Rava idli

Ingredients:
Sooji/rava - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Ginger – ½ tsp, grated
Green chillies - 2/3, finely chopped
Chana dal – 1 tsp
Cashew nuts – 1 tbsp (optional)
Coriander leaves
Curd – 1 cup
Water – ½ cup (optional)
Oil – 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar – 1 pinch (optional)

Method:
Roast the rava well.
Heat oil in a frying pan and add mustard seeds. When they start crackling, add ginger, green chillies, chana dal and cashew nuts and sauté well.
Take off the stove, add rava and mix well.
Add salt, coriander leaves and curd. Mix well.
Add water (if needed) to make it into an idli-batter consistency.
Keep aside for about 15 minutes.
Grease an idli stand. Pour the batter and steam for around 10-15 minutes.
Serve with podi, chutney or sambhar.

Rava upma

Ingredients:
Sooji/rava - 2 cups, roasted
Onions - 1 medium, finely chopped
Green chillies - 3, finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch piece, finely chopped
Curry leaves
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 2, broken into small pieces
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Water - 3 cups
Coconut - 1 cup, grated
Ghee - 1 tbsp (optional)
Cashewnut - 5/6, broken into small pieces (optional)
Sugar - half teaspoon (optional)
Monosodium glutamate - 1 pinch (optional)

Method:
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add urad dal, red chillies and curry leaves and saute well. Add onions, green chillies and ginger. When the onions turn transparent, add water. Add salt, sugar and monosodium glutamate. Bring to a boil. Add the rava slowly and keep stirring well. When the water reduces add the coconut. Take off the stove.
Heat the ghee in a frying pan, add the cashewnuts to it and add it to the upma. Mix well.

Postscript:
Do not saute onions too much or the upma will have a reddish tinge.