The latest grain to make its mark in the health circuit is quinoa. Absent from Indian cuisine till just recently, quinoa has gradually grabbed our attention for its high nutrient profile and good taste. We started with making quinoa salad and quinoa pancake, but now we know that we can make many Indian dishes with this super food to suit our palate. Quinoa upma is one such recipe that replaces semolina (sooji) with quinoa to make a power-packed, protein-rich morning meal. It tastes just as great as sooji upma and is definitely worth a try.

Quinoa is the perfect addition to your breakfast menu as it is high in protein content along with fibre, magnesium, antioxidants and heart-friendly Omega-3 fatty acids. It doesn’t take much time to cook, and can easily fill in for sooji to give us a healthy and tasty meal for breakfast.

(Also Read: 8 Ways to Include Quinoa in Your Daily Diet)

^{Quinoa is a good source of vegetarian protein.}
 

Quinoa Upma Recipe –

Ingredients –

(Serves 2)

1 cup quinoa

1 large onion, chopped

8-10 cashews, cut into haves

1 cup of chopped veggies of your choice

2 green chillies, chopped

Half inch ginger, grated

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp mustard seeds

7-8 curry leaves

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp chana dal

Half tsp jeera powder

Salt to taste

Half tbsp lemon juice

Method –

Step 1- Rinse quinoa thoroughly and place it in a colander to drain the water. You can also place it in the colander first and clean it with running water.

Step2 – Heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds, when they begin to crackle, add urad dal, chana dal and cashews, and saute till they turn brown.

Step 3 – Add ginger and curry leaves, and saute for a minute. Then add onions, ginger and green chillies and saute till onions turn brown in colour.

Step 4 – Add vegetables of your choice (capsicum, beans, carrots, peas etc.). Add salt and jeera powder and saute the vegetables till they are cooked.

Step 5 – Add quinoa and water (For 1 cup of quinoa, 2 cups of water should be enough). Cover the pan with the lid and let the quinoa cook.

Step 6 – Once the quinoa is cooked, add lemon juice and mix well before serving.

Serve the quinoa upma with chutney, achaar, raita, tomato sauce or curd. This nutrient-filled dish is all you need for healthy and filling breakfast.