5 Upma Variations You Must Try For A Hearty, Healthy Breakfast

Upma is among the staple breakfast options in South India, Maharashtra, and Sri Lanka. The assorted mixture of vegetables and a base is a perfect dish to start your day with. It benefits your well-being and boosts your immunity. Rich in nutrients, upma is easy to cook and keeps you full for a long time, thus, helping you avoid in-between meal munching.

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Traditionally, upma is made with roasted semolina (sooji or rava) and sauteed vegetables like onion, tomato, and beans. It is tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal, and chana dal and garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves. However, there is no harm in experimenting with the recipe, especially when several variations exist across India. It will help you break from the monotony by preparing something new every day. Here are a few recipes that you must try out.

Broken Wheat Upma

Broken wheat or dalia upma is a healthy version of semolina in which you will have to roast the dalia first and prepare a tempering of ghee (clarified butter), cumin seeds, and mustard seeds in a pressure cooker. Roast cashews and peanuts in it and saute finely chopped green chillies and onion slices. You can add more vegetables to it after the onions turn translucent.

Add roasted broken wheat, water, salt to taste, and red chilli powder to the mixture. Cook the upma on medium heat until the cooker blows two whistles and enjoy it hot with mint, lemon, and coriander chutney.

Oats Upma

If you replace rava with oats, you will get a dish that is rich in dietary fibre and can help you regulate cholesterol levels. It will also aid in weight loss. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan, add oats and turmeric powder. Saute the ingredients until the oats get crispy golden brown.

Prepare a tempering of green chillies, mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies, and curry leaves. Saute onions, peas, and carrots in it until the vegetables are soft. Toss in sauteed oats, salt to taste, and black pepper powder. Cook on a medium flame for a couple of minutes before adding water. After 3-4 minutes, your upma will be ready to be served.

Bajra, Jowar, And Nachni Upma

Are you looking to lose weight? You can replace semolina with jowar, bajra, and nachni. Soak these millets together overnight and boil the next morning. To a pan, add oil or ghee and allow mustard seeds to crackle. Add curry leaves and saute finely chopped ginger and slices of an onion.

Once everything comes together, toss boiled bajra, jowar, and nachni in the pan, and add shredded coconut, and roasted dry fruits of your choice. Add some water, salt to taste, a pinch of black pepper, and red chilli powder, and let the upma cook at low-medium flame until it is ready to be served. Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves, grated coconut, and lemon juice.

Avarekalu Uppittu


Avarekalu Uppitu is a Karnataka-style upma recipe that uses avarekalu (hyacinth beans) and coarse semolina for preparation. First, you will boil avarekalu in a pressure cooker until it blows two whistles. Drain the excess water and keep it aside. On the other side, roast semolina in coconut oil or ghee.

Prepare a tempering of mustard seeds, chana dal, curry leaves, urad dal, red chillies, and ginger. Add chopped onions and cook them until they are translucent. Toss in avarekalu, add salt to taste, and pour in the roasted semolina. Mix everything and switch off the flame. Boil water in another pan and add it to the mixture. Once you have mixed the ingredients with water and are sure that it has no lumps, turn on the flame. The upma will be ready in a couple of minutes, and you can garnish it with grated coconut and coriander leaves.

Bread Upma 

In a pan, you have to heat some oil and toss in curry leaves, onions, and green chillies. Add your favourite vegetables to the mix and cook them until they are soft. Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Once everything comes together, toss in roughly cut pieces of bread and cook them until they turn brown and slightly crispy. The upma is ready and can be served after adding lemon juice and roasted peanuts.