Soy Semiya Upma

It is funny that what we at times disliked as kids..tend to change. I used to hate..yes hate upma..it used to make me so mad when my mother made it..but my sister was overjoyed as it is her favorite. I would eat bread and jam but would not touch it. Then we were invited by my singing teacher to her grahapravesam and for breakfast they served us ...upma!..horrers!! i was forced to eat it then and i fell in love with it. I think my mom was a bit insulted..but quickly got over it..and honestly for a whole yr, no i am not kidding..i had upma after school!! semia and rava..so much so that my mom stopped eating upma for a while..as she was sick of making it!

I have been trying to eat healthy and knowing my success rate from the past i have decided i am not going on a restrictive diet..instead modify it and add healthy elements to what i make..so when i decided to make my fav. semia upma..i have tried to give it a healthy boost by adding soy-granules. If you are like me and not a huge fan of soy-chunks (should i be saying this ;)..(but now i am slowly changing and not turning my face when i taste one :D.)...you will still like soy-granules..as it completely blends with the dish and you will not even get to taste it. So here is the recipe...



Ingredients:

Semia - 1 cup (roasted, you get this pre-roasted in the store)
Soy granules - 1/3 cup
Water - 2 1/2 cups ( you have to adjust accordingly, this is just a guesstimate)
Vegetables - 1 cup, diced(used carrots,peas and green beans)
Onion - 1 medium (yes, it is a veggie..but deserves a separate entry ;)
Green Chilly - 2 , slit
Ginger - a small knob,diced
Oil - 2 tsp.
Ghee - 1 tsp.
Curry leaves - few, torn by hand.
Mustard seeds,Urad dal and Chana dal - 1 tsp. each.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Add oil in a pan and add mustard seeds in it. When it splutters, add the urad and chana dal to it. Meanwhile soak the soy granules in warm water and keep aside.

2. When the dals change color, add in the onions with 1/4 tsp. of salt and saute till the onions get soft, but do not burn. (i add the salt with the onions, as we are using very little oil and the salt draws out the moisture from the onions and makes it go longer in the pan without burning)

3. Add the veggies when the onions are soft, add some more salt, turmeric powder and 1/2 cup of water and cook on medium-low till the veggies are soft.

4. Test the veggies to make sure that they are cooked then...add the remaining water, salt to taste, curry leaves and let the water come to a good boil. Then lower the flame, add in the say-granules( squeeze the water out) and the semia and cook it in medium flame till the semia plumps. The soy takes no time to cook..as they are really tiny and soaked very well.

5. When the consistency is thick..but no too thick, as moisture keeps getting absorbed, add the ghee to the semia and give it a final stir and switch off the gas.

6. You can eat with hot or cool it in the fridge and eat with with yogurt and pickle. I ate mine with tomato chutney.

Notes:

1. To add more protein content, i have also used edamame in the past in place of peas.

2. I think the final tsp. of ghee adds a lot to the aroma of the dish.

3. If you love chunks,you can easily add it in place of granules.

This is my submission to WBB- Soy and currently hosted by moi :)