I wonder if any other cuisine in the world would have as many starters, naashta and in-betweener varieties as ours. Take Upma for eg, so many varieties with so many ingredients and so many variations too. In that train of thought, one of the simplest upma recipes that's a personal favourite is - Puli Upma made with Rice flour and just few other ingredients.Each one has their own version of this dish or preference of how they like it. I personally like it little crispy and brown, while some like it pasty.How you like it is up to you, here's the base recipe though as a guideline.PULI UPMA / PULI MAVU / RICE FLOUR UPMA

INGREDIENTSRice flour - 1 cupTamarind extract - 1 cup (1 lemon size tamarind made into 1 cup using enough water)Salt to tasteHing powder - 1/4 tspTempering:Sesame oil - 4-5 tbspsMustard seeds - 1/2 tspUrad dal - 1/4 tspDry Red Chili - 2 mediumMETHOD1. Add rice flour, salt and hing to a bowl. Knead into a soft dough using the tamarind extract water as required. Keep aside.Note: Check for salt at this stage itself.2. Heat oil in a wok. Add sesame seeds and let splutter.3. Add urad dal and red chilies, roast till dal turns golden brown.4. Using your hands, sprinkle the kneaded rice flour dough into the oil carefully, like you would do for Onion Pakoda. Basically, take small portions of the dough and drop into the oil using your fingers as a nozzle.5. Mix well with the oil On low-medium flame, so that it gets absorbed evenly into the rice flour dough. Keep stirring...