Quinoa Upma recipe - Indian Quinoa Recipe

Upma recipe made with wholesome quinoa. Upma is savoury south Indian breakfast. The quinoa upma is cooked with Indian spices, toasted cashews, mustard seeds and vegetables. More wholesome than traditional Upma recipe, this quinoa upma is a tasty Indian breakfast recipe.

You already know my love for quinoa recipes by looking at my quinoa salad recipes. In the past 4-5 years, quinoa is one of my favourite food to include in our everyday meals. I make some or other variation of quinoa salad to take to the office. But quinoa is not just only for salads. You can make a variety of Indian recipes with quinoa. I often make this quinoa pulao or this Veggie and Quinoa Soup and this Rajma and quinoa kebab which is wholesome and tasty.

For making this upma recipe I use quinoa. This is slightly different than regular sooji upma recipe. I have used few of my favourite veggies in making the vegetable quinoa upma. Most of the times I use one of my meal prep box which has finely chopped veggies like bell peppers, carrots, peas, zucchini etc, mushrooms, corn etc. Basically each time I make quinoa upma, I keep changing the veggies to keep it interesting.

At times, I like to add proteins like paneer or chopped eggs. To make it vegan upma recipe, you can add tofu or beans to make this healthier. This definitely makes it a great protein-rich veg Indian breakfast option.

There are two methods you can use to make the quinoa upma. In the first method, I make the upma tempering with mustard seeds, curry leaves etc and add washed quinoa. A add water for 2-3 minutes and cook it until quinoa is cooked properly. But if you know me and my 20Minutes meals I devise my shortcuts :D. I use cooked quinoa that is always in my fridge during the meal prep. If you like to know How to cook quinoa perfectly I have already shared the post.

Meal Prep for Making Quinoa Upma

As you know, my main aim in the kitchen is cooking easy and tasty and I rely on meal prep in advance. Many of you ask me Is it possible to meal prep for Indian dishes. Yes, It is 🙂 you can read it and see how easy it is. So with this quinoa meal prep, you can make this easy upma recipe in 20 Minutes flat. I have cooked quinoa for various quinoa salads and upma in advance and veggies are always there chopped in various sizes.

If you are looking for an Indian quinoa recipe that is easy to put together and wholesome this one-pot meal which is vegan as well as gluten-free is a great recipe to start with.

More quinoa recipes

• Quinoa Pulao
• Mizuna and Quinoa salad
• Tender chickpeas and quinoa salad
• Rajma and Quinoa Gilouti Kebab

📖 Recipe

Quinoa Upma Recipe - Indian Breakfast

Upma recipe made with wholesome quinoa. Upma is savoury south Indian breakfast. The quinoa upma is cooked with Indian spices, toasted cashews, mustard seeds and vegetables. More wholesome than traditional Upma recipe, this quinoa upma is a tasty Indian breakfast recipe.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian, south indian

Keyword: quinoa, quinoa recipes, upma

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 340kcal

Author: Rekha Kakkar

Ingredients

• 3  cup quinoa cooked
• 1.5  tbsp  Peanut oil
• 15-20  Cashew halves
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• a generous pinch of asafeotida/ hing
• 1  tsp  mustard seeds
• 2  tsp  chana dal and ur dal
• 1  green chili chopped
• 2 whole red chilli dried
• ½  cup onion finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 cup mixed vegetables corn, capsicum, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, carrots
• Salt to taste
• cilantro/coriander leaves and
• Lime juice

Instructions

• Heat oil in a pan and fry the cashews or peanuts till golden brown. Use any of these peanuts or cashew as per your taste.
• In the remaining hot oil, add a pinch of asafoetida/hing and mustard seeds and let them pop.
• Add chana dal and urad dal and lightly brown it.
  
• Now add chopped ginger, curry leaves and green chilli.
• Fry them for a minute and add chopped onion. Saute the onion till light pink. (I sometimes directly add fried onions which I keep as part of meal prep)
  
• Now add veggies and cook them covered for few minutes until tender.
  
• Add salt, red chilli powder (optional) and add cooked quinoa along with fried peanuts/cashew or both.
  
• Mix them with gentle hands and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add in fresh cilantro/coriander leaves and lime juice and garnish with fried cashew and serve it hot.

Notes

1. You can only add cashew or groundnut or a mix of both.
2. You can add any other seed mix too.
3. Keep changing the veggies as per your taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal