Vermicilli Upma with Peas

Vermicilli is also known as sevaii or semiya. It is a rice noodle and the main ingredient for the upma I made this morning for breakfast. I once tried out this recipe but it did not go so well. The recipe I was following was not accurate so I felt like I was cooking the sevai forever. Bhavnesh did not like it so we stayed away from cooking it for a while. This time, I saw how it is done on YouTube, so I am daring to do it all over again.

1/2 cup vermicilli/sevai
3/4 cup water (pre boil water on stove or microwave to save cooking time)
1 fistful of frozen peas (also carrots if you have on hand)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp channa dal
2 tbsp raw peanuts
1 tbsp broken cashew pieces
Pinch of asafoetida powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 green chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil and dry roast the vermicilli in pan until turns golden brown. Stir continuously. Remove sevaii from pan and keep aside.
2. Heat remaining tbsp of oil in same pan. When hot, add mustard seeds and allow to pop. Once they have spluttered, add channa dal and peanuts first and sautee for 30 seconds.
3. Then add the broken cashew pieces and sautee until golden brown.
4. Add asafoetida and turmeric poweders next.
5. Then add the grated ginger, green chilies, chopped onions and frozen peas (and carorts if using). Sautee onions until golden brown. [If onions start browning too soon, add a splash of water to pan.]
6. Next add the salt and the water.
7. Cover the pan and allow water to boil.
8. Once it is boiling, add in the roasted vermicilli. Mix well, lower heat and cover lid for 6 minutes.
9. About mid way through at 4 minutes, open lid and mix once. Close lid to cook for remaining 2 minutes.
10. Turn heat off and let vermicilli sit for 3-5 minutes to allow any remaining water to evaporate. Then open, mix one final time and garnish with chopped cilantro.
11. Serve hot with favorite chutney.

Even though we rated this upma a 3, I still fell it was a success. First, I actually got it right this time, and Bhavnesh liked it enough to where we will be having it again sometime. There were 2 things I would change:

a.) Add less ginger; and
b.) Remember that pan stays hot after you roast the vermicilli. So, when I added the channa dal, it turned a little extra brown. I will reduce the heat next time. Overall, great experience!