Vermicelli Biryani /Sevai Upma

Tangy tomato vermicelli tempered in South Indian spices.

Vermicelli/Sevai Upma is a traditional and popular South Indian breakfast. It is easy to make, delicious , and filling. In North India, vermicelli is usually made only as a dessert but the day I tasted the South Indian version, I was hooked on it. You need just a few ingredients to make this and if you have ready made roasted vermicilli then its even quicker and time saving. I usually store the tempered and roasted vermicilli (used in steps 1 and 2) and just add water and spices whenever I want to cook it. You can make this either just with tomato or can add lots of boiled or frozen vegetables to it, it tastes great either way. 

INGREDIENTS-
preparation time-5 min
cooking time-10 min
Serves - 2

• Vermicelli /Sevai - 1 cup *
• Water- 1 cup
• Green Peas, boiled - 3 tbsp
• Tomato, chopped - 1 
• Ginger, chopped -3/4 tsp
• Salt- 1tsp
• Lemon juice - 1.5 tsp
• Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp

Tempering-

• Refined oil - 1 .5 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1tsp
• Urad daal/White Lentils- 1 tsp
• Cashews, broken - 1 tsp(optional)
• Curry leaves - 6
• Chopped green chili - 2

PROCEDURE-

1.  Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, urad daal/white lentil and cashews and saute on medium heat.
2. As soon as the mustard starts crackling, add the chopped green chili and vermicelli immediately and saute on low heat. Keep stirring the vermicelli with a fork till it turns to a nice golden colour.
3. Add the curry leaves and boiled peas in this pan and stir fry for few seconds.
4. Add salt, turmeric, chili powder, chopped tomatoes and ginger and mix.
5. Now add a cup of water ,mix and  cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for approx 5-7 minutes or till done (when the vermicelli absorbs all the water).
6. Now add the lemon juice and fresh coriander and mix gently.
7. Switch off the flame and cover  the pan and let it rest for a few minutes, so it absorbs the flavors and the extra water (if any).
8. Open the lid and fluff gently with a fork . 
9. Serve hot.

Serving Suggestions- Serve with Coconut Chutney, or just with a cup of tea or filter coffee.

MY NOTES-
1- I prefer to use Bambino semolina vermicelli to make this upma,don't use very thin hair like vermicelli to make this.
2- you can use any combination of boiled vegetable to make this- i.e-potato, beans ,cauliflower,carrot etc. and add them at step 2 before adding vermicelli.
3-The ratio of  vermicelli and water is 1:1,but may depends on the quality and type of vermicelli used.