PORI UPMA/ PUFFED RICE UPMA

    One of my Uncles was a very good cook and this one was his best dish. It was our all time favorite  Though it was very simple, we never get such a taste in that dish. We all  cousins used to enjoy it in our childhood days. After I got married as and when I prepare this dish, I always think off him. Now he is very busy in his office, I don’t think he is getting any time to even peep into the kitchen  :D 

Ingredients :

Puffed rice – 2 cups (150 gms)

Onion – 1

Tomato – 2

A pinch of Turmeric powder

Coriander leaves

Salt as desired

Oil – 2tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal – ½ tsp

Chana dal - ½ tsp

Peanuts – ½ tsp

Green chillies -2

Method :

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard  seeds and allow them to crackle.

Now add chana dal, urad dal and peanuts for tempering. Once these are fried, add green chillies.

Add onions and fry them till golden brown. Add tomatoes and fry them till they are mushy. Add salt and turmeric powder.

Meanwhile wash the puffed rice in running water. Make sure it is not soaked in water for a very long time. We do this to clean the puffed rice of any smell.

Now add this puffed rice to the pan. Mix it well and switch off the stove.

Garnish with coriander and serve with tomato sauce.

Notes :

Make sure you filter out all the water from the puffed rice before adding it to the pan or else the dish might become soggy.

If you don't have tomatoes, you can even try this with onions and add lime juice for the sour flavor.

CHURMURI / THE PUFFED RICE SNACK

       The thought of Chennai always reminds me the beach. The balloon shooting game.. I always loved that game being a kid and got to win it every time we played. And the bajji stall and the snack with puffed rice.. Ah Yummy!!!

I also remember the peanut wala on the busy T-Nagar roads making money with this one. Still I have added my own versions to it. As and whenever I was reminded of Chennai I make this snack. My hubby’s all time favourite. Mine too because it is healthy. And then I pack it up in a paper cone just to replicate the beach scene.. J Fun for kids too!!! Try this one and go healthy!!!

Ingredients :

1 Onion

1 Tomato

1 Carrot

1 red/yellow/orange sweet bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

½ cup of peanuts or Almonds.

4 cups of Puffed rice

Salt and pepper

Half a lemon

Coriander leaves for garnish

Method :

Soak peanuts or almonds for 2 hours.

Cut all the vegetables into small bite size pieces.

Mix them with puffed rice.

Add soaked Almonds or peanuts.

Add salt and pepper. Mix it well.

Now add lemon juice to this mixture.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve in a thick paper cone.

My Notes :

You can add boiled peanuts instead of raw or soaked ones to get the exact snack effect as on roadside!!

Also adding the coloured bell peppers makes the dish colourful and healthy..I added them as we like the taste.You can also omit the bell peppers.

Add salt just before you serve because the veggies tend to lose water if it is kept for a long time.

The pictures shown are taken at different times just to show that we can replace almonds with peanuts in the same recipe.