Millet Upma (Samai Upma)
Millet Upma is a quick and nutritious South Indian dish made with millet and vegetables. This wholesome, gluten-free breakfast is mildly spiced and can be prepared on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot in less than 30 minutes, making it an ideal one-pot meal for any time of day.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 teaspoon Urad Dal optional
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds (Rai)
- 1 pinch Asafoetida (Hing) skip for gluten-free
- 2 tablespoon Cashews optional, about 12-14
- 8-10 leaves Curry Leaves (Kadi Patta)
- 1 Green Chili Pepper chopped, optional
- 1 teaspoon Ginger grated
- 1/2 cup Onion chopped
- 1/2 cup Carrots cut into small pieces or grated, optional
- 1/4 cup Green peas
- 1 teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder) optional
- 1 cup Millets soaked for 15 minutes and drained, I used little millets/samai
- 2 cup Water use 1.5 cups for Instant Pot
- 2 teaspoon Lime or Lemon juice
- Cilantro leaves chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and soak millets: Add the millets to a bowl and wash them with ample water. Change the water and wash a couple of times. Then, soak the millets in water for 15 minutes while you prepare the tempering for the upma.
Stovetop Method:
- Heat a large heavy-bottom pan on medium-high heat. Add ghee/oil and let it heat.
- Add urad dal and mustard seeds, and let them crackle. Then, add the cashews and saute till they are light golden.
- Add the curry leaves and green chili pepper. Then add onions, ginger, and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add carrots and green peas and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Now, drain the soaking water from the millets and add them to the pan. Add the salt, turmeric, and water. Give it all a good stir.
- Cover the pan with a lid and let the millets cook and absorb all the water on medium-low flame. Stir a couple of times in between. Turn off the flame and let it rest.
- Remove the lid and add the lime juice to the upma. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Millet upma is ready to be served.
Instant Pot Method
- Heat the Instant Pot on saute mode. Then, follow the initial steps until adding the millets, salt, turmeric, and water. (1.5 cups)
- Change the Instant Pot setting to pressure cook (manual) mode on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. Remove the steel insert from the Instant Pot and fluff the millets with a fork.
- Add the lime juice to the upma. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Millet upma is ready to be served.
Video
Notes
Vegetables: You can use vegetables of your choice. Some options are bell peppers, corn, edamame, and green beans. You can also add lightly sauteed tofu or paneer to increase the protein in this recipe.
Soaking: Soaking the millets helps reduce cooking time. If not soaking, cook for 6 minutes on high pressure in the Instant Pot.
Millets: I used little millets, which cook quickly. If using other types of millets, such as foxtail millets, increase the pressure cooking time to 8 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 641mg | Potassium: 248mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2896IU | Vitamin C: 88mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg