Saturday, October 24, 2009

Savory Semolina Cake

Savory Semolina Cake1


Since I rarely plan meals ahead of time, I am usually at a loss for what to make when it’s time to get started on my cooking for the day. It was one of those weekend mornings when I was stumped, as usual, on what to make for breakfast. I turned to my bookmarks folder for help and inspiration came in the form of this recipe that I’d bookmarked ages ago, from Arundathi’s blog. The original recipe is Anjum Anand’s, and here she demonstrates how the cake (I like to call it a baked rava upma ) is made.


Ingredients:

1 cup semolina/rava/sooji/cream of wheat

1 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup water (somewhere between ¼ to ½ cup of water - use just enough to make a thick batter)

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp roasted cumin powder

1 tsp baking soda

Salt

Also required are:

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 finely chopped green chillies

5-6 curry leaves, finely chopped (kasuri methi would work too, for a different flavor)

½ tsp ginger paste

½ onion, finely chopped

¼ red bell pepper, chopped

¼ cup frozen peas


Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease a loaf pan.


Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chillies, chopped curry leaves and ginger, followed by the vegetables in quick succession. Cook for a minute or two, stirring frequently.


In a large bowl, mix together the semolina, yogurt, water, the contents of the pan, and salt to make a fairly thick batter. Add more water if required, to bring the batter together.


Stir in the baking soda and immediately pour the batter into the loaf pan.


Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown. Mine was almost done in 30 minutes; so I turned off the oven and just let it sit inside for another 5 minutes or so.


Remove from the oven and cool for a bit. Slice and serve.


Savory Semolina Cake2

18 Burps:

RedChillies said...

Belated belated Diwali wishes TBC. I had been looking for a savory semolina cake recipe and there you have it. Just perfect TBC. I am so bookmarking this!

Homecooked said...

Oh...wow.This looks yummy! Something different to try out :) You are right in calling it baked rava upma :)

musical said...

"Baked uppitu", that HAS to be yummy! Big thank you for this fiesta, TBC!

sra said...

Nice! Don't have the baking soda, though!

amna said...

wow!!! Bookmarked!!

chef and her kitchen said...

Even I tried this of Anjum Anand's famous semolina cake...Looks nice.

Raks said...

I love anything made out of semolina and could I resist this pretty lookng savory cake!!??

TBC said...



RedChillies & Nags- it is a nice way of making rava upma. You could just toss the raw vegetables directly into the batter (without cooking them first) and omit the additional steps mentioned here.


Homecooked- it tastes just like an upma.:)I like this method since the rava does not need to be roasted first if it is going to be made like this.


Musical- and where are you these days?? Have you stopped blogging altogether?
Yeah, the dish is good- I like to eat it with some kind of an accompaniment, though- maybe a pickle or a chutney of some kind?


Sra- I think it should turn out alright even if you omit the baking soda- I haven't tried it myself, so I don't know for sure.

Prathibha- you've tried the recipe as well? What did you think of it?

Rak's kitchen- thanks for the compliment. :)


Suganya said...

Very innovative recipe. Looks so good. So colorful YUM!

Cris said...

This looks sooo good, love this recipe, we usually don't think of semolina for recipes like this, what a great idea.

Shyam said...

Would you BELIEVE this was on my to-make list for the weekend? It sounded great... and now from your pics I can see it LOOKS fabulous - how was it? :)

TBC said...


Sukanya- thank you.
I am glad I got a chance to try the original recipe.:)


Cris- how are you? It has been a while! I hope you and your family are doing good. :)


Shyam- it tastes pretty good- if you like upma, you'll like this too. I have never been too crazy about upma so this didn't do much for me. I just liked the way the semolina was used in this recipe and wanted to give it a shot.
If you do try this, make sure you have some kind of a chutney to go with it.:)

egglesscooking said...

I too had bookmarked it when Arundati posted it but have not tried it until now. Your pictures really tempt me to try it immediately.

TBC said...


Madhuram- give it a go then. It is a nice change from the regular upma. (I have difficulty calling this a cake.) :)

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Its been a while since I blog hopped and am trying to remedy that. :)
This is lovely. Great as breakfast or snack. Should try this.

TBC said...


Aparna- don't worry- visit only when you can and want to. I don't really blog hop much now and even when I do, very seldom do I leave a comment.:)
This is a good BF item- needs some kind of a chutney, though.



musical said...

Once more, thanks TBC! I have already made this a few times since you posted this!

As for blogging, i really do want to blog quite a few dishes, but somehow or the other haven't gotten around doing that.....and that sucks, big time :(.

TBC said...

Musical- Wow! you have?! I made it just the one time.:)Thank you so much for coming back here and leaving a comment to let me know.:)

I know what you mean- I have around 30 posts now in my drafts. :( Just don't feel like posting like I used to previously. I have been unable to shake off my blog lethargy lately.

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