Polenta Upma, pantry cooking & the C universe we're living in!
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| Polenta Upma |
Now that we have the re-familiarization out of the way, let's get to the business on hand. How cooking has changed in the reign of corona virus? Not meeting friends and family, not hugging them, zero social interaction, not working, no in person interaction with colleagues, yes, a massive sacrifice! However a sacrifice that is much touted and talked about is the Americans not being able to eat out. Don't get me wrong, I love trying new restaurants and new cuisines. It fills me with unadulterated joy. But not being able to do that for a time period to possibly avert a societal catastrophe and and term it as a sacrifice, well.....! I remember what my father used to say! We - me and my sister - would look forward to eating out with bated breath. It was one of those thrills that happened only occasionally. But my dad had to eat out frequently for work and he did not enjoy it. So when my mom would whip out something amazing, we would squeal, "it's tastes just like what we had in XYZ restaurant!" And my father would look at us as if we had lost our mind, "how can restaurant food be a yardstick of quality?" Well father, you were right! Today home food is the yardstick of restaurant food's quality.
Last weekend I wanted to make upma, a comforting savory dish of semolina and vegetables. A favorite breakfast and snacky dish of Western and Southern India, upma is one of those supposedly simple dishes that is so easy that is is hard to master. Made in many different days, runny soft, sticky yet individually grainy like rice, with turmeric, without turmeric, vegetable forward stuffed with onions, peas, cauliflower and tomatoes, upma is served piping hot for morning breakfast or as a snack with afternoon tea. I ran out of semolina and instead decided to use polenta or coarse cornmeal.
In the middle of writing this post, word came that Floyd Cardoz had died from corona virus. Through his restaurants, starting with Tabla, he introduced New Yorkers to the many splendoured regional glory of Indian food beyond chicken tikka masala and samosa. When I couldn't find out enough about his background (he grew up in Bandra, couple of miles from where I did) his signature recipes, his cooking style, I came across his winning dish for Top Chef. It was Wild Mushroom Upma Polenta with Kokum and Coconut Milk based on his favorite childhood memory. What a bizarre coincidence!
Here's to his memory and a recipe for polenta upma - nothing fancy, but like home food.
Ingredients
* 1/2 cup onions (red or white) chopped, 1" pieces
* 1/2 cup tomatoes chopped, 1" pieces
* 1 serrano pepper thinly diced into half-moons
* 5-8 curry leaves
* 1 cup coarse cornmeal
* 2 tsp lime juice
* 3/4 tsp salt
* 2 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
* 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
Method
* Place a thick-bottomed pan on medium heat.
* Add vegetable oil. After 3-4 min, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Note that if you let the oil heat up nicely, as soon as the seeds hit the oil, they will start popping. If you don't, the seeds will pop lazily, one by one, like errant kids and very well fly out of the pan.
* Pour in diced peppers and curry leaves. Saute, after a minute or so, add onions. Let them cook on medium heat for about 7-8 minutes or till they start getting brown edges.
* Follow with tomatoes, salt. Saute when the tomatoes break down. Allow the tomato-ey liquid to evaporate which will take another 7-8 minutes.
* Pour 2 cups water and let it boil.
* Slowly pour in cornmeal and mix well.
* We want the water to evaporate and the final upma taking a oatmeal-like consistency.
* Serve hot. Once cool, the polenta dries out, not tasting very good.
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