Exotic Tomato Gourmet Semolina Upma – Sooji Upma In Restaurant Style

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup semolina – sooji rava
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cup hot water or as required
• 1 medium size chopped onion
• 4 tsp chopped carrot
• 4 tsp boiled green peas
• 3 tsp chopped green capsicum
• 2 tsp chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tsp chopped yellow bell pepper
• 2 tsp cashews
• 3 tsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• 1 chopped green chili
• 6 curry leaves
• 3 tsp chopped coriander
• 1/8 tsp asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• to taste Salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp carrot julienne
• 1 tsp green capsicum julienne
• 1 tsp red bell pepper julienne
• 1 tsp yellow bell pepper julienne
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• For garnishing
• Coconut yogurt chutney
• Few pomegranate pearls
• Few Fried cashews

Steps

1. First, finely chop all the vegetables for the upma. Prepare a tomato purée. For the stir-fry vegetables, cut them into juliennes.
2. Roast the semolina (rava) in a pan over a low flame until it releases a nutty aroma. Transfer the roasted semolina to a separate plate. Now, add three spoonfuls of ghee to the same pan. Fry cashews until turns golden. Transfer to a plate.
3. Temper the mixture by adding mustard seeds, urad dal, green chili rings, and curry leaves in same pan. Add the finely chopped onions and sauté them well. Now, add all the exotic vegetables and stir-fry them too.
4. Once all the vegetables have softened thoroughly, add the tomato purée, mix well, and cook for 2 minutes. Add salt to taste, turmeric powder, and red chili powder to the cooked veggies, and mix well.
5. Add the roasted semolina (rava) and mix well. Add the fried cashews and finely chopped fresh coriander, squeeze in some lemon juice, and mix everything into the upma mixture thoroughly.
6. Add hot water and stir the mixture. Depending on the quality of the semolina, you might need to add more water. Make sure to keep stirring continuously to prevent any lumps from forming. Cover and cook on a low flame for 2 minutes. Once the upma is cooked through, turn off the gas.
7. To prepare the stir-fried vegetables, heat olive oil in a pan. Stir-fry the julienned vegetables over high heat. Add salt and black pepper powder to taste, and mix well. Turn off the heat after one minute. The crunchy stir-fried vegetables are ready.
8. To achieve a gourmet restaurant-style presentation, I have prepared a base of coconut-yogurt chutney and placed the exotic tomato upma on top. Garnish it with fried cashews, fresh coriander, and pomegranate seeds, and serve with crispy fried vegetables on the side of the plate.
9. I prepared South Indian semolina upma in a gourmet restaurant style; it tastes absolutely delicious.It gives a unique twist to the simple, traditional South Indian dish.