Welcome to Upma

[\'s mom]

its called \'attu\' and is cooked on a hot tavva like dosa,if i am not wrong. r we speaking of the same thing here SR? besan/chanigapindi also can be used instead of wheat flour along with finely cut onions, gr,chillies and salt.

[\'s mom]

oh, yeah, u can add finely cut tomatoes.

[Smocking Rock]

Yeah ur right Momma it\'s called \"attu\" and I think it is made in every home. I haven\'t tried with onions, tomatoes etc. they will add taste certainly.

[\'s mom]

so, nobody tried pessarattu yet? anyways, here is one more quick tiffin with atukulu/poha and either cucumber or dosakaya. ingredients: poha 1 glass, one grated dosakaya with seeds,oil/ghee salt, haldi, red chillies 2-3, hing, kadipatha/karvepaku, bagara seeds/ talimpuginjalu, a teaspoon of chanadal, a teaspoon of udath dal, cut kotmir. FOR VARIATION:grated fresh coconut, lime juice. Heat a kadahi, heat ghee, put bagara seeds, add red chillies, the dals, kadipatha and hing, Mix. add grated dosakaya/cucumber, mix. add salt and haldi, mix and let it cook for about 3-4 mts. Take a big bowl of cool water, put poha and wash it quickly and squeeze all the water pressing poha in between ur hands. add this and mix well. add cut kotmir and as a variation u can add grated fresh coconut and also or either lime juice too.

[Anil]

Amazing! I do make these (looks like cooking is one more of those things where all bachelors have the same mind set)! The only variation - I beat an egg in it (learnt from my Chinese classmate) and its quite tasty, fluffy and smooth. I don\'t know what it is exactly called but I call them as pancakes!

[Smocking Rock]

Attu with an egg. I must try it. And I think this poha thing is called Atukulla Upma. And how can anybody forget \"Noodles\".<br><br>I always get those top-ramen smoodles dump it in water and eat, how can I spice it up by adding other indegrients.

[\\\'s mom]

To cooked noodles you can add any (or w/ combo) of these:scrambled eggs/ spicy hot sauce /vinegar / pepper/ worschestershire sauce/ finely cut carrots/ cut cabbage/ lime juice/ cut and cooked beans/ cooked cubed chicken, kheema/ cooked and fried noodles as garnish/ cut kotmir/ finely cut capcicum/ finely cut green onion/ just plain cut onion as garnish.. anybody can add some more here?

[Z C]

INSTANT noodles are not good for health.......people say !!

[Z C]

even when its not good for health, i try to cook a mixed vegetable curry and dump a pack of noodles in it !! once in a while

[\'s mom]

It need not be instant noodles. take conventional noodels and cook them, they taste better, anyways.

[Smocking Rock]

Noodles aren\'t good for health, i didn\'t know that. Ok, can you suggest some web site where I can find some cool recepies on making noodles.

[Smocking Rock]

And Rice can be used for many quick tiffins, one we do at home is called Kichidi.

[Smocking Rock]

Got bored of eating these things, anthin new!!! Tring... Tring... momma where ru.

[\'s mom]

oh, whoops ! sorry bete! had been very busy w/ my son\'s finals and the work and all. cud not get online too to get onto the full hyd website.anyways, one of the very simple ones here, neembu rice. 1-2 neembu ka juice, finely cut onions, cut green chilles, cut kotmir,kadipatha, bagara seeds,salt, haldi, chanadal and udath dal 1 tsp each. roasted phalli, and putna/batana (the half, soft yellow ones), left over rice can be used too. heat oil, add bagara seeds,kadipatha, dals and add chillies and fry and add onions and fry. as it turns brown put some salt and haldi, mix well. add phalli, putna along with rice ( the rice shud not be softly cooked, ) and mix carefully so that u do not soften the rice. add lime juice and garnish with kotmir. U can make a complete meal by making a side dish of vegetable salad, roasted/fried papad and curds. lots later.. for sure. have fun.

[Smocking Rock]

I have benefited alot from u momma...Thanks, now I am on time to office.

[\'s mom]

) thats\' true, nai ? that we do benifit from each other\'s responses. have fun.

[\'s mom]

simple yummy khichidi: 2 cups rice, 1 cup pessarpappu, salt, haldi, gingergarlic paste 1/2 tsp, garam masala ( 3lavang, 2 illachi, 1 1\" dalchini, a pinch of sajeera). cook it well and add lots of ghee and eat w/ fav avakaya. nutritive khichidi: add to the above ingredients veggies like cut beans, cut carrot, shelled green peas n\'cut spinach. can be had w/ curds/ lassi/aavakaya/tomatoe sabji/etc.

[Anil]

How much should be the water (if I cook it in an electric rice cooker or a pressure cooker)?

[\'s mom]

ummm.. andaza se, Anil ! maybe like rice:dal:water 2:1:6 ? try. it shud come out soft. atleast i like it so, and lots of ghee goes very well w/ it.

[Z C]

i cook and i pack, most of the time while its hot coz i dont have time. So, the taste is lost, any tricks to get rid of this ?

[\'s mom]

I cool stuff before packing by spreading it in a wide plate/ under the fan(some items get hard/crisp like chapati if cooled under the fan) or natural air cool them and pack with the plastic wrap and heat stuff in microwave right before eating.

[\'s mom]

Wanna try home made mirchi bajjis? and kaju pakodis? they come out yummm. let me know how many of u r sport enough to try ? and if i get even one promise i will write it, k? it shud not be like the pessaratu where one of u wrote that u have to soak for 6 hrs like u have to sit w/ it for 6 hrs!! or u sit and soak?!! ::))) u need to soak \'it\' and go on w/ ur work for the next 6 hrs. it aint anything w/ soaking though, these mirchi bajjis, garram garram bajji with spicy chutney in it. The Indira Park kind, nai. better ones, these r. wannna try out, um? did I make my point, yet, of making u guys\' mouth water?

[Anil]

We do fully understand that we don\'t have to sit next to the soaking gram! The problem is when we are in a mood to eat, we can\'t wait for 6 hours. Likewise, when we soak something for 6 hours, something might come up during the waiting time and we end up not using the soaking dal and end up throwing the whole thing. I am not lazy but many a times, I take out all the vegetables, onions, etc. BUT, something comes up, and I end up putting everything back in the refrigerator and settle for a sandwich or a pizza or a carry-out. Mirchi bajji\'s and Kaju pakoras - mouth-watering - but frankly speaking, no, I can\'t handle them, I mean prepare them.

[\'s mom]

I cud not help myself smiling fondly at you Anil, when I imagined you sitting and soaking urself for 6 hrs (in New York, you said , right?) along w/ the dal ! the dig was meant certainly at you, the ways I do w/ my son and learn to laugh heartily along with him. Hope you had a hearty one too.I owe you the recipe, if you laughed and still owe you if you cud\'nt, anyways! a simple kaju pakodi recipe.. ingredients: Oil for frying, basin (chanadal flour) 1 cup, salt, mirchi pwd 1/4 of a tsp, whole or broken kaju half a fistful and water 3/4-1 cup ( i did not measure ZC! when i prepared last! and this is where we gen. feel threatened.. the consistency. that\'s how u use a small cup of basin and of water.) Method:put salt and mirch in besan add water and mix it to a thick consistency, like it shud be thickly almost flowing out of ur hand and yet it shud be able to get stuck to the kaju too. trying to give u a similar consistency walla chutney, ok how abt\' coconut chutney that we get in hotels? that is the consistency. Now, take each kaju if whole, dip it and scoop it up along with the thick flour and put it in the oil. If the kaju is broken, mix it into the flour and use a tablespoon to scoop it out and fry.

[Anil]

\'s mom, I sincerely wish if only you could have stayed closer and twist my ear or rap on my knuckles and chide me whenever I cited excuses to avoid doing things (especially cooking)! More than that, I would at least had a chance to have first-hand taste of all your recipes ummmmmm. Back home, I used to throw tantrums almost at every meal, every day. But now ... <BR>Actually, I didn\'t thought at the time of posting but I couldn\'t help smiling imagining me sitting next to the soaking dal for 6 hours here in Cincinnati! Anyway, thanks for the recipe (if only I could get a finished product instead....). I might give it a try...