Recipe credit: Darshana Muzumdar
Serves 3-5
Ingredients
- 2 cups semolina (rawa)
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 tsp black gram dal (urad dal)
- 1 tsp Bengal gram (chana dal)
- 2 onions (optional)
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 6 green chillies, slit lengthwise and then cut into two or three pieces
- 1 – 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- ⅛ tsp asafoetida
- 4 to 4 ½ cups water
- ½ cup of fresh coriander leaves chopped
- ¼ of a coconut grated
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Method
Heat half the oil in a kadhai or Indian wok, add the semolina and roast it on a low flame until it is light brown and releases its aroma. Keep this aside in a bowl ready to use.
Bring 4 – 4½ cups of hot water to a boil and keep ready to use. Heat an iron kadhai or Indian wok, and add the remaining oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Once they splutter, add the green chillies, curry leaves, Bengal gram, black gram dal and roast them for till they begin to change color. Add the asafoetida and the onions and sauté on medium to low heat until they are light brown. Add the rawa, the hot water and salt to taste. This will start to bubble immediately and spill over so be careful not to let it burn you. Stir and cook covered over low heat till all the water is absorbed and the semolina is cooked. Turn off the heat.
Add the lemon juice and grated coconut and mix it well. Cover the pot and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Add the coriander leaves leaving some for garnishing, and mix well. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.
For the Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) version:
Do not use oil. In a thick bottom steel pot add the chopped onion and some salt and let it rest till the onions release some moisture. Heat a steel pot and sauté the onions. Add a little water if necessary, and cook the onions on a low flame till they are translucent and soft and begin to caramelize. Alternatively, chop the onion and place it in a small pressure cooker. Add half a cup of water and cook it for one whistle. Keep the onion aside ready to use.
Dry roast the semolina in a thick bottom steel pot or in an iron kadhai or Indian wok on low to medium heat till it just begins to change color. This may take a bit longer than when done in oil. Add the chopped green chillies and roast for a couple of minutes. Keep this aside.
Heat an iron tempering ladle, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Transfer this to the semolina. Add the Bengal gram and black gram dal to the tempering ladle and dry roast them till they are light golden. Transfer them to the semolina. Add the hot water and mix well. The trick is to add more water in the WFPB version to get the same softness as the one made with oil! So use half a cup of additional water. Continue with the rest as above.