Chutney Upma & Nithya's Rajma Masala

If you are wondering if it is a typo as the title says "Chutney Upma" rather than "Upma and Chutney".. NO, it is not! When I say "Chutney Upma", it is upma made with chutney as base! Now without saying, you must have understood that this is one of my so-called kitchen experiments during the mid-morning crisis* that resulted as a delicious breakfast /tiffin item worthy enough to be blogged about.

Mid-morning crisis - A recurring phenomenon that occurs during weekends and holidays, when you sleep late and wake up ravenous and not knowing what to eat to appease your giant-hunger! ;)

Green Chutney is not new to us; it is a multi-purpose chutney that can used as dips for samosas, toppings for chaat, spread for sandwiches, marinade for tikkas, base for pulavs and what not!! Here is one more use of this delicious chutney.

Since this recipe is something I accidentally found, (I am sure I haven't seen or heard of it before!) this delicious Chutney Upma finds its way to Sanjana's Create for a Chilli Chopper. Sanjana's KO Rasoi is a great blog with a wonderful collection of recipes, so don't miss it!

Green Chutney

What we need:
Fresh Coriander leaves - a bunch, cleaned
Fresh Mint leaves - a handful (almost equal or 3/4th of the coriander leaves), cleaned
Ginger - 1" inch, deskinned
Green Chillies - 2 or 3, according to your spice tolerance
Cumin (Jeera_ - 1 tbsp.
Oil - 1 tsp.
Lemon juice - a few drops
Salt - a pinch
Asafoetida - 1 tsp.
Garlic - 1 pod Optional

How to do:
Grind together all the ingredients to a fine paste with very little or no water. Add a pinch of salt if you are planning to store it for sometime. Transfer to a jar and refrigerate.

If you have sharp eyes, you probably noticed the red pieces sticking out the chutney. Since I ran out of green chillies, I just cheated the system by using red chillies (not the dry ones, though!)

I mix a tbsp or 2 Yoghurt or thick curd to use it as a dip or chutney.

Chutney Upma
Serves 2

What we need:
Vermicelli / Semiya - 2 cups
Green Chutney - 5 to 6 tbsp.
Oil / Ghee - 1 tbsp.
Cumin (Jeera) - 1 tsp. Optional
Salt - according to taste
Water - 3 cups
Chopped Onions - To garnish

How to do:
1. Roast the vermicelli or Semiya till it turns light brown and set aside. If you are using roasted vermicelli, proceed to Step 2.
2. Heat oil or ghee and add the Cumin. This is also optional since our chutney has enough Jeera.
3. When they start to sputter, add the green chutney and reduce the flame. Fry it for about a minute or 2.
4. When the raw smell starts to leave, add water and salt. Remember our chutney has a little salt, so adjust accordingly.
5. When water starts boiling, add the roasted vermicilli or semiya, cover and cook until the Semiya is done.
Transfer to the serving plate, garnish with chopped onions and serve with a cup of curd!

Rajma Masala from Nithya's blog
Last night for dinner, I tried the Spicy Rajma Masala from Nithya's 4th Sense Samayal. Check out Nithya's blog (I am sure most of you would have, she is pretty famous!); she has a mouth-watering collection of recipes with excellent presentations!

Needless to say, Rajma masala was delicious and lipsmacking! Only change I did was to saute the onions before grinding them with garlic, because somehow the white onions I get here turn bitter if I grind them without sauting! Thanks Nithya for sharing it with us.

Now time to acknowledge the awards; Babli has passed on to me