North Indian
Upma (Savory Semolina)
Upma (Savory Semolina) is North Indian home cooking, eaten at breakfast. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups coarse semolina (sooji)
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 2 green chilies
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 3.5 cups water
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Dry roast the semolina in a pan over medium heat until it smells nutty and turns pale gold, about 5 minutes, then set it aside.
- Heat the oil in the same pan and let the mustard seeds pop, then fry the urad dal and cashews until golden.
- Add the curry leaves, green chilies, ginger, and onion and cook until soft, then stir in the carrot and peas.
- Pour in the water with the salt and bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and rain in the semolina while stirring so no lumps form.
- Cover and cook on low until the water is absorbed and the upma is fluffy, about 4 minutes, then fold in the cilantro and serve warm.
Serve it with
A North Indian breakfast is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Upma (Savory Semolina), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The sharp little thing
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Upma (Savory Semolina) carries tree nuts and gluten. It is free of the remaining 8 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | Yes | Masala Omelette |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | Yes | Masala Omelette |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Moderate
- Protein
- Low
- Food groups it covers
- Grains, Vegetables, and Nuts and seeds
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Upma (Savory Semolina) takes about 30 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at breakfast. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on semolina, carrot, and cashew.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from North India, South India, West India, East India, and Northeast India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.