Oats Upma

Oats Upma

How long it takes – 45 minutes

Number of servings – 3-4

Oats has gained lot of importance in today’s world with increasing awareness of healthy foods and living.  A large variety in the kind of oats available at the stores allows us to select our favourite as per texture and taste. I normally use either “Saffola”, “Quacker” or “Champion”.  Among these, I typically use “Quackers” a lot. I have already put up Oats Idli and today I would like to put up “Oats Upma” which makes for a delicious and healthy breakfast or snack when cooked colourful vegetables and onions.  Here it is:

What you need to have:

1.  Oats (any brand) – 1 cup

2. Fine sujee (rawa) – 1/2 cup

3. Chopped mixed veggies – 2 cups

Chopped veggies and Green peas

Ingredients of seasoning with cup of oats & sujee

Ingredients of Seasoning:

1. Mustard seeds – 1 Teaspoon

2. Blackgram dal – 1 Teaspoon

3. Green chilly – 3-4 (chopped)

4. Curry leaves – 3-4 strings

5. Chopped onions – 1/2 cup

6. Turmeric powder – 1 Teaspoon

7. Raisins – A handful

8. Cooking oil – 2-3 Teaspoons (Saffola oil)

9. Salt – To taste

10. Sugar – A pinch (optional)

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash and chop all the veggies of your choice like capsicum, french beans, cauliflower, carrots and keep it aside as shown in image-1.

2. Place a wide bowl and cook chopped beans and carrots with a little salt. When they are half-cooked, add chopped cauliflower and cook till done.

French beans and carrots being cooked

Chopped cauliflower being cooked

3. Place a skillet with fine sujee in it and dry roast till you get a pleasant aroma and keep it aside.  In the same skillet, add 3-4 Teaspoons of cooking oil in it on the flame. When hot add mustard seeds to it; as the spluttering starts add blackgram dal.  When fried add raisins to it along with chopped green chilly and curry leaves to it.  Fry a bit and add chopped onions to it Continue frying till done adding little salt to it so that it is not burnt.

Onions being fried in the seasoning

4. Now add chopped capsicum to it and stir in for a while till done and add Green peas as well to it and cook till smooth. On the other gas place 1 and 1/2 cups of water in a bowl on low flame till it starts boiling.

Chopped capsicum being fried in the seasoning

5. Add roasted fine sujee from step-2 to it and stir in and add boiling water to it and close the lid for a while so that it is cooked.

Roasted fine sujee being added to it

6. When done add the oats to it and stir well to sprinkle water to it so that it is cooked well. (Oats do not need much water to cook and will use up the moisture from cooked sujee too.)

Oats being added to cooked sujee mix

7. Now add cooked veggie from step-2 to it, mix well with a wooden spatula so that veggies is not crushed.

Cooked veggies being added to upma

8. Finally add chopped coriander leaves to it and serve hot with any snacks of your choice like the sabudana mixture or chutney or ketchup and enjoy.  And like I always like to say, it will be… Yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

Ready to serve Oats Upma

How long it takes – 45 minutes

Number of servings – 3-4

Good to remember:

1. Veggies used should be fresh and of one’s choice.

2. Sujee used for the dish brings the required texture  to the dish.

3. Water depends upon the variety of sujee is used.

5. Please do not pour water after adding oats , since it does not consume more water at all for cooking and the dish may turn mushy.

6. This could be a tiffin, breakfast and also a lunch-box dish for sure.