Maize Sooji Uppuma

Ingredients

• 3 cups maize sooji (cornmeal)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5 red chillies
• 1 carrot, medium-sized, peeled, finely chopped
• 7-8 French beans, stringed, finely chopped
• 1 green capsicum, small, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp green peas
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ cup mint leaves, fresh, shredded
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2" piece coconut, grated
• 10-12 broken cashews, roasted
• 4-5 coriander leaves, fresh
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Place the maize sooji in a pan and dry roast until it is warm and fragrant. Remove from the pan.
2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. As they begin to splutter, add the red chillies.
3. Add the carrot, beans, capsicum, peas, turmeric powder, and mint; sauté for 1 minute.
4. Add the maize sooji to the pan and mix thoroughly to coat the vegetables.
5. Add boiled, salted water to the maize and vegetable mixture, 1 cup or ladleful at a time. Stir thoroughly between each addition so that no lumps form. When the water is absorbed and the mixture is cooked, turn off the heat and add the lemon juice.
6. Garnish with the coconut, cashews, and coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Source note: Adapted from Isha Foundation’s A Taste of Well-Being (Harper Element, 2016).