CRACKED WHEAT USILI – DIET SERIES #2





Rice usili is a classic dish prepared by my grandma for our lunch boxes when we were kids. I had completely forgotten about this until my mom reminded me of this when we were online. Rice or arisi usili is usually prepared with rice and any type of dhal. This dish is a combination between upma and pongal. The dhal will be still whole and gives a good texture to the whole dish. The seasonings used here are also very simple ones. I am not sure where this dish is from. When I asked my mom about this, even she was not sure about this. If anybody is familiar with arisi usili, please share your thoughts and memories in this post friends. I have followed my grandma’s exact recipe here except that I substituted the rice with cracked wheat.


Coming on to my recipe, I made a lighter version of this dish with cracked wheat. This was equally delicious and comforting as the original one. I had tried this for the first time last week when my hubby was away on a business trip. That day I had this meen kuzumbu. The next day, I had prepared kathrikai kothsu to go along with this and we had it for breakfast. My hubby loved this very much and in fact he had finished off the whole thing. I cooked the usili in rice cooker. Rice cooker cooking makes the usili very fluffy when compared to cooking in pressure cooker, so here is my next recipe in my diet series. This combination of lentils and whole grains is also awesome :)


INGREDIENTS:

1. Cracked wheat, 1 cup, (fine rava wont work so well here, I have used a little bit bigger variety, this can be substituted with bulgur wheat).

2. Toor dhal or moong dhal, ½ cup.

3. Whole pepper corns, ¼ teaspoon.

4. Cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon.

5. Red chilies, 1-2, can be left whole or broken.

6. Curry leaves, a sprig.

7. Salt as per taste.


PREPARATION:

Wash the lentils well and cook them until they are done half way through. The lentils should still be whole. I cooked mine in the microwave. I cooked the dhal for 15 minutes with just enough water to cover the lentils. When cooking the dhal in the microwave, add a drop of oil to prevent the water from boiling over. Drain the water from the dhal and add it the cracked wheat. Transfer the contents to an electric rice cooker, add ½ teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of water and cook until they are done. The cracked wheat can also be cooked on stove top also under medium flame, stirring in between until it is dry. Heat a small pan with some oil. Add the seasonings one by one and fry for a few seconds until good smell emanates from them. Pour the seasonings over the usili and mix everything well. Serve hot with any side dish like sambar, kothsu, or chutney.

40 comments:

Indian food recipes said...

Tnx 4 this special recipe!sounds healthy n delicious

GEETHA ACHAL said...

மிகவும் அருமையான சத்தான குறிப்பு...எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்தது...உங்களுடைய டயட் உணவு அருமை...வாழ்த்துகள்...நாங்கள் டய்டில் தான் இருக்கின்றோம்...நன்றி...

Aruna Manikandan said...

Healthy delicous usili...
Thx. for sharing :-)

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Simply delicious and very healthy alternative to rice usili!

Suji said...

Gita..We are loving this diet series dear...Have heard a lot about uslis from one of our tamil friend, never made them at home..Now we know where toi look :-). Good one

Love
Kairali sisters

divya said...

Wow....simple and very healthy dish...thanks for sharing lovely dish with us dear.

Raks said...

nice recipe,very new to me,I always make upma,other than that i know nothing,thanks for this recipe!

Ms.Chitchat said...

I make upma with cracked wheat,never tried usli. Ur version is too good,would give a try.

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Oh wonderful idea of making usili with cracked wheat.. I will adapt this soon... Gita i will come there and join with u for dieting.

kitchen queen said...

lovely and healthy and mouth watering Usili, keep some for me I am coming over.

FH said...

That dish looks great and I am sure it tastes good too.
I have cut down the portion of my meals too, lost 2 pant size since then although I do make and eat everything including Vadas etc.but in small portions unlike before This dish makes a light Summer lunch. YUM!!

Rachana said...

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe... Healthy n delicious.

Nitha said...

Healthy and nutritious one... Looks yummy too..

Kiran said...

One more healthy and delicious dish from you.Nice pic.

Hari Chandana P said...

Spunds too good..looks healthy and delicious.. surely give a try.. nice clicks !!

Menaga Sathia said...

அருமையான குறிப்பு,பகிர்வுக்கு நன்றி!!

Suja Manoj said...

This sounds delicious and healthy alternative.. this series is useful.

Treat and Trick said...

Looks healthy and yummy, thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe dear..

http://treatntrick.blogspot.com

Sushma Mallya said...

Quick,easy and delicious...

Yasmeen said...

I'd love this for any meal of the day :D

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Hi Gita

Loved this tasty and healthy recipe. Explained in very simple way.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Simplyfood said...

Lovely and healthy looking dish.

Malar Gandhi said...

Usili is called as kitchdi in North India, rice and lentils together... is very ancient pheasant meal. Wheat n lentils kitchadi sounds delicious.

SpicyTasty said...

I think I got a healthy recipe today...

Priya Suresh said...

Truly delectable dish, i can it anytime..

Unknown said...

Nice diet recipe. Bookmarked. Waitng for more of those recipes.

Rumana Rawat said...

Simply delicious and very healthy too.

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

nice yummy one and healthy too...

Life is beautiful !!! said...

Geetha very nice to hear from you :) Your blog is very nice too...so many varieties of recipe collection. Loved it :)

SathyaSridhar said...

Gita,,very good recipe dear healthy n quick to cook for all time,, i got laapsi use to cook uppuma in this..usli is creative idea dear..

BeenaShylesh said...

nice healthy one........

Pari Vasisht said...

This sounds so good geeta, i liked the brown rice and lentil soup too. I agree with rice cooker u get a more fluffy texture. Good going with ur series dear.

Suman Singh said...

perfect creation of healthy n delicious dish...kewl...

SathyaSridhar said...

Gita,,dear thanks for ur comments paa,,neenga ketta thanaala thaan tomato kuruma ve post paninen paa,,ithu kongunadu popular kuruma only for tiffin item.. ungalukku thaan thanks sollanum..

Panchpakwan said...

So delicious and healthy too.

Namitha said...

Yumm.though I'm not on a diet control (thanks to my genes, may not have to even think of it in the near future..lol ) I would love to have this...

Anonymous said...

ரொம்ப நல்லா இருக்கும் போல..

Cham said...

Quiet filling and great diabetic food too!

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Healthy one, nice recipe...looks delicious.

Nadji said...

Je viendrai manger chez toi avec plaisir.
Bon weekend.