Upma. Savory cream of wheat/rice with nuts and veggies. Vegan breakfast.glutenfree option

We made upma, poha(savory rice flakes), chilla (chickpea flour and veggie crepes/omelettes) and some other very indian breakfasts with mom around. I will post each and then round them up in one breakfast collection post!

Check out my earlier Breakfast post with french toasts, pancakes, sprouts and more here..

 

This dish can be made with cream of wheat- wheat semolina, cream of rice- rice semolina/rava, cracked wheat, vermicelli -semiyan, other quick cooking cracked grains. The cooking time and water needed for cracked grains might be a little more than regular semolina. Use glutenfree cream of rice(Rice Rava) for a glutenfree version. Add as many veggies and nuts to make this one balanced breakfast/snack!

 

 

• In a pan, dry roast the semolina/rava on low-medium heat till the color changes to a light gold(3-4 minutes for half a cup).We usually dry roast and store the semolina in an airtight container for a few weeks. to reduce prep time. Use 3/4 cup to serve 2.
• In another container, add double the quantity of water( 2 cups water for a cup of semolina) and heat it to bring it to a boil.
• Meanwhile, remove the roasted semolina and Heat 2 tsp of oil in the pan at medium heat.
• Add half a tsp mustard seeds and allow them to sputter.
• Add the daals-a teaspoon each channa(bengal gram) and urad(split black gram, use both or just urad) and a few curry leaves and mix for half a minute. Add 2-3 Tbsps of chopped cashew pieces and cook till the daal and cashew start to change color(another half minute)
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  Add chopped onion, ginger and green chili. Sauté for a minute.

   

• Add vegetables(finley chopped carrots, bell pepper, peas), and salt to taste and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add the roasted semolina and boiling water, mix well, cover and cook till all water is absorbed. 3-5 minutes.
• Serve hot with some lemon juice and chopped cilantro for garnish. Other garnishes can be roasted peanuts, shredded coconut or sev(chickpea flour broken noodles).
• For fusion versions, add zucchini or olives, tomatoes, corn, raisins, cranberries or any fave veggie! Use Cream of rice(Rice/Idli Rava) for a glutenfree version.

This simple breakfast is headed to Hearth and soul blog hop, Slightly indulgent tuesdays and Ricki’s Wellness Weekend!