Cracked wheat has an interesting texture that is kind of grainy but soft and fluffy, making it perfect for this dish. Called ‘Dalia’ in Hindi language, this is a product of milled whole wheat. It does contain gluten, so folks with gluten allergies will have to stay away from this, sorry.
Upma
This is one of my favorite upma recipes! It is also one of my go-to breakfast dishes. For those who are unfamiliar with upma, it is a savory, porridge like dish with different ingredients. To name a few, there’s sooji (semolina) upma, vermicelli upma, poha (flattened rice) upma and so on. While some upma recipes use lots of veggies, most of them just have onions and may be tomatoes. Sooji Upma is probably the only upma recipe that is used as a filling in a crepe called Pesarattu-I love this dish!
Sooji Upma
Seasoning
As with most South Indian dishes, this recipe starts with seasoning. This includes curry leaves, chana dal, mustard and cumin seeds and a small piece of dry red chili pepper. Seasoning ingredients change, depending on the dish. Some don’t include curry leaves. Urad dal is used instead of chana dal in some. Fenugreek seeds are used in certain recipes. Interesting, isn’t it? I occasionally wonder how or why these specific ingredients were included. The important thing though is that you automatically associate with the flavor of the seasoning in the dish.
Seasoning Ingredients
Ginger & Indian Chili Pepper
In addition to seasoning ingredients what makes this dish stand out for me, is ginger and Indian chili pepper. When I was a kid I used to wince every time I bit into a piece of ginger, so my mom stopped using it in some recipes. Now, I can’t get enough of ginger! I just load up as much as I can, without overwhelming the dish. I’m also a big fan of spicy food, so instead of adding a whole piece of chili pepper, I cut it fine, so it brings in the kick! There’s something about Indian chili pepper-it is flavorful but not over-the-top hot.
Indian Chili Pepper
Pairing
Lastly of course, is what goes best with this upma. My favorite combo with this is Spicy Sweet Tangy Tomato Chutney. They complement each other so well! Also, since my breakfasts tend to be somewhat carb heavy, I always start with guacamole. As you are probably aware, eating healthy fats or protein and veggies BEFORE carbs helps even out blood sugar level. I’ve shown both stove top and Instant Pot (IP) versions of this recipe. Do try it. You’ll love it!
Cracked wheat contains wheat bran and wheat germ and is an excellent source of fiber. It provides 5 g of fiber per 1/4 cup, which is 20 percent of the Daily Value (DV). Vegetables bring in more nutrients and fiber, making this a wholesome meal.
While you’re here, don’t forget to check out some of our delicious South Indian breakfast recipes!
- Delicious Veggie Poha Upma
- Sooji Upma
- Vermicelli Upma
- Pesarattu-Green Mung Crepe
- No Ferment Cabbage-Onion Dosa
- Vegetable Uthappam
- Plain & Veggie Multigrain Idli
- Multigrain Dosa
- Uppudupindi
- Vegetable Rawa Idli
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Cracked Wheat Vegetable Upma
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Cracked Wheat
- 1/2 Chili Dry Red Chili
- 6 Leaves Curry Leaves - Split to Small Pieces
- 1 Teaspoon Chana Dal
- 1/8 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 Pinch Cumin Seeds
- 1/8 Cup Green Peas - Fresh or Frozen
- 1/8 Cup Potato - Fine Cut
- 1 Chili Green Chili Pepper - Medium, Fine Cut
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger - Grated
- 1/4 Cup Tomato - Fine Cut
- 1/4 Cup Onion - Fine Cut
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt - Or To Taste
- 2 Teaspoons Ghee - Organic (Vegans - substitute with Coconut Oil)
- 1 Cup Filtered water
Instructions
- Make sure you have everything ready before you start cooking: 1. Seasoning Ingredients (curry leaves, dry red chili pepper, mustard and cumin seeds, chana dal) 2. Fine cut ginger and chili pepper 3. Cracked wheat 4. Green peas, potato, tomato, onion
- Stove Top Method:Add one teaspoon of ghee to a pan and heat on medium flame for 1 minute. 1. Sauté seasoning ingredients. Add ginger, chili pepper, cook for a minute and add onion, tomato, potato, peas. 2. Add cracked wheat, salt, mix well and cook for a minute 3. Add water and cook till most of the water evaporates 4. Transfer to a bowl and steam it in a rice cooker for about 10 minutes.
- Instant Pot (IP) Method:1. Set IP on 'sauté' mode and wait for the 'hot' sign to show up; add 1 teaspoon ghee and sauté seasoning ingredients till you hear a crackle of the mustard seeds2. Add onion, potato, tomato, green peas and sauté for a couple of minutes3. Add cracked wheat, salt, mix well and cook for a minute4. Add 1.5 cups of water and mix well5. Close the lid and set IP in 'steam' mode for 10 minutes6. When it is done, mix well and transfer to a serving dish
- Serve hot with Spicy Sweet Tangy Tomato Chutney and fresh guacamole.
Whats the weight of each serving
Hi Prasad, the measurements are all in the blog post. You need to go to the recipe section of the post. Let me know if you have trouble. Thanks for visiting.