How often have we reached out for a pack of instant noodles or bread-butter-jam on seeing Upma for breakfast? And how often have we heard this—“Since he/she is unwell upma will be best for breakfast? And how often have we been offered upma as a SOS dish? Most of us, irrespective of which part of the country we come from, have had the same dish with different names.
There are many who cringe and shy away from the dish and yet there are some who can't get enough of the dish, like New York's celebrated chef, Mumbai-born Floyd Cardoz.
Floyd entered a contest in New York which required him to prepare an item based on food memories. Floyd couldn't think of anything better than a plateful of upma with a twist. And this helped him win the big ticket prize of $ 100,000. Floyd is a happy man but the debate in the upma staple land continues.
Like in many other households, Lakshmi R. had children protesting at the mention of upma till she evolved this easy-to-make into more exotic dish. “At the risk of sounding like those women in commercials, I have to say this; I sort of reinvented upma and found takers ever since I started using more green chillies, extra cashew nuts and a spoonful more of oil. It's sheer magic after this. Ever since, upma is part of our six-day breakfast menu (we eat out on Sunday) at home,” she declares proudly.
There are others with similar views but the fact that they are away from home have helped them change notion, “I hated it when I was small, discovered the true taste after leaving home. Now it is the first priority for tiffins,” say NRI Raj S.
The best part about making upma is the several methods and variations to prepare it. “Our aunt first introduced it to us. We didn't know it as upma we used to call it namkin suji . And when we went down south as tourists all we had was upma and sambar. Surprisingly I am not yet bored of the dish. I avoid having it in tiffin centres because they present it in a gooey consistency. Every household has a custom-made recipe. If and when I get my upma right I finish it all. Otherwise it's my mother in law's raw mango upma which tops the favourite list,” says another upma lover.
Foodie and food critic Vijay Marur says he is only aware of two breakfasts—the English breakfast and upma . “Upma can be had in various ways. So much so that my daughters have started naming it Upma: 101, 107 versions. Our upma breakfast is three days a week. My favourite is the karam-podi mix and the one with lots of veggies. Ghee would be ideal but we are keeping that on hold for sometime.”
Narasimham who runs a South Indian tiffin joint in Ameerpet says they don't get many upma orders and the reason he believes that “ Upma makes one drowsy. Youngsters mostly stay away from the dish.”
Would they now? If they know that Americans are just waiting to explore this south Indian fast food?
Upma upma de de
Don't fancy having upma for breakfast? Take a relook at the humble tiffin. Besides the regular suji upma, you can make it with semolina, wheat rawa or oats.
Bring some colour into upma by adding green peas, beans and carrots, and garnish with roasted cashews.
Alternatively, try making the upma like a tomato bath.
While serving, add generous helping of ghee and some avakai pickle.
