Oats Upma is a quick and healthy Indian breakfast dish made with oats, vegetables, herbs and spices. It is light, filling and cooks in about 30 minutes, making it ideal for busy mornings. The recipe can be customized with your choice of vegetables and prepared with coconut oil or ghee for added flavor. Serve hot with lemon wedges or coconut chutney.

Recipe Snapshot

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

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (100 grams) quick cooking oats
  • ½ teaspoon oil (- any neutral oil)
  • ¼ cup onions (- tightly packed, finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup carrots (- finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup french beans (- finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup green peas (- fresh or frozen)
  • 7 to 8 curry leaves (- large or 10 to 12 medium to small curry leaves)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon chana dal (- optional)
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal (- optional)
  • 8 to 10 cashews (or roasted peanuts)
  • ½ teaspoon ginger (- finely chopped)
  • 1 or 2 green chillies (- chopped)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (- chopped (cilantro))
  • 1.25 cups water (or add as required)
  • 2 tablespoons oil (- any neutral oil or coconut oil)
  • salt (as required)

Method

Roasting Oats

  1. Heat ½ teaspoon oil in a pan. Add 1 cup quick cooking oats.
  2. Stir and roast on a low heat until the oats become crisp.
  3. Keep stirring continuously so that the oats do not get browned from the bottom. No need to brown the oats. You really just want a bit of crispyness.
  4. Remove oats in a plate or tray and set aside.

Sautéing Onions & Veggies

  1. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add mustard seeds. Stir and fry until the mustard seeds crackle.
  2. Then add cumin seeds, chana dal & urad dal (optional) and, cashews.
  3. Stir and fry until the chana dal gets browned.
  4. Add finely chopped onions. Stir and sauté until the onions soften and turn translucent.
  5. Next add finely chopped ginger, chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Stir and sauté for half a minute.

Making Oats Upma

  1. Next add finely chopped carrots, finely chopped french beans and green peas, fresh or frozen. Stir and sauté for 2 minutes.
  2. Add water. Cover the pan with its lid.
  3. On a medium heat simmer and cook this mixture until the veggies are almost done. About 8 to 9 minutes.
  4. Add the roasted oats. Stir and mix lightly.
  5. Add salt as required. Mix very well.
  6. Cover the pan again with its lid and on a low to medium-low heat, steam for 7 to 8 minutes.
  7. Once done, add chopped coriander leaves.
  8. Stir and serve oats upma drizzled with some lemon or lime juice.

Serving Suggestions

  1. Oats upma is best served hot or warm. Drizzle it with a bit of lemon juice and enjoy with your morning cup of tea. You can also serve it with a side of coconut chutney.
  2. You can also garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and fresh grated coconut while serving.
  3. You can also enjoy oats upma as a brunch or an evening snack.

Storage

  1. Oats upma is best had hot or warm. If you have any leftovers, store in an airtight container or jar, in the refrigerator for a day only.
  2. Reheat in a microwave oven with a drizzle of water, or steam in a pan or in the Instant pot for a few minutes.

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.