Quinoa Upma Recipe : Healthy Variation to Upma!

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Upma is highly preferred as the healthy breakfast for a fresh morning. Quinoa Upma Recipe. This chewy upma is usually sticky and gummy. This tasty upma is also very healthy and it can be made at any time or any day. The Quinoa Upma Recipe is one such variation of upma with the core ingredient being Quinoa. Whenever you plan to make upma with the integration of Quinoa, get the seeds from the market and soak them in water which saves time.

Quinoa Upma

Author: Vishal Agrawal
Recipe Category: Snacks
Cuisine: Indian

Description: The Quinoa Upma Recipe is the variation of upma with the core ingredient being Quinoa. It also uses other veggies, herbs and spice powders in its making.

Quinoa Upma Recipe

Ingredients Required for Quinoa Upma Recipe:

Quinoa – ½ cup
Mustard – ¼ tsp.
Cumin / Jeera – ½ tsp.
Water – 1 cup
Oil – 2 tsp.
Urad dal – 1 tsp.
Chana dal – 1 tsp.
Ginger – 1 inch
Green Chili – 2 pieces
Onions (chopped) – 1 medium sized
Carrots (chopped) – ½ cup
Capsicum (chopped) – ½ cup
Green Peas – ¼ cup
Curry leaves – ¼ tsp.
Salt – as per taste
Hing – a pinch

Note: Quinoa is the species of grain crop grown for its edible seeds. You can at times substitute Quinoa in the recipes which call for the use or cereals or needs rice. Use healthy saffola oil while cooking.

If you want spicy Quinoa Upma, then 1 or 2 add dry red chillies in your upma.

Chana Dal is also called as Moong Dal. You can add any vegetable of your choice like Potatoes, French Beas, Corns, Broccoli, Mushroom, etc.

The Method of Making Quinoa Upma Recipe:

Pre-Preparation:

Take the bowl of ½ cup quinoa and transfer the quinoa to the strainer.
Wash the quinoa properly with water. Do it 2 to 3 times to clean it well.
Then soak quinoa in a cold water for about 20-30 minutes.
Remove the quinoa and take it a clean bowl. Drain off the excess water.
Thaw the green peas.
Wash and chop the onions, carrots, capsicum and green chillies.

Note: It is important to soak quinoa properly before cooking

You can use either peas or the frozen peas in the making of your Quinoa Upma. If you are using peas from the refrigerator then thaw them before using and if you have bought the fresh peas and then clean once before you use them.

Preparation:

Take a non-stick pan and heat oil in it over a medium flame. (buy non-stick pan online)
Add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds to the heated oil.
Fry these seeds for a while, wait till they crackle and make noise.
Then add both the dals to this cooking pan. First take the Chana dal and mix in the pan.
Now, add the Urad dal in the pan and fry it with the Chana Dal.
Stir these two Dal’s well till they mix with other ingredients.
Keep sautéing the Dal until the colour becomes golden brown and they start releasing the fragrant aroma.
Once the Dal is properly roasted, add the chopped green chillies and the crushed or chopped ginger to this pan.
Then when the ginger is fried it would leave its raw smell, at this time sprinkle a pinch of Hing and fry the ingredients.
After you sauté for about a minute, add the chopped onion and again stir well.
Meanwhile, the onions are cooking, keep some curry leaves in this pan and begin to stir again.
Keep on sautéing the mixture till the onions become translucent and starts to release the pungent aroma.
When the chopped onions are cooked, now is the time to add the chopped or grated carrots, capsicum and the green peas.
Once again sauté everything properly over a low flame. The flavours and the taste of each ingredient should mix well with the other ingredient.
Now add the soaked quinoa to the pan and again stir properly.
After some time, pour in around ½ cup to 1 cup water in the pan and let it boil.
Cook it on the medium pan and wait for the water to evaporate.
As the quinoa upma gets ready it will turn translucent.
Keep stirring in between so that the quinoa does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Now, season the quinoa upma with the salt and again stir well.
Cover the lid of the pan and let the quinoa seeds cook for around 3 minutes. Simmer the seeds over a low flame.
After a while, check the upma pan, the water must be absorbed by the seeds.
Check the grains, they must be fluffy and have become golden in texture. This shows that they are cooked well.
Remove the lid and take the Upma to the Plate.

And the healthy Quinoa Upma is ready. Serve it Hot!

Note: Usually ½ cup of water is enough but if you want softer and fluffier texture then prefer adding the entire 1 cup of water. If you are using any other vegetable, then add in the pan after the onions are sautéed.

Additional Information:

Calories: 198 calories
Total Time: PT30M
Serves: 2
Date Published: 2016-09-27

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It is the one such quick breakfast recipe which you can make when are running late for office. It uses Quinoa as the main element and all the other side ingredients for the extra taste and flavours. The ingredients such as lentils and veggie like carrot, capsicum and peas are easily available. Whereas the spice powder and various condiments are common and usually available in everyone’s home.

The preparation of this quinoa upma is no different from the other upma recipes. Wash, rinse and cut chop the vegetables you have along with quinoa. Soak quinoa seeds in water, do tempering in hot oil with mustard and cumin seeds, mix the different types of lentils and cook. Add the veggies, chillies, whole spices and the condiments. Sprinkle salt and season with herbs. The only change in this recipe is the replacement of semolina with the Quinoa in the making of the Upma.

The colourful plate of quinoa upma looks wonderful and taste delicious. It has a beautiful blend of soft and crunchy texture. The whiff of the cooked roasted quinoa seeds spreads all over the kitchen. The spicy upma has the aromatic nutty fragrance. It is quick and easy to make in early mornings when you are already running late of time. This is one meal dish which is healthy, tasty and tummy filling at the same time. Serve it hot with spicy pickle or dip.

Recommended Products:

Remarks:

The preparation time required for the Quinoa Upma Recipe is around 30 minutes.
The measured proportion of ingredients mention for the recipe of Quinoa Upma serves 2 people. You can change the proportion based on the number of servings.
You can use only red chilli instead of green chilli. You can combine both and if you are making for children, then do not use chillies at all.
Ghee can be used instead of Oil.
The carrot will give it rich taste but you can skip it if you don’t have it.
Kids might like it sweet add 2 tsp. sugar in it.
You can make this quinoa upma in a pressure cooker as well.
Quinoa can be eaten both by vegetarians and vegans.
If you making Quinoa Upma for the Jain friends, then avoid the use of onions and ginger it in.

Garnishing:

Serve it hot with coconut chutney or any of your favourite chutney. You can also have it with the spicy and tangy pickle or the homemade tomato ketchup.

Garnish it with:

Coriander Leaves
Grated Cheese
Lemon Wedges

Quick Tip:

You can squeeze some lemon juice over the upma and mix it well.
For extra flavours, sprinkle Maggie Magic Masala over the upma.
You can have this Upma for a breakfast or mid-day meal with chilled Raita.
Pair this hearty quinoa upma with your evening tea or coffee along with toasted bread to make up the light meal for your stomach.

The reason we soak the quinoa in water is because it has Phytic acid that’s make it indigestible for our body. The presence of this acid prevents our body from easily digesting the food items related to quinoa. So we soak Quinoa is water which absorbs this and makes it digestible. Ideally, it has to be soaked overnight or for 12 hours but if you are in lack of time then you can soak it for half an hour.

The quinoa is a powerhouse of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fibres, potassium, magnesium and other nutrients. Its regular consumption is beneficial for all age group people having different food habits. They contain antioxidants in the surplus and their intake improves the health of metabolism, reduces weight. Incorporate Quinoa in your food in various ways and improve your health.

There are various other food items which can be made from the Quinoa and are equally delicious and hearty. If you like to eat and experiment with Quinoa food fishes then you can try Quinoa Idli, Quinoa Rice, Quinoa Pulao, Quinoa Salad, Quinoa Toast or Quinoa Tikki.

Quinoa is not the Indian ingredient so it may cost a bit to buy them but similar to it there is another seed called as Rajgira or Amaranth. These Rajgira seeds are native, rich in nutrients, economically and easily affordable. There are various recipes which you can make from these seeds or its flour like Rajgira Paratha, Rajgira Poori, and much more. You can cook various Quinoa dishes with Rajgira but there will difference in taste and texture of this dish. Also, they are stickier than the Quinoa and takes more time to cook.

Also, if you are looking for Upma varieties to make in morning for the lunchbox of your kids or the tiffin of your husband then you may be interested in making Tomato Upma, Beetroot Upma, Onion Upma, Oats Upma, Poha Upma, Vermicelli Upma, etc. All these different types of Upma are really quick and easy to make in the morning. These colourful and flavorful Upma’s are delicious, nutritious, protein-packed, tasty, tummy filling and yet light on the stomach. The various Upma made from different ingredients are the perfect option to cook for when you are looking for protein rich vegetarian dishes to make while you are in hurry.