Pesarapappu Uppuma / Pesarapappu Upma / Biyam Pesarapappu Upma / Andhra Pesarapappu Upma

Biyyam Pesarapappu Upma is one of Andhra's tradiitional tiffin, which is made with lentils and broken rice steam cooked and tempered with seasonings. Its a healthy heavy tiffin packed with proteins and carbs. With a side of a spicy ginger chutney / allam pachidi and some fresh curd, its heavenly and can be a best option for tiffin night. I tasted this tiffin first at my in-laws home days after marriage. Initially I thought i was going to have pongal upon looking at the ingredients which they took. But what I saw in my plate was some tasty upma in puttu texture and I absolutely loved it. Without having any embarassment or shyness ( especially after marriage ), I finished the whole plate in few minutes and went for the next round. It showed my interests in food indeed.!!! Till today, my mother in law would remember that moment and came to know of my foodie interests through various occasions like this. I learnt the recipe from her and its definitely her recipe. I just followed the way she taught me and we enjoy this upma often in my household. Whenever I visit them during vacation, she never failed to give us a big bag of homemade biyam rava for making this yummy delight. This is once again my mother-in-law's recipe to you all my dear bloggers.

Ingredients

Biyam Rava / Broken rice rava - 1.5 cups

Pesarapappu / Moong Dhal - 3/4 cup

Salt - As Required

Fresh coconut flakes - 1 tbsp

Water - Enough to cook the upma

(Add 2.5 cups of water for 1 cup of rice rava and 1/2 cup of Moong dhal )

Tempering / Tadka 

Oil - 4 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp

Shredded Ginger - 1 tbsp

Green Chili - 2 slit into halves

Dry Red chillies - 3 or 4

Curry Leaves - 1 stem

Method

• In a big thick bottomed vessel, dry roast the moong dal for a minute till a nice aroma emanates. Take it out and store it in a plate.
• Add oil into the pan and do the tempering process by adding all the ingredients in order.  Once its done, add the Moong Dhal and biyam rice rava and toast the mix with the tempered seasonings for a minute. Add water in the ratio as mentioned above to the vessel. ( I added 41/4 cups of water for 1.5 cups of rice rava and moong dal ).
• Allow them to cook on medium flame for 10-15 minutes. When its done three fourth, add salt to the upma and mix well. Allow them to cook on low flame for another 10-15 minutes till the rice rava and moong dhal get cooked to the right consistency. Switch off the flame and garnish with coconut flakes just before serving.
• Enjoy this upma with allam pachidi / ginger chutney and fresh curd.

Tips / Suggestions 

• Amount of water for cooking depends on the type of rice variety you use. For some rice varieties, it may require more water to cook and so check with the age of the rice you use and add water accordingly.
• Adding salt at the end of the cooking process is ideal after the mix gets cooked to a fluffy consistency.
• If this upma's consistency is pasty, its difficult to enjoy. If its in the form of "puttu" consistency ( where cooked rice rava and moon dal is totally separate and dry ), then its enjoyable. So, add right amount of water which is important in this process.
• If you wish to omit coconut, its totally fine. 
• Adding coconut flakes is recommended only if you are going to consume then. Becaz storing the coconut sprinkled upma in the refrigerator might not be good option for later use.