Bread upma is a simple upma variation made with bread cubes, onions, tomatoes, spices and herbs. It comes together in about 30 minutes. You can serve it for breakfast, brunch or as an evening snack.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Breakfast, Snacks
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • 3 cups chopped bread cubes (or 5 to 6 bread slices - chopped in cubes)
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped onions (or 1 medium-sized)
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped green chilies (or serrano pepper or 1 green chili)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger (or ¾ to 1 inch ginger)
  • 6 to 7 curry leaves (- chopped)
  • ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes (or 2 medium-sized)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing) - optional)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves ((cilantro))
  • salt (as required)

Method

Preparation

  1. Chop the bread slices in cubes. If the edges of the bread have become dense then slice them. Don't throw them. Instead blitz them in a blender or food processor to make bread crumbs.
  2. Finely chop the onions, green chilli, ginger and tomatoes. keep aside.
  3. Chop the curry leaves and coriander leaves. Keep aside.

Making bread upma

  1. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle and pop.
  2. Then add cumin seeds. Stir and saute till the cumin seeds also crackle and change their color.
  3. Add chopped onions. Stir. On a low to medium flame, saute the onions till they turn translucent.
  4. Add finely chopped green chilies, finely chopped ginger and chopped curry leaves. Stir and saute till the raw aroma of ginger goes away. About 10 to 12 seconds.
  5. Then add finely chopped tomatoes.
  6. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and a pinch of asafoetida (optional). For a more spicy taste in bread upma, you can increase the red chili powder.
  7. Mix very well. Add salt as required.
  8. Stir and saute this onion-tomato-spices mixture till the tomatoes soften and you see oil releasing from the sides. The tomatoes have to be cooked well, otherwise you will feel the rawness in them.
  9. There should also be no liquids or moisture in the mixture and it should be slightly dry. Otherwise the bread cubes become soggy.
  10. Add the bread cubes. Mix the bread well with the rest of the mixture.
  11. On a low to medium flame, saute the bread cubes for 4 to 5 minutes till they become slightly crisp from the edges.
  12. This way there is some crispness in the bread cubes on the edges, along with a soft texture in the center of the cubes.
  13. Then add chopped coriander leaves.
  14. Instead of adding coriander leaves at this step, you can also garnish with them, while serving the bread upma.
  15. Mix and serve bread upma hot as a breakfast or as a quick snack. While serving you can drizzle some lemon juice on top.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.