Arisi Upma | Rice Upma

Prepping rice

1. Firstly, powder 1 cup of raw rice using an electric blender or food processor, running it briefly at first speed only. Do not make a fine powder. The grains need to resemble rava or suji or semolina. You can also pulse the rice a few times instead.
2. Coarsely powder the whole peppercorns next. You can even powder both the rice and peppercorns together.
3. You can also first rinse the rice. Then spread the rinsed rice grains on a tray or over a kitchen napkin to dry. Dry the rice grains thoroughly before grinding them.

Making Arisi Upma

1. In a deep, thick bottomed pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.
2. Add mustard seeds, split chana dal, urad dal, stir them for a few seconds.
3. Add finely chopped green chili, curry leaves and stir until the chana dal turns golden brown. Keep the heat to a low so that the lentils and spices do not burn.
4. Then add hyacinth beans. Stir so that they get mixed in with the tempering.
5. Following this, pour in 2 and ½ cups of water. Add salt to taste. Bring this to a boil.
6. Then simmer until the hyacinth beans cook through.
7. Then add the powdered rice and peppercorns, give it a mix using a spatula.
8. Cook stirring now and again very well. Break lumps if any. Continue to cook until all the water gets absorbed and the broken rice cooks through.
9. This should take around 7 to 9 minutes at low-medium to medium heat. Once the grains are cooked through, turn off the heat. Cover with a lid for another 2 minutes.
10. Serve Arisi Upma with curd or chutney powder or pickle of your choice.
11. Adding a teaspoon of ghee while serving enhances the flavor. But this is optional.