Kids and The Fluffy Kerala Style Upma...!!!

Kids are stress reliever's and I've been lucky with kids everytime.

I first met Diya and Rayan few months back here in Dubai, I love them more everytime I see them next, I see myself getting excited when I know I'm meeting them in sometime. The never ending stories by Diya of what had happened since we met last, what Ummi (their mom said, did etc) and Rayan conveying in his language how he got hurt while hopping on the couch and so much more with all that giggle and unlimited hugs and kissess takes me to a different world, of Diya and Rayan of course.

Diya last evening mentioned she would soon go to Barbie School in India & Rayan will visit Ben10 School when we stepped out of KFC, chicken popcorn in KFC will always remind me of 'em until it appears in their menu and after that too.

These kids soon would be back in India for good, and I will miss them like hell as I have been missing Krishna, Ishaan, Sanjana, Sasha and more of them.

Quickly need to pick gifts for these two little darlings...!

In the morning:

I didn't want any lunch-lunch meal but some light snacky lunch, and thought of Upma. When I think of Upma I have very clear of picture of two South Indian States in front of me; Kerala and Karnataka. May sound funny but that's how much Upma's from these two states have influenced me. Since childhood I'm used to the Fluffly and Flowly Upma made at home and thats how Upma (Uppmaavu) is for a Malayali. Cut to Bangalore and the Upma's you get when you order in the darshini's (the Shanti Sagar's, Shiv Sagar's and the Sukh Sagar's) or even in a Kannadiga colleagues tiffin is the cake like Upma. My first thoughts were that these guys don't know what an Upma is like, later realised this is what an Authentic Upma for the state is like.

The Fluffy Kerala Style Upma is great with mashed banana or just the Upma without an accompaniment; I went ahead with my prep:

Few mustard seed, 2 tea spoon oil (vegetable, olive preferrably), 1 large onion chopped, 4 green chillies chopped finely, an inch long ginger root chopped (grated, if you like), a sprig of curry leaves washed and free of water. A standard tea cup of rava (Sooji or Semolina, Sameed in Arabic) roasted and kept aside. Chopped Cashew nut and (or) Almonds (adds crunch to the final Upma). 11/2 tea cup water.

Take a pan, heat some oil when hot enough (not smoking) add mustard and when it cracks let the onion go in the pan, saute for 2mins or less on medium flame, now add curry leaves, ginger and chilli. Saute them well and add the roasted Rava, mix well.

Now is the part which differentiates the state Upma's so distinctively.

Start sprinkling water little at a time and mix the rava and the mixture simultaneously and stay on medium flame. Keep repeating till the Upma in progress is still fluffly and the ratio of Rava to Water is 1:11/2 cups and ensure there are no lumps.

Mix very well the free flowing Upma and go on to add cashew and almond or grated coconut if you like. Close and keep under simmer for couple of minutes. The Fluffly Kerala Style Upma is ready, again!