Sirukeerai / Amaranthus

Today morning,I harvested my first organic greens from my terrace garden. It was also the first time I had succeeded in raising a plant from its seed. I feel proud and accomplished even though all I did was to sow and sprinkle water and keep it in the full sun. It feels good to be harmonious with nature :-).

The day had started with light showers in my neighborhood and the greens waved as if they were welcoming me. I snipped off the top leaves thanking nature for the first promising harvest. I knew there is no need to ‘deweed’ or ‘triple wash’ the leaves as I knew them right from the time they germinated.

It is true, happiness is gardening 🙂

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Poha Upma / Sigappu Aval Upma

Poha upma was introduced to me in Mumbai when I went to my sister-in -law’s house in 1998. It was one super easy dish I learnt from my s-i-l as a beginner in kitchen. If you do the tadka right and garnish right , there is no failing.  🙂

Here is the dish which is great to whip up quickly in a busy morning.  I have used brown rice flakes as a healthier alternative.

Ingredients :

Brown rice flakes / sigappu arisi aval / brown poha  – 4 cups after soaking

Onion – Big size – 1 number

Cooked potato – 2 numbers

Tadka ingredients as seen in picture

Soak the poha after washing it thoroughly for 10- 15 minutes. Drain the excess water .

Cook potato in a cooker with salt needed  and dice it. Heat oil in a pan, throw in mustard, urad dall, gram dall, chili, ginger  and curry leaves. Add onions and when they turn translucent , add potato dices , salt and poha , give a gentle stir and turn off the heat. Cover it for 5 minutes .  Add some asafoetida and garnish with finely chopped coriander /cilantro .

I have added onion to my taste, if you like to add more, please do and increase chillies proportionally. We can also add crushed roasted peanuts for crunchy texture , more veggies for a wholesome meal . Those who like tangy sweet twist , can top it with sugar sprinkle and lime juice squirts. The choices , as you see,  are many , define the dish as you want , it is the fun that is all it  matters . 🙂

Have a great time cooking!

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