quinoa upma recipe with step by step photos – quick and easy breakfast recipe of mix vegetable quinoa upma. i had got some requests to share quinoa recipes. hence this recipe. i will also add more quinoa recipes later.
quinoa pronounced ‘keenwah’ or ‘kinuwa’ is a crop grown for its edible seeds. quinoa is also a super food. being a good source of protein, its beneficial for vegetarians as well as vegans. its also rich in iron, manganese and phosphorus. more info here.
the texture of cooked quinoa is soft yet chewy with a crunch. the cooked seeds have a nutty flavor. on cooking the seeds become translucent.
quinoa is not native to india. so in hindi, there is no name for these seeds. similar to quinoa, we have a seed that is native to india and its amaranth. like quinoa even amaranth has nutrient rich profile and is not expensive in india. amaranth is also called as ‘rajgira’ or ‘ramdana’ in hindi. if you can get amaranth (seeds or flour) then you can make many recipes from it. i have already posted few recipes like amaranth pudding, amaranth yogurt parfait recipe, rajgira parathas and rajgira pooris.
quinoa can be used as a substitute in recipes which use rice or other cereals. the possibilities are many.
serve quinoa upma hot or warm with a side coconut chutney or a side lemon pickle.
if you are looking for more upma recipes then do check bread upma, oats upma, aval upma and rava upma recipe.
vegetable quinoa upma recipe below:
quinoa upma recipe
INGREDIENTS FOR quinoa upma recipe
- ½ cup quinoa
- 1.5 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion or 1/3 cup finely chopped medium onion
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger (adrak)
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or 1 to 2 green chilies - chopped
- 1 dry red chili (sookhi lal mirch) - stem removed
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) - optional
- 5 to 6 curry leaves (kadi patta)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ teaspoon urad dal
- ½ teaspoon moong dal or chana dal
- 1 small to medium carrot or 1/3 cup finely chopped carrots
- 5 to 6 french beans or ¼ cup finely chopped french beans
- 1/3 cup frozen peas (matar)
- 1 to 1.25 cups water
- 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
- salt as required
HOW TO MAKE quinoa upma recipe
- take ½ cup quinoa in a fine strainer and rinse well in running water.
- heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a pan. add ½ tsp mustard seeds.
- once the mustard seeds begin crackling, then add ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp urad dal and ½ tsp moong dal or chana dal.
- stir and saute on a low flame. saute till the urad dal and moong dal turn golden.
- then add ½ tsp finely chopped ginger, 1 tsp chopped green chilies or 1 to 2 green chilies, chopped, 1 dry red chili and a pinch of asafoetida (optional). saute for about half a minute.
- next add 1/3 cup finely chopped medium onion and 5 to 6 curry leaves.
- stir and saute on a low to medium flame.
- saute till the onions become translucent.
- then add 1/3 cup finely chopped carrots, 1/4 cup finely chopped french beans and 1/3 cup frozen peas. mix well.
- saute on a low flame for two minutes.
- then add the quinoa. mix very well again.
- saute for a minute or two on low flame.
- then add water. for 1/2 cup of quinoa 1 cup of water can be added. i added 1.25 cups water as i wanted a more fluffy and softer texture.
- stir well. add salt as per taste.
- cover the pan with its lid and simmer on a low flame till the quinoa seeds are cooked.
- once or twice you can stir the upma while its being simmered.
- when all the water has been absorbed and the grains appear translucent and cooked well, remove the lid and switch off the flame.
- add 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves.
- give a quick stir and serve vegetable quinoa upma hot or warm with a few lemon wedges or coconut chutney or lime pickle.
step by step vegetable quinoa upma recipe:
1. take ½ cup quinoa in a fine strainer and rinse very well in running water. keep aside.
2. heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a pan. add ½ tsp mustard seeds.
3. once the mustard seeds begin crackling, then add ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp urad dal and ½ tsp moong dal or chana dal.
4. stir and saute on a low flame.
5. saute till the urad dal and moong dal turn golden.
6. then add ½ tsp finely chopped ginger, 1 tsp chopped green chilies, chopped, 1 dry red chili and a pinch of asafoetida (optional). saute for about half a minute. for a gluten free upma, skip asafoetida or use gluten free asafoetida.
7. next add ⅓ cup finely chopped onions and 5 to 6 curry leaves.
8. stir and saute on a low to medium flame.
9. saute till the onions become translucent.
10. then add ⅓ cup finely chopped carrots, ¼ cup finely chopped french beans and ⅓ cup frozen peas. you can use your choice of veggies. do chop them finely, so they get cooked by the time the quinoa cooks. if using fresh peas, the steam or cook them separately. add them once the upma is done.
11. mix well.
12. saute on a low flame for two minutes.
13. then add the quinoa.
14. mix very well again.
15. saute for a minute or two on low flame.
16. then add water. for ½ cup of quinoa, 1 cup of water can be added. i added 1.25 cups water as i wanted a more fluffy and softer texture.
17. stir well.
18. add salt as per taste.
19. cover the pan with its lid and simmer on a low flame till the quinoa seeds are cooked.
20. once or twice you can stir the upma while its being simmered.
21. when all the water has been absorbed and the grains appear translucent and cooked well, remove the lid and switch off the flame. it will take about 20 to 22 minutes for the quinoa to cook.
22. add 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves.
23. give a quick stir and serve vegetable quinoa upma hot or warm with a few lemon wedges or coconut chutney or lime pickle.
It tastes great.. thanks for the recipie
welcome siri. thanks for the feedback and review on quinoa upma.
I followed your recipe 2 weeks ago, I went a little further and added chopped zucchini and mushrooms. It was delicious, every one in the house wanted more! I skipped asafoetida though, because I couldn’t figure out what is it or a translation for it in Spanish (I am in Mexico City). Congratulations with your app! Keep it up
thanks gibran. asafoetida would be difficult to get in mexico. but i guess you can buy it online on amazon.com. asafoetida has a strong pungent flavor, so just a light pinch is fine in any recipe that calls for it. you can easily skip asafoetida in the quinoa upma. zucchini and mushrooms are nice additions and must have made the upma taste good to.
Great ideas. Thanku
Welcome Suguna
Hello,
Quinoa has lots of phytic acid that prevents body from easily digesting it. Hence it should be soaked 12 hours min to be able to absorb the nutrients.
Great recipe. Keep up the good work.
thanks for the info vaishali.
Hi Dassana, thanks so much for this recipe. It looks wonderful and colorful. I purchased a bag of quinoa yesterday for the first time, and am looking for recipes to try. I followed the simplest recipe with 1:2 quinoa, water ratio and my family loved the taste and texture. I hope you will post more indian recipes with quinoa. I will try out this upma recipe very soon. It looks fantastic!
welcome charmaine. glad to know that you liked the quinoa recipe. i will try to add more such recipes with quinoa.
These are very common in South India. Farmers eat them a lot here from way back. I don’t know if it is native or not, but they have grown a lot out here in the south. They are known as SOJJALU in Telugu if not mistaken.
thankyou priya for sharing this information 🙂
no. they are not sajjalu.
Hi I think Quinoa is called “Chaama ” In Malayalam. Can you please confirm?
nimmi, little millet is called as chaama in malayalam. little millet is also known as samai in tamil and sama in telugu.
can we use rajgira insead of quinoa?
rajgira will take a lot of time to cook. plus it can be sticky too and need more water for cooking. with rajgira, you can cook in a pressure cooker. for 1/2 cup of rajgira grains, add 1.5 to 2 cups of water in the pressure cooker.
Can we prepare this in cooker directly ?
preferably better to cook in a pan for upma recipe hope this help’s you 🙂