Bread Upma

Upma is a hot breakfast food especially in South India. There are umpteen number of variations and it can be had for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner and can be made into a wholesome meal using vegetables. It is versatile and can be made in a jiffy and hence perfect for busy mornings. Although vermicelli/semiya upma is my favorite, I try other versions at times.

I had a loaf of Sprouted 100% Whole Grain bread which i had picked up during my last visit to Trader Joes. Yes, I make it a point to buy something new to try from TJ's! I just love the store! But this time, I knew that bread cannot get any more healthier, since this was sprouted and moreover, 100% whole grain. But we somehow never liked the taste. I did not want the bread to go stale and waste it. So i decided to make bread upma with it. And it turned out really delicious! Will definitely be trying this with other varieties of bread too!

This is my own recipe. It is very forgiving and versatile, so feel free to make any modifications based on choice and availability of ingredients.

Ingredients
Any bread variety - 6 -7 slices (I used the Ezekiel sprouted 100% whole grain variety)
Onion - 1/2 finely diced
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Green chilly - slit lengthwise
Tomato ketchup - 1 tablespoon
Oil/ghee - 1 teaspoon

Directions
Take the bread in a blender/mixer and pulse it a few times to break the bread into rough pieces. You could also make it into a coarse powder, if you prefer the upma to be like the rava upma consistency. I prefer to have some bite sized pieces of bread.

In a saucepan, heat the oil/ghee. Add the mustard seeds. Once they start spluttering, add the urad dal, jeera, curry leaves, and onion. Saute until the onion turns translucent. Add the tomatoes and green chillies. Add salt to taste. Saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. Finaly add the tomato ketchup and mix well. Switch off the heat.

Add the coarse bread mixture to this prepared sauce and mix thoroughly. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes.

Serve warm. Tastes great by itself. Can also be served with any chutney of choice or ketchup.