Pesaru / Moong upma

Another wonderful dish with Mung beans. This is one of our favorite dishes. It’s very healthy, nourishing, and easy on the stomach.

Ingredients for upma:

1 cup split moong with skin
2 whole red chili
1 green chili
1” ginger
2 sprigs curry leaves
¼ tsp white asafoetida
2 tsp sea salt

Directions to prepare the upma:

1. Soak split moong dal for 3 hours.
2. Wash the dal well, leaving just a little skin.
3. Grind ginger, chilies and curry leaves into a fine paste.
4. Add moong dal to the grinder and grind coarsely, 2-3 minutes. We use a stone grinder, which results in a completely different texture than the blender.
5. Add salt and hing to the batter and mix well. Start making idlis immediately.
6. To make idlis, heat water to boiling.
7. Scoop batter into idly plates and when the water starts to steam, place the idli plates into the vessel and cook for about 8-10 minutes
8. Cool the idlies once they are cooked then crumble them up without any clumps. If you used a blender, you might need to use a grater.

Seasoning the upma:

Ingredients:

¾ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp split urad dal
1 sprig finely chopped curry leaves
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼-½ cup water
½ red chilli(optional)
¼ cup grated coconut

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a 3-5 qrt pot. Add mustard seeds and urad dal. When it starts to splatter add curry leaves and cilantro, stir well add water.
2. When the water starts to boil add pinch of salt (optional), crumble upma mixture, mix well, reduce to low heat and cover for 30 seconds.
3. Turn off the heat add grated coconut mix well and serve hot.
4. The upma can be served with ketchup on the side. There are Jain Vegetarian ketchup’s available in Indian grocery stores that are made without onion and garlic.