Tomato Upma

Upma is a breakfast recipe from southern India in which semolina is dry roasted and cooked with onions and vegetables till the semolina absorbs all the water and thickens. It is made in different ways in different states. In restaurants, it is usually served with coconut chutney or sambar. At home, people either eat it with chutney or with some homemade pickle. But this dish is complete in itself and can be eaten as is.

The most common method of making Upma is without vegetables. It can be called the classic upma. In this upma, a generous amount of onions is used. These onions are fried with chillies and cooked with semolina, and the taste of onions shines in the final dish.

Another recipe is Vegetable Upma. In this version, a variety of vegetables are used in addition to onions. This upma is more nutritious than the classic version and, in my opinion, tastier too. I have already shared the recipe for Vegetable Upma. Do check it out.

Today, the recipe I am sharing is Tomato Upma. The taste of tomatoes shines in this Upma, and although this upma is also made with vegetables, it tastes quite different from Vegetable Upma.

Let’s check out the recipe:

Equipment Needed:

• Pan
• Spatula
• Mixer grinder
• Knives and Cutting Board

Ingredients for Tomato Upma:

• 2 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Chana Dal
• 1 tsp Urad Dal
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds/Mustard Seeds
• 8-10 Curry leaves
• ⅓ tsp Asafoetida
• 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Ginger
• 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Green Chillies
• 1 Medium-Sized Onion; Chopped
• 1 Medium-Sized Capsicum; Finely Chopped
• 1 Large Carrot; Finely Chopped
• ⅓ Cup Frozen Green Peas
• 2 Medium-Sized Tomatoes; Ground into a fine paste
• 1 Cup Roasted Semolina
• 2½ Cups Water
• 4-5 tbsp Peanuts
• 10-12 Cashews
• 1 tsp Salt
• ⅓ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• ½ tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Ghee
• Fresh Coriander Leaves for garnishing

Method to make Tomato Upma:

Combine tomato paste with water. Transfer to a saucepan and boil on high heat for about 5 minutes.

While it boils, heat oil in a pan. Fry peanuts and cashews on medium heat. When they turn crunchy, remove them and keep them aside. Note that cashews fry faster than peanuts. So, add peanuts to the oil first. Midway, add cashews. Once they become crunchy, remove them. Also, always fry nuts on low to medium heat.

In the same pan, fry ginger, green chillies, chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds, and asafoetida in the remaining oil on medium heat for 15-20 seconds.

Add onion. Fry till it turns translucent.

Then, add chopped carrots, capsicum and peas.

Add salt. Lower the heat. Cover the pan with a lid and cook till the vegetables are 80% done. Then, add roasted semolina.

Mix everything and roast on medium heat, constantly mixing with a spatula, for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the boiled tomato and water mixture. Add turmeric powder, sugar, and lemon juice. Cover and cook on medium heat till the water is absorbed.

Add ghee, fried peanuts and cashews. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or pickle.

Some Notes about the recipe:

1. As mentioned above, always fry nuts on low to medium heat. If you fry them on high heat, they will turn brown on the outside but stay soft on the inside. To achieve the crunchiness of the nuts, the heat must always be kept between low and medium. Also, cashews take less time to fry, so either fry the peanuts and cashews separately OR add peanuts first. When they are halfway through, add cashews.
   
2. Use pre-roasted semolina. It works best.
   
3. As mentioned in my recipe, boil the tomatoes and water first and then add them to the vegetables and semolina. If you don’t boil the tomatoes and water, the tomatoes will taste a bit raw in the upma.
   
   Another method is to dry roast the semolina separately and keep it aside. After cooking the vegetables, add the tomato and water mix. Let the water come to a boil and cook this for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the roasted semolina.
   
   Both ways work. If you use the second method, add the tomato and water mix once the vegetables are 50-60% done.

Some Notes about Ingredient Sourcing in Germany:

1. Chana Dal, Urad Dal, Mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, fresh coriander, green chillies, peanuts, and turmeric powder can be bought in an Indian shop.
   
2. Semolina can be bought from an Indian shop. Else, buy this semolina from Turkish Shops. It tastes very good for Indian recipes like upma, halwa, etc
   
   
   
3. All the vegetables used in the recipe can be sourced from supermarkets.
   
4. Ghee: You can make it at home, or buy readymade one from Indian shops. Read my article about sourcing Ghee in Germany.
   
5. Read my article about Salt in German Supermarkets here.

Here is the recipe in printable format:

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