The Vegetable Quinoa Upma recipe is a simple and wholesome South Indian-style breakfast dish, loaded with vegetables and cooked in a stovetop pan or in an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Serve it with coconut chutney and masala chai for a healthy breakfast. This dish is vegan and gluten-free!
This healthy quinoa upma recipe is very similar to the traditional rava upma. Just replace rava (semolina) with quinoa along with some vegetables, and it can be easily prepared in 15-20 minutes. Other types of upma prepared in Indian homes are little millet upma, bread upma, vermicelli upma, dalia upma, and oats upma.
Below, I have shared the easy methods of making the quinoa vegetable upma in the Instant Pot pressure cooker and stovetop pot.
If you like quinoa, then check out more Indian quinoa recipes
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Ingredients
- White Quinoa: Before adding it to the quinoa upma recipe, rinse it under cold water to remove the natural coating, called saponin, to avoid bitterness.
- Mustard seeds, Urad dal, and Chana dal: are part of any South Indian tempering. You can increase the quantity if you desire.
- Vegetables: I used onions, carrots, beans, green peas, ginger, and green chilies. You can also swap for other vegetables like broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, and sweet corn.
- Water: For making in Instant Pot, use 1 ¼ cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa, and for stovetop pot, use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa.
How to Make Vegetable Quinoa Upma in a Stovetop Pot
Firstly, rinse the quinoa to remove its natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter or soapy. Then, drain the excess water and set the quinoa aside.
In a kadai, heat the oil. Once hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and cashew nuts. Sauté until the dals turn light golden brown.
Then add green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, hing, and sauté for a few seconds.
Add onions and saute until the onions become light brown.
Then add chopped vegetables, salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add rinsed quinoa and saute for 1-2 minutes with the veggies.
Add 2 cups of water. For a softer and fluffier texture, add an extra ½ cup of water. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked through.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Method: Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 2 minutes. When the Instant Pot beeps, do a Natural pressure release.
Also, when cooking 1 cup of quinoa in the Instant Pot, use 1 ¼ cup of water.
Once quinoa is cooked, turn off the gas and add lime juice and coriander leaves. Mix well. Serve quinoa upma hot.
Serving Suggestions
Serve vegetable quinoa upma with coconut chutney, yogurt, and masala chai. If you don't prefer sides, it can be eaten as is.
Expert Tips
- Rinsing quinoa: Make sure to rinse quinoa under cold water 2-3 times to remove the natural coating, called saponin, to avoid any bitterness.
- Quinoa and water ratio: For every cup of uncooked quinoa that is being cooked in the Instant Pot, you will need 1 ¼ cups of water or 2 cups of water when cooking in an open stovetop pot. Note: cooking quinoa in an instant pot requires less liquid than traditional stovetop methods.
Variations
- You can replace quinoa with millet, rava, dalia, oats, or vermicelli.
- Add vegetables of your choice to make a healthy vegetable quinoa upma.
- You may also spice up the upma by adding 1 teaspoon of vangibhath powder and ½ teaspoon of red chili powder to make khara bhath style upma.
- I did not use tomato in this recipe, feel free to add.
- You may also add fresh shredded coconut before serving.
- You can skip urad dal or chana dal if you don't have it and replace it with air fryer roasted peanuts for crunch.
Recipe FAQs
To make Gluten-free quinoa upma, skip asafoetida or use certified GF asafoetida.
You can also add broccoli, bell peppers, and sweet corn.
Leftover vegetable quinoa upma can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 1-2 days. Slightly warm it in the microwave or stovetop pot before serving.
Quinoa Upma Recipe (Instant Pot & Stovetop)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- 1 teaspoon split urad dal
- 1 teaspoon chana dal
- 8-10 cashew nuts optional
- 2 green chilies finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- ¾ - 1 cup mixed vegetables (carrot, green beans and peas)
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed
- 2 cups water (1 ¼ cups water for instant pot)
- salt to taste
- juice of half lime
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
Instructions
- Firstly, rinse the quinoa to remove the natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter or soapy. Drain excess water and keep aside.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- In a kadai, heat the oil. Once hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and cashew nuts. Sauté until the dals turn light golden brown.
- Then add green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, hing, and sauté for a few seconds.
- Add onions and saute until the onions become light brown.
- Then add chopped vegetables, salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add rinsed quinoa and saute for 2 minutes with the veggies.
- Add 2 cups of water. For a softer and fluffier texture, add an extra ½ cup of water. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked through.
- Cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 15 minutes till the quinoa seeds are cooked.
- Once quinoa is cooked, turn off the gas and add lime juice and coriander leaves. Mix well. Serve quinoa upma hot.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 2 minutes. When the Instant Pot beeps, do a Natural pressure release.Also, when cooking 1 cup of quinoa in the Instant Pot, use 1 ¼ cups of water.
Video
Notes
- Rinsing quinoa: Make sure to rinse quinoa under cold water 2-3 times to remove the natural coating, called saponin, to avoid any bitterness.
- Quinoa and water ratio: For every cup of uncooked quinoa that is being cooked in the Instant Pot, you will need 1 ¼ cups of water or 2 cups of water when cooking in an open stovetop pot. Note: cooking quinoa in an instant pot requires less liquid than traditional stovetop methods.
- You can replace quinoa with millet, rava, dalia, oats, or vermicelli.
- Add vegetables of your choice to make a healthy vegetable quinoa upma.
- You may also spice up the upma by adding 1 teaspoon of vangibhath powder and ½ teaspoon of red chili powder to make khara bhath style upma.
- I did not use tomato in this recipe, feel free to add.
- You may also add fresh shredded coconut before serving.
- You can skip urad dal or chana dal if you don't have it and replace it with air fryer roasted peanuts for crunch.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
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