- June 7, 2021
- by Smriti Indarapu
- 0 Like
- 0 / 5
- Cuisine: Indian
- Difficulty: Easy

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Prep Time20 min
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Cook Time20 min
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Serving1
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A single serving of this vegetable upma gives only 262 kilocalories. I have made upma as a very healthy and nutritious recipe and without any oil. Probably the most common Indian breakfast, rava upma or just Upma is a savoury porridge built with semolina and veggies. It tends to make a filling and enjoyable one-pot meal. Lets see how to make vegetable upma.
The standard grains of semolina is widely used in Indian cooking. And I am always fascinated by how flexible they are often. Often sweet as sheera, often savoury like this vegetable upma, often the crunchy coating here on a veg cutlet, semolina has quite a few favourite avatars.
Indeed! This vegetable upma is also built with semolina, a kind of flour comprised of durum wheat. It has numerous nutritional vitamins and minerals and proteins. What’s more, the vegetable upma can have carrots and peas, or you can include as few other greens as you want.
The vegetable upma recipe is adapted from my grandmother’s recipe and continues to be my all-time favourite. The ingredients of this upma give it a delicious flavour and satisfying feelings that can make this recipe one of your beloved one-pot meals.
Whilst vegetable upma is usually served as breakfast or snack, you’ll be able to pack this vegetable upma for college/office lunch way too as a part of your veg diet plans. It can make for a filling meal when paired with sambar or coconut chutney.
Different shades of upma
Upma has several names in Indian languages and depending upon ingredients and cooking process. The general method of cooking upma is tempering spices in oil then adding water. The water is then heated so that it reaches it boiling. Then the rava or rice flour added gradually while stirring and then cooked.
In Maharashtra, rava (wheat semolina) is dry roasted with different spicy ingredients until rava becomes little brown and split black gram, and then boiling water is added over it. This upma dish is called Sanza. In Telangana and Andhra, upma is prepared differently. First, the ingredients are tempered in oil and then hot water is added to it. Once the water starts boiling then wheat semolina (rava) is added while stirring so that no lumps are formed. This way a spongy cake type upma is prepared. When upma is prepared with rice flour, it is called uppindi in Telugu.
In case you are dreaming of a South Indian rava, upma recipe which is smooth, moist, and melts – in – your – mouth much like the types served in Udupi restaurants, be careful then it will probably only rava and oil in the upma without any vegetables. Many times peanuts, cashews, and lots of ghee or oil, etc are used to enhance the taste and style of the rava upma All these additions would increase the calories of the rava upma making it an unsuitable candidate for your low calories veg diet plans.
However, I have made this vegetable upma is a zero-oil recipe. So, it a vegan recipe. But generally, people prefer to make my rava upma recipes in ghee, because ghee inserts a delightful and distinct taste to the vegetable. But in case you are searching for a vegan option, you may make it in possibly vegetable oil or olive oil too at the expense of some calories.
For More zero oil recipes check these recipes
This vegetable upma however is not suitable for people with gluten sensitivity as rava is made from wheat. But you can try its variants such as rice upma (uppindi) or jowar upma or raagi upma or other millets that do not contain wheat semolina. There are many versions, you can make like tomato upma or vegetable upma or maybe ragi upma.
Traditionally vegetable upma is made with coarse ground rice or wheat but in recent times It is additionally made with many other elements like oats, vermicelli, poha, bread etcetera.
Highlights of the Vegetable Upma Recipe
- Low in calories, a single serving of vegetable upma gives only 262 calories, best for breakfast, lunch, or dinner in veg diet plans.
- This vegetable upma can be prepared in no time and easy to make.
- A single serving of this upma contains 10.82 gm proteins.
- Zero oil recipe, and low in fats, as I didn’t add here a single drop of oil while making this vegetable upma and best for everyone. In case you want to give this vegetable upma to your kids, you can serve it hot by topping 1 tsp of ghee as children need more fats than adults.
- Vegetable upma is loaded with fiber, single serving gives 11.93 gm total fiber and 2.78 gm soluble fiber. Fiber helps to improve the digestive system, control blood sugar levels, and prevents constipation.
Best time to take vegetable upma - Breakfast
Ingredients
Ingredients Of Vegetable Upma
Vegetable upma nutrition compared with male and female DRI (Dietary Reference Intake)
Serving size: 1 vegetable upma
Calories in vegetable upma
a. Calories in vegetable upma are 262.51 kCal; as much as 13.13 % of male DRI of 2000 kCal. Therefore, it can attain 17.50 % of female DRI of 1500 kCal.
b. Protein forms 16.49 % of the calories
c. Carbs form 60.69 % of the calories in vegetable upma.
d. Fats form 17.42 % of the calories.
Macros in vegetable upma
a. Protein in vegetable upma – 10.82 gm, particularly 14.43 % of male DRI of 75 gm. Further, it can complete 19.24 % of female DRI of 56.25 gm. In general, protein DRI is 15% of calories.
b. Carbs in vegetable upma – 39.83 gm, therefore, is 14.48 % of male DRI of 275 gm. Therefore, it can achieve 19.31 % of female DRI of 206.25 gm. To clarify, carbohydrates DRI is 55% of calories.
c. Fats in vegetable upma – 5.08 gm, notably 7.62 % of male DRI of 66.67 gm. As a result, a woman gets 10.16 % of female DRI of 50.00 gm. Markedly, fats DRI is 30% of calories.
d. The Fibre in vegetable upma – 11.93 gm, thus is, 31.39 % of male DRI of 38 gm. Consequently, females get 47.72 % of female DRI of 25 gm.
e. Soluble Fibre – 2.78 gm, particularly 27.80 % of male DRI of 10 gm. Consequently, females will get as much as 28.19 % of female DRI of 9.86 gm.
f. Total Free Sugar – 4.72 gm, which is not only 7.87 % of male DRI of 60 gm but also 9.44 % of female DRI of 50 gm.
Vitamins in vegetable upma
a. Vitamin A – 146.92 mcg, as much as 16.32 % of male DRI of 900 mcg. Furthermore, women can get as much as 20.99 % of female DRI of 700 mcg.
b. Thiamine (Vitamin B1) – 0.27 mg, particularly 22.50 % of the daily requirement of males of 1.2 mg. Subsequently, females will get 24.55 % of female DRI of 1.1 mg.
c. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) – 0.12 mg, therefore, is 9.23 % of male DRI of 1.3 mg. Besides, women also get 10.91 % of female DRI of 1.1 mg.
d. Niacin (Vitamin B3) – 2.35 mg, notably 14.69 % of male DRI of 16 mg and 16.79 % of female DRI of 14 mg.
e. Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) – 0.32 mg, thus is, 24.62 % of DRI of 1.3 mg for males and females.
f. Biotin (Vitamin B7) – 5.9 mcg, therefore, is 19.67 % of DRI of 30 mcg for males and females.
g. Total Folate (Vitamin B9) – 103.21 mcg, as much as 25.80 % of DRI of 400 mcg for males and females.
h. Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) – 0 mcg, particularly 0.00 % of DRI of 2.4 mcg for males and females
i. L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) – 100.22 mg, therefore, is 111.36 % of male DRI of 90 mg. Further, it is 133.63 % of female DRI of 75 mg.
j. Calciferol (Vitamin D) – 6.63 mcg, notably 132.60 % of DRI of 5 mcg for males and females.
k. Alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E) – 0.65 mg, thus is, 4.33 % of DRI of 15 mg for males and females.
l. Vitamin K – 31.84 mcg, as much as 26.53 % of male DRI of 120 mcg and 35.38 % of female DRI of 90 mcg.
Minerals in vegetable upma
a. Calcium – 66.52 mg, particularly 6.65 % of DRI of 1000 mg for males and females.
b. Phosphorus – 171.8 mg, therefore, is 24.54 % of DRI of 700 mg for males and females.
c. Iron – 3.14 mg, notably 39.25 % of male DRI of 8 mg and 17.44 % of female DRI of 18 mg.
d. Magnesium – 74.98 mg, thus is, 18.75 % of male DRI of 400 mg and 24.19 % of female DRI of 310 mg.
e. Copper – 420 mcg, as much as 46.67 % of DRI of 900 mcg for males and females.
f. Manganese – 1.46 mg, particularly 63.48 % of male DRI of 2.3 mg and 81.11 % of female DRI of 1.8 mg.
g. Molybdenum – 0.02 mcg, therefore, is 0.04 % of DRI of 45 mcg for males and females.
h. Zinc – 1.84 mg, notably 16.73 % of male DRI of 11 mg. At the same time, women get 23.00 % of female DRI of 8 mg.
i. Chromium – 20 mcg, thus is, 57.14 % of male DRI of 35 mcg. Besides, women too get 80.00 % of female DRI of 25 mcg.
j. Selenium – 5.98 mcg, as much as 10.87 % of DRI of 55 mcg for males and females.
k. Cholesterol – 0 mg,
l. Potassium – 719.5 mg, as much as 15.31 % of DRI of 4700 mg for males and females.
m. Sodium – 51.07 mg, particularly 3.40 % of DRI of 1500 mg for males and females.
n. Omega 3 – 149.65 mg, therefore, is 24.94 % of DRI of 600 mg for males and females,
o. Omega 6 – 1547.4 mg, not only 257.90 % of DRI of 600 mg for males and females.
Disclaimer
Values of DRI are for a healthy adult. Nutritional and energy requirements may vary as per gender, age and physical activities. Nutritional values of vegetable upma are approximate and may have variance.
Frequently asked questions
Is UPMA good for weight loss?
Restaurant-style upma contains fewer vegetables and more rava and oil. Further to enhance taste nuts such as groundnuts or cashew are also added to it. Such upma is high in calories and may not be suitable for your weight loss diet plans. But when you add lots of vegetables and reduce oil (preferably no oil) you can get a low-calorie dish that can be your healthy breakfast idea such as this vegetable upma reicipe.
What do you eat UPMA with?
Traditional upma is very best when served very hot and fresh. Like most, you’ll be able to major it up with some sev or bhujia by using a drizzle of lemon juice. In south India, you can also get upma served with coconut chutney or lemon pickle, or idli podi. If you want to restrict calories in your diet and planning to add vegetable upma recipe in your veg diet plans because of its ease of preparation, I recommend using it with any chutney of your choice instead of sev or bhujia.
How healthy is UPMA?
This vegetable upma is prepared with no oil. So, it contains very little fat. Further, the portion of wheat semolina is adjusted by increasing the quantities of vegetables. Hence the carb in this upma is also less. In addition, this vegetable upma provides more than 31% of days total fiber requirements at the expense of just 262 kcal. This upma is very healthy and nutritious and an ideal breakfast idea. When you take this upma in your breakfast, you create an ample calorie deficiency that makes your body utilize its own stored fats thus helping in weight loss.
Hypothetically, if you were to eat this vegetable upma in all three meals, you would get less than 800 kcal, around 95% of your daily fiber requirement enough to make you feel full until your next meal or perhaps the entire day.
Smriti Indarapu
Directions
Wash and peel carrot chop all the vegetables finely.
Take a pan heat it. (Here I am taking a steel pan, but you can use any pan)
No need to add oil, add groundnut and roast it.
It takes nearly 3 - 5 min to roast groundnuts properly on a medium flame.
Once groundnuts are roasted properly add cumin seeds(jeera), and a few curries leaves. Roast it.
Then add chopped green chili and chopped onion.
As you can see, I didn’t add any oil to the pan so there may be chances to stick onion to the pan. To avoid sticking vegetables in the pan add 3 - 4 spoons of water.
Roast it until the onion changes its color.
Then add chopped cauliflower, chopped capsicum, chopped carrot, and dry roast it.
No need to add water, as vegetables contain lots of water. So, cover it and cook for 10 min.
Once vegetables are cooked properly add ¼ th cup of wheat semolina (sooji).
Roast it for 3 - 4 min.
Then add 1 cup water, salt and mix well.
Cover it and cook for 5 - 8 min in slow to medium flame.
Healthy vegetable upma recipe is ready, garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.
You can serve this vegetable upma recipe with green chutney pickle or tomato chutney or just squeeze lime.
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