Upma is super easy and highly nutritious breakfast option
Vegtable upma made with semolina or suji and vegetables is one of the most popular, easy, and highly nutritious breakfast in southern India. It is usually accompanied by piping hot sambhar – a soup made from lentils, tamarind, and vegetables.
Curry leaves form an integral part of both the dishes as they do for the majority of the food preparations in South of India.
It is soft and mushy in texture. Upma can be prepared with a variety of vegetables with key ingredients being semolina, curry leaves, ginger, and mustard seeds.
Purple Carrots are a rich source of Antioxidants and Vitamins
We made this upma recipe with purple carrots and green peas along with the usual ingredients.
Purple carrots are less common these days, however, they were more common before the orange carrot was widely farmed and commercialized.
- They have similar and slightly higher nutritional value as compared to other variations of carrots.
- Purple Carrots contain the antioxidants known as anthocyanins – which are also responsible for their purple colour. Anthocyanins have several positive health benefits and their anti-inflammatory properties.
- Besides this, purple carrots are a rich source of fiber, minerals such as Manganese, Carotenoids (lutein), and Vitamins A, E, C and K.
Green Peas for Vitamins, Minerals, and Proteins
Green peas are usually available in winter season. However, frozen green peas are made available throughout the year and that’s what we have used for this upma recipe.
Green peas belong to the legume family and contain high concentration of Folate, Iron and Manganese.
They are a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Thiamin. Green peas have nearly zero cholesterol and saturated fats.
Curry Leaves for Nutrition, Taste, and Beauty
Curry leaves are a nutrition packed herb that not only enhances the flavor of the food but also provides it with additional vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Fresh curry leaves are widely available across Asia and added deliberately to the South East Asian dishes.
- They are a rich source of Vitamin A, C, E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Folate.
- Curry leaves are a good source of minerals as Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, and Potassium.
- They have multiple health benefits for the body’s internal functioning and for the outlook including skin and hair. In fact, they are revered for hair growth, texture, and volume.
Semolina (Suji) Upma with purple Carrots and Peas
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Semolina or suji
- 2 Medium Purple Carrots cut into small pieces – 1/4 inch
- 1 Cup Frozen green peas
- 1 Medium Onion
- 1½ inch Fresh ginger root
- 1 Large Tomato
- 2 Cups Water
- 1½ tsp Salt To Taste
- 1½ tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1½ tsp Roasted Chana Daal (Bengal Gram) optional
- 1½ tsp Urad Daal (Peeled Black Lentils) optional
- 2-3 tbsp Ghee Replace it with cooking oil of your choice or add sesame oil instead. We added more ghee for the taste and nutrition. Upma can surely be made with a lesser amount – 1 tablespoon is usually enough.
- 2-3 sprigs Fresh curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat a pan and dry roast the semolina. Take the semolina out of the pan and keep it aside in a bowl.
- Wash and cut the veggies. Keep aside seperately.
- Pound the ginger or finely grate it.
- In a pressure cooker add the carrots and green peas and cook them separately.
- Heat the pan and put ghee in it. We used a pressure cooker. You can also use a rice cooker for this recipe.
- Add the ghee to the pan. When ghee is little hot, add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Add curry leaves, urad dal, and chana dal. Stir for 10 seconds.
- Add onion and ginger and stir till the mix turns golden brown.
- Add tomato and keep stirring till they turn soft and mushy.
- Add salt and rest of the vegetables (if not cooked separately in a pressure cooker).
- Mix and cover the pan. Let the mix cook on low heat till the vegetables turn soft.
- After 10-15 mins, remove the cover and add the roasted semolina. Mix well.
- Add water to the mix and again stir well to make a consistent paste.
- Let it cook for another 2-3 mins on low heat.
- Keep covered for another 5-7 mins as it will further cook and soften the semolina.
- Serve with Sambhar or Coconut chutney. Enjoy!
