Name: Spiced Cream of Wheat (Uppama)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: ¼ cup raw cashew nuts; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds; 6 dried red Thai or cayenne chiles, stems removed; 1 tablespoon skinned split black lentils (cream-colored in this form, urad dal), picked over for stones; 10 to 12 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves; 4 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise (do not remove the seeds); 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; 2 cups frozen green peas (no need to thaw); 2 tablespoons unrefined sesame oil or canola oil; 1½ teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; 1 cup uncooked Cream of Wheat (not instant)

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

I think Italy’s answer to Uppama is polenta, and maybe that is why I find the European version equally comforting. Uppama is very common as a breakfast offering in south India, and I think its slightly mealy, porridge-like texture also lays out a great bed for many of this book’s curries. I especially love the layer that forms, sticks, and browns crispy-thin on the bottom of the pan after it steeps. As a child, I fought for this layer (and won), called kaandal in Tamil,