Roasted Vermicelli Upma- A south Indian Breakfast dish with Italain Pasta

Hello from The  USA. I came here to spend some time with my family in Denver, CO. I did not know what to expect form this city but to be honest I really like it. It has a beautiful country side with a lovely view of Rocky mountains. Unfortunately, most of the roads are closed due to horrifying floods that hit the state recently and terrible damage that it has caused. So, had to spend most of the time indoors which I wanted to make most of. So, started doing some cooking with my mom and sis-in-law and it's so much fun learning and teaching at the same time.
Last night I showed of my skills by making Chicken curry and this morning my mom made one of my favourite dishes for break fast called 'Semiya Upma' which is made out of roasted Vermicelli pasta.Vermicelli is used in many forms in Indian Cuisine. We make desserts out of it, snacks, sweets and breakfast too. How did this Italian ingredient become so popular in Indian cooking? I do not know to be honest, I have to do some research on it.I know that Romans used to trade gold and other ingredients in exchange of Black Pepper, silk and pea cocks but did vermicelli date back to 30 B.C? Their port was Tamil Nadu which is in South of India so it makes a lot of sense that Vermicelli is used a lot in South Indian cooking. OK,  that’s enough of history, let’s get to this recipe that I took form my mom but I did add my tweaks and twists to it.

Ingredients-
Roasted vermicelli- 500 gm
Large onion chopped- 1
Green Chillies slit in half - 3
Curry leaves- 2 stems
Ginger grated- 20 gms
Carrots grated- 50 gms
Green Peas fresh or fresh frozen- 100 gm
potatoes- small dices- 50 gms
Lime zest- 1
water- 1 lts
For tempering-
Sunflower oil/veg oil/olive oil- 100 ml
Mustard seeds- 10 gm
split yellow chick peas/chana dal- 10 gm
Dry red chillies -2
Garnish-
Lime wedge
Roasted cashew nuts
Method of Preparation-
 - heat oil in a pan and add the tempering ingredients.
-stir for a couple of minutes then add green chillies, grated ginger and sauté for another 2 minutes.
-add onions and curry leaves and cook till onions become transparent.


Note- the pictures are a little different from my recipe as I have changed the recipe a bit.
-Add potatoes and then pour in water.The ratio of water must always be double the quantity of vermicelli.
-let the water come to a slow boil and add some salt into it.
-add carrots and green peas and cook for a minute before you add vermicelli.
-then add vermicelli and stir for a minute and you will notice that it soaks up most of the water and at this point , lower the flame and
keep stirring  once every 30 seconds.
- make sure that vermicelli is not over cooked and it stays separate,not sticking to each other and form into a lump.
-stir in the grated lime zest before finishing and check for seasoning.
- garnish with some roasted cashew nuts and a wedge of lime.
- get the Upma into a bowl, press it gently with a spoon and de mould it onto a plate for presentation and use the lime wedge for garnish.
*adding vegetables not only enhance the flavour of this dish but also makes it look very colourful but in case you are in a rush you could do it without veggies, just like my mom did this morning.Enjoy this breakfast dish with a steaming cup of coffee.LIFE IS GOOD!!