New Beginnings

So, The United States. This should be interesting. If you were brought up in a middle class Kannadiga family in Bangalore, going to the States to study is an idea that is kind of naturally ingrained in your system (soon, they may even find some gene in our DNA that does that automatically). Especially, if you are in the engineering discipline. I mean you have to do it eventually and since you always knew that the Post Graduate degree had to come SOME time (how could it not?) and that you have SO many cousins and relatives who've done this before, you think you would make a smooth transition into leaving, right?

WRONG. Here I am, a girl of 24, who relishes home food and has never known what it is like to not have it, going a little crazy, to put it mildly. You must understand that we Kannadigas love our food. And we love it just the way WE love it. We are very quick to notice when something about our favourite thindi (snack) is amiss and we bond instantly with complete strangers when we realize they know OUR food (right, Prithvi?). Here's the interesting thing: although I said "we" Kannadigas, I'm not that much of a foodie and I only eat to survive. But, ever since I realized that I am going to be in a different country soon, food has suddenly become more than just something I put in my mouth to get rid of that nagging feeling in my stomach. It seems to have taken on a deeper emotional meaning! Something that will keep me close to home.

So anyway, my plan is to learn to cook the things that I love eating most, so as to turn down the volume on the very loud alien-ness of being away from home already blasting through my ears. And so today for breakfast, along with my grandmother's supervision, I made Uppittu, a quintessential south Indian breakfast and snack-time item. I must tell you that this is the first time I have attempted cooking something "regular": the kind of thing whose preparation I'd never EVER thought about at breakfast earlier. I haven't followed the recipe to the tee, but it turned out pretty well, for my first time!

Uppittu Recipe:

What you need:

1 cup Rave
Some vegetables (based on what you like): I used 2 onions, 1 Capsicum, 1 Carrot and 1/2 a cup of peas
Two tablespoons of oil/ghee (you could put some more based on how indulgent you are feeling)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Channa dal and urad dal ( in Kannada, thogri bele & udin bele)
1/2 an inch piece of ginger
A pinch of Ingu (Asafoetida)
2-3 green chillies
A few curry leaves
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut
Salt and sugar
Two cups of HOT water
1 lemon

How you do it:

1. Roast the 1 cup of Rave in a pan with about 2 tsps of oil. (Keep tossing the Rave back and forth to prevent it from getting burned). Keep aside.



2. Heat about 3 tbsps oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, the dals and the green chillies. When the mustard seeds stop splattering, add chopped onions and capsicum. Also add the grated ginger, curry leaves, Ingu and salt (maybe 2 tsps). A suggestion is to also add a pinch of sugar. Allow this mixture to cook till the veggies are half done.
*I cooked the peas and carrot separately in the microwave (for 3 mins) and then added it to this mixture, but you could also just add it directly and sprinkle a little water*







3. Now, add 2 cups of hot boiling water to the pan and also add the roasted Rava from earlier. Stir. Add the freshly grated coconut. Close the pan and allow it to cook.
Open after a few minutes and stir.
Check for salt. Add some more if you'd like. Squeeze a lemon into the Uppittu. If you like things tangy that is.





And then if you're a bit mad like me, stuff some of this in a small bowl and using the bowl as a mould, make a nice round mound of Uppittu, eat and feel happy :) That's how it's served at hotels here.


Man, I'm going to miss home.