Upma, vadai in Shatabdi Express

Upma,Vadai in South Indian Breakfast onboard Shatabdi Express

“I love to take the Rajdhani just for the food”.

That’s something I’ve heard from many who’ve booked themselves on  one of the many  Rajdhani trains  that connect important cities in India as they criss cross many others. What the fully airconditioned, fully serviced--  all meals served, bedding thrown in -- Rajdhani Express trains are to long distance or overnight trains, the Shatabdi Express is to short distances, generally involving about five to six hours travel at most.

If Rajdhani serves all meals, the Shatabdi ride has just enough time for a bed tea—yes, you read it right—breakfast, or tea, or tea and dinner, depending on the duration and timing of the journey.

It is not about great food really. But it is about the relief of eating a decent meal without having to take the trouble –or enjoy the pleasure –of  planning, preparing and packing a meal or may be two or three. The task becomes a bit more than routine because such food has to have a shelf life when out of the fridge!

I take the Shatabdi very often, particularly  the New Delhi-Chandigarh-Kalka train, and of course the return.

At one time, the menu used to be changed frequently. Now they’ve done away with that. Instead you get a choice --- parathas  with pickle, or potato cutlets with fried peas thrown in, or omlette with potato fries and fried peas.  Or  what the waiters call a South Indian breakfast.

Whatever you take, you get a tetrapack of juice, generally mango; two slices of break, a bubbleburst of butter and jam, tea bags/coffee sache,sugar,creamer and hot water. I suspect most people prefer to make their tea or coffee to their own taste.

Last weekend, when I took the train, I opted for the South Indian breakfast. Some hot upma , a vadai,  what was meant to be coconut chutney, and what is supposed to be sambar, is what  they served.

The upma was ok, the vadai had more maida than urad, perhaps because the caterers have begun to feel the pinch of its price.

Sambar was always watery arhar with some veggies thrown in, but with most vegetables very costly, it had some orange carrots and onions. 

And in place of chutney was  some buttermilk with a bit of coconut, churned together, almost no salt!

The size of the vadai had also so shrunk that not long from now, it may be ring sized. One would have to eat the not South Indian component--bread,butter,jam-- for the breakfast to be filling enough, in terms of quantity.

They would have done well to dispense with bread,butter ,jam in the South Indian breakfast, and served a decent upma-vada platter, proper sambar and chutney. I also recommend some Bru coffee to go with this.

Upma is the most basic of South Indian breakfasts, easy  and quick to make, almost a never-fail-you dish.It can be totally no-frills affair, or rich, drizzled with ghee, garnished with a lot of cashews. Mid-way it can be a healthy meal with an array of vegetables adding to nutrition and visual appeal.

Here goes the recipe for the basic upma:

Sooji /Rawa/Semolina –1 cup

Water-2 cups

Refined oil—two teaspoons

Mustard seeds-half a teaspoon

Urad  dhuli split-1 teaspoon

Hing-a pinch

Salt to tast

Green chillies-three or four

Ginger –optional

Curry leaves—a few

Roast the sooji till a lovely aroma surrounds you. Keep aside.

In a frying pan, add the oil, when it is hot, add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the urad and the hing. When urad turns golden, add the curry leaves, chopped green chillies and giner. Stir for  half a minute.

Now  add the water, and salt. When the water comes to boil, reduce the gas to sim, and slowly  and continuously, add the roasted rawa from the plate or pan, with one hand, stirring  with the other hand, so that no lumps are formed.

Once all the rawa and water have blended, place a lid on the frying pan, and let it cook in low flame for another four minutes.

The upma is ready to be moved into a serving plate and garnished., with coriander,cashew nuts or roasted peanuts, curry leaves etc

For great presentation, and taste, I recommend greasing small bowls with ghee, packing the upma in this, and then turning it upside down on the plate. Now you may garnish it any way…

I have often reduced the water and added leftover rasam, with great results.

And of course, a master chef has won $100,000, making a dish inspired by the humble puma. To know more about that, keep checking this blog.

For now,enjoy the basic puma.

(Photo taken on my Nokia E5, photoshopped a bit)