Udupi Aval Upma is a tea time snack also eaten during breakfast. It’s spicy, nutty and crunchy. It’s got the flavors of coconut, sesame seeds and spices along with jaggery to sweeten it up.
Last week a group of friends and I were discussing about how important it is to love ourselves, to be content and how to be self aware. It’s not something that comes easily. It requires consistent practice and over time without your knowledge, you are there, you really do love yourself. Just like this dish, it might look easy, but it has a good balance of many ingredients to all come together. It is about balance, about understanding the different aspects to coming to the final destination that you want.
The act of self love is often times misconstrued as being selfish. Coming to think of it, is it really being selfish?
If you got past that last sentence, then you have mustered every ounce of courage to finally teach yourself the essence of self-love.
In a world where we’ve been raised to put others first, self-love can often feel selfish. Setting aside time for self-love causes feelings of guilt, and we struggle to maintain a dedicated self-love practice. It’s frustrating. We know we need self-love, yet we have difficulty giving ourselves permission to experience it. Ironic, isn’t it?
In order to create that loving relationship with yourself, you’ll have to recognize your needs. Without self-love, you are dismissive of your needs; you ignore them, while prioritizing the needs of others such as your partners, friends, family, and coworkers. Self-love is all about identifying your needs and making them a priority in your life. It’s about doing what truly feels right for you.
Say goodbye to codependency. You’ll celebrate the beauty and freedom of being true to you, and you’ll gain a solidified sense of who you truly are. Self-love helps you ground into your true self. As your self-love expands, so will your ability to identify what is and isn’t good for you. Simply put, the more you love yourself, the less you’ll tolerate being treated like crap. You’ll gain the clarity you need to understand what you will and will not accept in your life. As we grow that love within you, it will become easier to accept good things in your life. Self-love is all about taking ownership; owning up to your actions, and how you choose to show up in this world. The only reason you adopt a victim mentality is because you refuse to see the role you play in your experiences. When you begin to prioritize self-love, you start to view your experiences differently. It’s all about learning lessons, not denying them. Ownership is empowering.
Stop seeking happiness outside of you. You won’t find it. You may find temporary happy moments, but you won’t find long-lasting happiness. Self-love helps you get your groove back. It’s simple, really. The more love you show yourself, the better you feel. And the better you feel, the happier you become. You are in charge of your happiness, and self-love is the key to finding it.
Self-love is not selfish. Self-love is about connecting to your innermost needs, celebrating the freedom of being you, and honoring who you truly are while dropping your destructive patterns. Loving yourself is magical—it’s a divine relationship that will help you radically improve every single aspect of your life. So go on, drop the guilt, and embrace having a deep, loving relationship with YOU.
As you go into your venture of attaining self-love, you will be surprised with the discoveries you make. You will see how a little self-love could help you turn yourself into someone you’ve always dreamed of becoming, just imagine what a lot could do!
When you love yourself, you give yourself a chance to open up to the world. You develop a talent or a skill you never thought you had in you. You try new things. You give more, you love more. You unlock potentials.
When you love yourself, you find it easier to accept compliments and to give compliments. You learn to compliment yourself as well and others abundantly. You are content. You are appreciative of your surroundings and others. When you look in the mirror you see beauty. You know that you are human, innately flawed and beautiful at the same time. You accept these human traits and regard them as symbols of your survival. When you love yourself, you become more genuine. You don’t try to hide behind the things-that-will-make-people-like-me façade. You know the fact that you can never please everyone and so you don’t.
To me taking time for myself, cooking something I love just for myself and sitting on my bed watching a documentary with a face pack on, is a form of self love. Do yourself a favor, do what brings you joy.
Now to this amazing evening snack that is famous Udupi dish. This is made more as an evening snack in and around Mangalore. It is a milder cousin to aval pulihore, SO TASTY! I’ve seen people mix it with banana and enjoy too:-).
What you need to make Udupi Aval Upma or Masala Poha
Thin Aval or Poha. This recipe is particularly made with super thin aval or poha. If you plan to use the thicker kind, you have to soak the aval before adding it to the masala.
Fresh coconut
Jaggery
Spices
Toasted peanuts
How to make the Udupi Aval Upma or Masala Poha
Toasting the spices on low heat and grinding it with sesame is the base for the upma. This upma is spicy, a perfect balance of sweet and spiciness.
Once you grind the spices, the key is to add the THIN poha and massage with your hands and mix. This will ensure the poha gets softer. Then you add the tempering a massage it again thoroughly. It works only with thin poha.
Finish off with toasted peanuts or cashews.
Enjoy and give yourself a HUG!
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 6-8 whole red chilies, use accordingly
- 2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
- 2 cups very thin aval/poha
- ½ to 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup coconut, grated
- ¼ or 2 tbsp. jaggery powder
- 2 tbsp oil
- pinch asafetida
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp urad daal
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- Toasted peanuts
- In a sauté pan, spray a little oil and add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, whole red chilies. Roast it until you smell the spices and it's slightly toasty. Cool. Take it out in a blender, add the sesame seeds and powder it.
- In the same pan that you sautéed add the powder back in, since it will have the residual heat. Add the coconut and the jaggery
- Add salt, aval or poha and start massaging and mixing it well with your hands.
- In a tempering pan, add oil, asafoetida, mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, curry leaves and let it pop. Pour it in the aval mixture.
- Again, once it is slightly cool, mix it again very well. The aval will soften.
- Toss in the toasted peanuts.
- Serve with tea
f you make this Udupi Aval or Masala Poha, please rate the recipe and comment if you liked it and tag me on Instagram using hashtag #foodfashionparty.
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Lovely post Asha ! Rock on!