Upma can be customised to suit every single cuisine in the world, because all of them use cereal grits in one form or the other.
Just by changing one ingredient, it can take on a local flavour. This OPOS (One Pot One Shot) version manages to eliminate the three major issues that plague upma — it eradicates clumping of the rava , doesn’t require continuous stirring, and is safer, because it does not bubble in an open vessel. Plus, it’s a quick and easy option when you need to cook a large quantity.
I’ve been seeing a spike in private messages on social media over the last couple of days, asking me about upma , and how to cook it.
Here’s my recipe:
OPOS Upma
Ingredients
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped onions
Curry leaves
Green chillies to taste
Ginger to taste
1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 cup double roasted semolina or vermicelli
Method
In a two-litre pressure cooker, add the water, salt, onions, chillies and ginger along with a teaspoon of oil. Cook on high flame for one whistle. This takes about five minutes. Release pressure, and add the semolina or vermicelli. Stir and close lid. The semolina will cook in the retained heat. Open after 20 minutes, add seasoning (mustard, chana dal), garnish with coriander and serve.
The author is the founder of the United by Food group on Facebook, which powers the One Pot One Shot cooking technique. Check out his upma recipe on OPOS Chef channel, YouTube.
