and toor dal cooked with coconut, pepper and curry leaves, with a crisp bottom
Arisi upma is the old Tamil country breakfast and evening dinner, especially in Tirunelveli and Madurai homes, made from rice and toor dal coarsely broken at home and cooked in a heavy pot. The best part is the 'kaanthal', the crisp golden crust that forms on the bottom, which families fight over. The mistake is too much water, which gives a sticky porridge; use about two and a half times the volume of the broken rice. Chef's tip: once cooked, leave it on the lowest heat with a lid for ten minutes, undisturbed, to build that crust.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the rava
- 7 oz raw rice
- 2 tbsp toor dal
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
For the upma
- 3 tbsp sesame or coconut oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp chana dal
- 2 dried red chilliesbroken
- 12 curry leaves
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
- 5 tbsp grated coconut
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Method
0/7 doneStep 2: Grind the rice and dal with 1 tsp black peppercorns and 1 tsp cumin seeds in short pulses to a coarse rava like small semolina grains. Don't make flour.
3 minStep 3: Heat 3 tbsp sesame or coconut oil in a heavy pot. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds and, when it pops, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp chana dal and 2 dried red chillies until golden, then 12 curry leaves and ¼ tsp gluten-free asafoetida (hing).
3 minStep 4: Pour in 3 ¼ cups water with 1 ¼ tsp salt and 5 tbsp grated coconut and bring to a boil.
5 minStep 5: Rain in the rava, stirring, and cook covered on low heat, stirring every few minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are soft, 15 minutes.
15 minStep 6: Leave on the lowest heat, lid on and untouched, for 8–10 minutes so a golden crust forms on the bottom.
10 minStep 7: Serve hot with coconut chutney or brinjal gothsu, scraping up the crust.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 51 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arisi upma take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of raw rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of toor dal?
- Red lentils (masoor dal) (cook 10 minutes less).
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