Amma - what an Upma!!
‘Upma’ is not a word you somehow think of to describe a US $100,000 winning dish. But as a newspaper would have you believe, in thousands of Kannadiga homes, Upma aka Uppittu has been called 'gobbra'. Or in English-speaking Kannada homes, `fertiliser’. Really? News to a uppit lover like me and I am sure you can imagine what it felt for those who have called Upma names, to see it top the charts and win that staggering sum for India-born chef Floyd Cardoza at the Top Chef Masters contest in Los Angeles.
South India reacted with: ``You mean, Upma... ourrr Upmaa, oh really?'' “How many thousands of items we make in India, and then they give the prize to this? Why, did no one make puri-alu or bisibele bhath in that contest? Or Dosas? We can make dozens of types in that, even low-cal varieties,” 'What will the world think of our country – that Upma is the best breakfast we can make?” The discussions and deliberations were long and vociferous.
Who would imagine that humble Upma could stoke feelings of patriotism and national pride? From its name to form, Upma is Simplicity Semolina’fied. Google throws close to a million `results' on searches, yet its 'etymology' is. Salt & Flour. Uppu & Maavu. Only the ‘flour’ in this case, is Rava, coarse in texture. Either derived from wheat or rice, in which case it would be called Akki tharee or Arisi ravai in Tamil.
The method to make most basic upma : Roast a cup of rava in a kadai till its ‘raw smell’ is gone, keep aside. In the same kadai, heat a tablespoon of oil, sputter mustard seeds, curry leaves, a spoon each of bengal gram & urad dal, a few green chillies, a pinch of hing/asafoetida. Add the roasted rava salt and water. Close it for a few minutes and let it simmer. Then, stir it and garnish with lots of grated coconut (I give this a miss) and green cilantro, squeeze in a dash of lime juice, till you can sense a pasty, and hopefully tasty upma. If pasty is a put-off for you, upma can be made ‘udhiru’ & flowery. It can be hot and spicy with vegetables, with green peas only, plenty of cashews, with onions only, with no onions but tomatoes only, (the permutation and combination of vegetables used is endless) with vermicelli, with newáge oats for the health afficionados, or grated Corn (now Americans would have loved that as well!) or like Cardoz, "upma of semolina and mushroom". But Version 1.0 of Upma has been the staple in homes. And hotel buffets in recent times, where it goes under contemporary-sounding, `Khara Bhath’. That's Upma all dressed-up for a party, with cashews & spicy masala.
Its brand image aside, upma is actually a boon for today’s fast-paced generation. And was quite a favourite with yesterday’s ‘fast’ generation too. Ask my mother! I was a fussy eater as a child and would give her nightmares but feeding me upma was a 'cakewalk' so to speak, though personally I feel, walking on cake would be yuck!. Then of course every ‘fasting’ Ekadasi, there was nothing easier than stirring-up upma in the night and was looked forward to the 'fasters and non-fasters' alike!.
South India reacted with: ``You mean, Upma... ourrr Upmaa, oh really?'' “How many thousands of items we make in India, and then they give the prize to this? Why, did no one make puri-alu or bisibele bhath in that contest? Or Dosas? We can make dozens of types in that, even low-cal varieties,” 'What will the world think of our country – that Upma is the best breakfast we can make?” The discussions and deliberations were long and vociferous.
Who would imagine that humble Upma could stoke feelings of patriotism and national pride? From its name to form, Upma is Simplicity Semolina’fied. Google throws close to a million `results' on searches, yet its 'etymology' is. Salt & Flour. Uppu & Maavu. Only the ‘flour’ in this case, is Rava, coarse in texture. Either derived from wheat or rice, in which case it would be called Akki tharee or Arisi ravai in Tamil.
The method to make most basic upma : Roast a cup of rava in a kadai till its ‘raw smell’ is gone, keep aside. In the same kadai, heat a tablespoon of oil, sputter mustard seeds, curry leaves, a spoon each of bengal gram & urad dal, a few green chillies, a pinch of hing/asafoetida. Add the roasted rava salt and water. Close it for a few minutes and let it simmer. Then, stir it and garnish with lots of grated coconut (I give this a miss) and green cilantro, squeeze in a dash of lime juice, till you can sense a pasty, and hopefully tasty upma. If pasty is a put-off for you, upma can be made ‘udhiru’ & flowery. It can be hot and spicy with vegetables, with green peas only, plenty of cashews, with onions only, with no onions but tomatoes only, (the permutation and combination of vegetables used is endless) with vermicelli, with newáge oats for the health afficionados, or grated Corn (now Americans would have loved that as well!) or like Cardoz, "upma of semolina and mushroom". But Version 1.0 of Upma has been the staple in homes. And hotel buffets in recent times, where it goes under contemporary-sounding, `Khara Bhath’. That's Upma all dressed-up for a party, with cashews & spicy masala.
Its brand image aside, upma is actually a boon for today’s fast-paced generation. And was quite a favourite with yesterday’s ‘fast’ generation too. Ask my mother! I was a fussy eater as a child and would give her nightmares but feeding me upma was a 'cakewalk' so to speak, though personally I feel, walking on cake would be yuck!. Then of course every ‘fasting’ Ekadasi, there was nothing easier than stirring-up upma in the night and was looked forward to the 'fasters and non-fasters' alike!.
It was the quintessential fast food and is wont to be rustled up when guests arrive unexpectedly or a large quantity needs to be conjured up in a hurry. It was the one-dish meal taught to all bachelors who were venturing out into the unknown world as emergency food rations and a quick fix for home sickness! It has survived the test of time and the cruelties heaped on it by the Indian Railway chefs who managed to make this lovely dish into a gruel even Oliver Twist would refuse and assimilated the fawning over of gourmet chefs from MTR and their ilk, in smothering it with 'ghee' ...but, it is undeniably a survivor and a world beater today!
Whatever it is, with the gooey gone global, one hopes at least from now on, mothers serving Upma won't get asked, "Yaenamma, ivatthu uppit'aa?"
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