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    Home » Blogging Marathon » Arisi Upma | Rice Upma

    Arisi Upma | Rice Upma

    Posted on April 1, 2016 · Last Updated on August 14, 2019 · By Srividhya G · 51 Comments

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    Arisi Upma, a simple savory tiffin delicacy prepared with rice and toor dal. It is spiced up with cumin seeds, pepper and red chillies and tempered in coconut oil with the hint of grated coconut. Arisi Upma – IMO it is a mix between Ven Pongal (Savory pongal) and milagu sadam. I usually grind rice and toor dal together along with cumin seeds and pepper and cook them.

    ArisiUpma9

     I am starting this A-Z challenge with A for Arisi Upma. Let’s learn the ABCs with food. (What can you expect from a foodie?) You can read about this challenge here and as it is A-Z I thought why not participate here too? So sending this recipe for both the challenges. When we were in Periyakulam, Amma used to prepare this with Kurunai Arisi (Broken Rice). During the process of husk removal, rice breaks and they collect these broken rice and they are called as kurunai. They can be used for idly or dosa too. For this recipe, I am going with regular raw rice. I have tried this recipe with boiled rice also. Basically you can use the regular that your are using.

    ArisiUpma6

    I learnt this recipe from my MIL. The secret ingredient in her Arisi Upma is the addition of coconut oil and grated coconut. Those two ingredients take this recipe to next level and the coconut and coconut oil clearly distinguishes from savory pongal. (Ven pongal). This is a one meal perfect for breakfast and also dinner. 

    I have tried both pressure cooker method and kadai method. For pressure cooker method and 2 whistles are enough for this recipe. Below is the traditional kadai method. Depending upon the rice (old or new) the water and the cooking time differs. So in this method, make sure you have enough water so that it doesn’t get browned and also once the rice is cooked turn of the heat.

        ArisiUpma8     

    Ingredients:

    • Rice – 1.5 cups
    • Toor Dal – 2 tbsps
    • Dried Red Chillies – 1 +3
    • Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
    • Black Pepper – 1 tsp
    • Salt – 1.5 tsps
    • Water – 3 cups + 1 cup (If required, if you want mushy and soft upma like pongal add more water. I usually prefer soft upma, so I add more water)
    • Grated Coconut – ½ cup
    • Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
    • Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
    • Urad Dal – 1 tsp
    • Channa dal – 1 tsp
    • Curry leaves – a few
    • Hing – ½ tsp

    Steps:

    • Pulse together rice, toor dal, 1 red chilly, black pepper and cumin seeds together. It should be coarse and half ground and make sure you don’t grind it smoothly.

    PowderedRiceMixture

    • Now heat the kadai and add coconut oil.
    • Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, hing and break the remaining three red chillies and add it.
    • As they start to splutter, add the grated coconut and fry for two minutes.

    ArisiUpmaStep1

    • Now add the water and salt and let it boil.
    • Check for salt at this stage and if required adjust accordingly.

    ArisiUpmaStep2

    • Once the water starts boiling, add the coarse rice mixture. Make sure you stir while adding the rice mix. This ensures that there are no lumps.

    ArisiUpmaStep4

    • Mix well and reduce the heat to medium low and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
    • Now mix well and at this stage if required add more water (not more than 1 cup) and mix again.
    • Reduce the heat to low and Cover and cook till the rice is completely done. This will take about 5 to 6 minutes. 
    • Add the curry leaves in the end and that’s it. 

    ArisiUpma

     

    Arisi upma is ready. Serve hot with gojju or chutney. I served this with coconut chutney and onion gojju.

    ArisiUpma3

    Notes:

    • Make sure you are pulsing the rice mix and it should be coarse. 
    • Stirring while adding the rice to boiling mix is very important for avoiding lumps.
    • Always cook the rice in medium low heat. (Number setting between 3 and 4)

    ArisiUpma1

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    5 from 2 votes

    Arisi Upma | Rice Upma

    Arisi Upma, a simple savory tiffin delicacy prepared with rice and toor dal. It is spiced up with cumin seeds, pepper and red chillies and tempered in coconut oil with the hint of grated coconut.
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Calories:
    Author: Srividhya G

    Ingredients

    • Rice - 1.5 cups
    • Toor Dal - 2 tbsps
    • Dried Red Chillies - 1 +3
    • Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
    • Black Pepper - 1 tsp
    • Salt - 1.5 tsps
    • Water - 3 cups + 1 cup If required, if you want mushy and soft upma like pongal add more water. I usually prefer soft upma, so I add more water
    • Grated Coconut - ½ cup
    • Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp
    • Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
    • Urad Dal - 1 tsp
    • Channa dal - 1 tsp
    • Curry leaves - a few
    • Hing - ½ tsp

    Instructions

    • Pulse together rice, toor dal, 1 red chilly, black pepper and cumin seeds together. It should be coarse and half ground and make sure you don’t grind it smoothly.
    • Now heat the kadai and add coconut oil.
    • Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, hing and break the remaining three red chillies and add it.
    • As they start to splutter, add the grated coconut and fry for two minutes.
    • Now add the water and salt and let it boil.
    • Check for salt at this stage and if required adjust accordingly.
    • Once the water starts boiling, add the coarse rice mixture. Make sure you stir while adding the rice mix. This ensures that there are no lumps.
    • Mix well and reduce the heat to medium low and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
    • Now mix well and at this stage if required add more water (not more than 1 cup) and mix again.
    • Reduce the heat to low and Cover and cook till the rice is completely done. This will take about 5 to 6 minutes.
    • Add the curry leaves in the end and that’s it.

    Notes

    Make sure you are pulsing the rice mix and it should be coarse.
    Stirring while adding the rice to boiling mix is very important for avoiding lumps.
    Always cook the rice in medium low heat. (Number setting between 3 and 4)

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel
    BM#63  A-ZChallengeBadge
    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

    [inlinkz_linkup id=601032 mode=1]

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    Filed Under: Blogging Marathon, Breakfast / Tiffins Tagged With: A-Z Challenge, arisi upma recipe, Blogging Marathon, homemade arisi upma, How to prepare arisi upma, Journey Through The Cuisines, Rice upma with toor dal, Tamil Nadu Cuisine, upma recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sonali says

      April 12, 2016 at 1:56 am

      I love eating anything which has rice or is made up of rice. Bookmarked this page :)

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 12, 2016 at 8:59 pm

        Thanks a lot. :-)

        Reply
    2. veenasvegnation says

      April 09, 2016 at 10:39 am

      Lovely Start to this marathon. Arisi upma looks inviting

      Reply
    3. CHCooks says

      April 04, 2016 at 3:18 am

      I learnt this recipe from one of my office friends.. it is such a comfort to have this kind of food. Nice share Sri :)

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 04, 2016 at 8:38 am

        Oh yeah.. one of the comfort food. Thanks :-)

        Reply
    4. ruchi indu says

      April 03, 2016 at 9:48 pm

      Yes Arisi upma is a typical tamil dish more so a TamBrahm dish… good one to start the Tamil cuisine…

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 04, 2016 at 8:37 am

        Oh yeah.. Thanks a lot Ruchi.

        Reply
    5. Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille) says

      April 02, 2016 at 10:34 pm

      perfect comfort food – looking forward to all of your recipes this month

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 03, 2016 at 4:01 pm

        Thanks a lot. :-)

        Reply
    6. Nalini says

      April 02, 2016 at 10:01 pm

      Great start for the series,simple yet comforting arisi upma.We do make it with some variations..

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 03, 2016 at 4:01 pm

        Thanks a lot. :-)

        Reply
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