I got hooked on grits, a type of coarse meal, and product of stone grind, dried corn. In looks, grits are similar to rice ravva (the kind we use for rice upma), coarse sand like and grainy. The texture, smell and taste of grits is really something and quite addictive. Do you know the taste of dried corn kernels (before popcorn), grits taste almost like that.
I keep the preparation of this particular upma very simple; don’t like to add lots of vegetables, like I do for couscous/cracked wheat. Just the basic upma ingredients and some roasted nuts-either cashews or peanuts, that’s about it. Just enough for my Wednesday’s yogi (minimal) diet.
Recipe:
2 cups of grits (I used Quick Cooking Grits)
4 cups of water
1 onion, 2 green chillies & a small piece of ginger – all finely chopped
Salt to taste
A fistful of roasted cashews or peanutsFor popu or tadka –
1 tablespoon of ghee
1 tsp each-mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal, chana dal & curry leaves
In a large pan, heat ghee. First add and sauté popu/tadka ingredients, then the finely chopped onion, green chillies and ginger. When they are golden, add water and stir in the salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove the cover, slowly add hominy grits, stirring continuously. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Serve hot with chutney.
Hominy Grits Upma with Amla chutney ~ My Wednesday’s Yogi Diet
Hi Indira.. Grits for Upma…that’s something unusual and unheard of….Hmmmm! I should definitely give a try…..I have never worked with grits before …but i will take time to read the “grits” link you posted to know more about the what’s and why’s of grits..Thanks for posting this article.. I would lov to give ur recipe a try..
Comment by BDSN — February 1, 2006 @ 4:16 pm
Indira- that is a nice idea to use grits in upma. The method is same as the rava upma I make. Did you notice any difference in taste?
Comment by mika — February 1, 2006 @ 4:30 pm
wow..that looks yummy!
Indira , when i try to make regular upma (with bombay rava), it turns out very soggy and wet and looks completely different from ur grits upma. i use ghee, and like everybody else, i put water in limited quantities..not sure y it turns out like that though!
any suggestions from ur side ??? would really appreciate that.
Thanks.
Comment by Vallika — February 1, 2006 @ 4:51 pm
Cool…I use grits a lot to make upma style things…it is a good friend of mine and comes to my rescue a lot when I am short on time and want something filling. I sometimes vary it by adding peas/finely chopped or grated carrots, finely chopped tomatoes. I have also added defrosted frozen spinach and added little bit more water to make it creamy but added the ginger,onion etc. The possibilites with grits are endless.
Comment by Sam — February 2, 2006 @ 9:23 am
Hello BDSN… please give it a try and see how you like them.
Mika… grits upma taste is similar in lines with rice ravva upma, a very different taste from that of wheat ravva upma. Give it a try, I’m sure you’re going to like it.
Vallika… Thanks!
What I do for crisp kind of upma is – 1. add less water(you are doing that already) and two is, after adding the ravva, after about 2 or 4 minutes later, I remove the lid, cook it openly. Too much stirring after adding the rava also makes it more sticky soggy kind.
Add ravva, stirring continuously, after that, leave it alone on low heat. It’ll come out nice and crispy.
Hope you find these tips helpful.
Good ideas, Sam. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Comment by Indira — February 2, 2006 @ 10:43 am
Indira–I love the way you do fusion with Indian and southern US foods–I think that is beautiful.
Indira replies…
You like it, I’m glad, Barbara!
Comment by Barbara — February 2, 2006 @ 1:00 pm
Mmmm, Grits! I’d never though of making Grits Indian style, that’s for sure. Sounds great!
Indira replies..
They taste real good, cooked like this. Give it a try, Jenn.
Comment by Jenn — February 2, 2006 @ 5:32 pm
Hi Indira,
Good job on your wonderful Food blog. Have you tried an upma with Vermicelli, Suji and Cous Cous? Try it.
Best wishes,
Priya
Comment by Priya — February 27, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
Hello Indira.
What you called grits in telugu ? I want to try this upma .
Where can we buy ?
Thanks, anu.
Indira replies:
Hi Anu, I have already added a link under grits in ingredient list. Check it out to know about grits. If you live in US, they are avialable in most of the regular US grocery chain shops. Checkout the cereal isle. I don’t know its Telugu name but they are prepared by coarsely grinding the dried out corn kernels (mokka jonna pottulu). Hope this helps.
If you try this grits upma, let me know how you like them. Thanks.
Comment by anu — June 25, 2006 @ 9:42 pm
Hello Indira,
I will try your tasty sounding grits uppama. Soon I will be attempting to make ladoo from grits. ( like sweet suji ladoos) As well as sheeru from grits. I’ll drop you the recipes if they turn out well.
Comment by MANISHA — January 29, 2008 @ 10:52 am
Hi Indira, I tried this recipe, but it turned out really watery. 2 cups grits and 4 cups water. Should I use less water to make it crispy?
Comment by manisha — June 27, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
I tried your grits upma recipe today and it turned out well.. a little aldente.. I would have preferred is a little softer, but tasty. I used 1/2 cup of grits and 1.25 cups of water. I will try a bit more water next time. Have you tried making sheera (halwa) with it?
Comment by Cathy — March 30, 2014 @ 10:00 am