Aval Upma (Red Rice Flakes cooked with grated coconut)

Aval is the malayalam name for Rice flakes or beaten/flattened rice.

Upma is a very famous south Indian dish which is cooked in all 4 south Indian states. It is commonly cooked with Rava or Sooji, broken rice etc.

In Kerala, apart from cooking with rava, it is also cooked with Red Aval or Kerala Rice (Red one with fibre) flakes. The advantage of the traditional Kerala red rice is that its is unpolished and hence retains the fibre and also the other essential vitamins and minerals which are lost when rice is polished.

Lets make Upma out of the red (Kerala) rice flakes.

Ingredients:

Aval (red rice flakes) - 200 gms., thin variety. White Aval can also be used if Red Aval is not available. However, Red Aval is tastier.

Onion – 1, big or shallots – 10 nos.

Green chilly – 2-3 nos.

Ginger – a small piece 

Coconut - 1/2 grated

Red chilly - 2 nos.
Curry leaves - 6-8 nos.

Mustard-1 teaspoon

Washed Aval/Red Rice Flakes

Salt to taste
Process:

Wash aval 2-3 times and drain it in a Colander (vessel with mesh to drain water) with . Keep it aside 15 minutes by which time, it would have absorbed the water and become soft.

Chop the onion into small pieces. Clean the ginger, remove the skin and chop into very small pieces (around 2-3 mm). Chop the green chillies too into small circular pieces. Keep these aside.  
Take a frying pan and pour 2-3 tea spoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, put 1 teaspoon mustard and wait till the mustard splutters. Once the mustard splutters, break the dry red chillies into 2 and put it into the pan. Also add curry leaves. 

Then add the chopped onions, green chillies and ginger into the frying pan. Add salt and sauté. Adding salt to the onions while sautéing, speeds up the process. Saute till the onion turns pale brown. 

Then add grated coconut, salt as required (approx. one teaspoon) and mix it thoroughly and stir fry for 2 minutes. 

At last add the aval into the pan and mix thoroughly. Check whether salt is enough, add if required. If salt is added again, mix thoroughly. Since this is a dry dish, it takes time for the salt to mix in the dish, hence stirring/missing it thoroughly is important.  

Aval upma is ready… Serves 3!

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