Mandakki Usli (Puffed Rice Upma) is a simple Karnataka-style breakfast recipe made with soaked puffed rice, onions, peanuts, and curry leaves and is typically relished along with mirchi bajji and chai. Puffed rice upma is also called mandakki oggarne or susla in Kannada, pori upma in Tamil, borugula upma or uggani in Telugu, and also murmura upma in North India.

mandakki usali/susla/puffed rice upma served in a brown plate and lemon on side

Puffed rice is a versatile snack, and I've previously shared a few recipes using it, such as nargis mandakki, girmit, spicy garlic puffed rice, and tomato slice chaat.

Mandakki Usli, also known as Uggani, is a popular breakfast dish from Karnataka. It is light, delicious, and made with puffed rice. It is one of our favorite breakfast dishes at home, and my husband could happily eat it three times a day. It's perfect for breakfast or a weekend brunch.

The secret ingredient for this dish is adding powdered fried gram (putani), so don't skip it. Adding fresh coconut is optional. Explore more such breakfast recipes for your next meal.

I have posted many Karnataka-style recipes on this blog. So, if you are looking for more recipes, then check out my neer dosa, vegetable pulao, menthya bath, bisi bele bath, and vegetable saagu.

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Ingredients for making Puffed Rice Upma
How to Make Karnataka Style Mandakki Usli
Serving Suggestions
Storage Suggestions
Tips & Variations to make the best Churumuri Susla
More Indian Breakfast Recipes
Karnataka Style Mandakki Usli Recipe (Puffed Rice Upma)

Ingredients for making Puffed Rice Upma

Puffed rice/murmura/mandakki: I used regular puffed rice. Do not use mysore mandakki variety for this recipe. They can be easily found in Indian grocery stores.
Peanuts: added for crunch, do not skip it.
Tempering: mustard seeds, green chilies, and curry leaves.
Onion: I have used finely chopped onions.
Turmeric powder: used for color and health benefits.
Lemon juice: freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice tastes the best.
Putani/dalia/fried gram powder: This enhances the taste, so don't skip it.
Garnish: use coriander leaves and grated fresh coconut.

How to Make Karnataka Style Mandakki Usli

Firstly, soak 8 cups of puffed rice in enough water for about 2-3 minutes. Then, squeeze out the excess water and set the soaked puffed rice aside.

**Note: Make sure it doesn't soak much water and turn mushy.

step to soak the puffed rice/mandakki in water about 2 minutes squeeze excess water collage

Make a fine powder of 2-3 tablespoons of putani/dalia split/fried gram and keep it aside.

step to make fried gram powder using a blender collage

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a kadai. When it's hot, add ¼ cup of peanuts (groundnuts) and fry until golden brown. If you have a nut allergy, skip the peanuts.

You can also roast peanuts in the air fryer and use them.

Then, add 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them splutter. Next, add 1 stalk of curry leaves, 2-3 green chilies (finely chopped) and saute for a few seconds.

step to roast the peanuts and temper with mustard seeds,curry leaves and chillies for susla recipecollage

Add 2 medium onion (finely chopped), salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric, and saute for about 2-3 minutes until the onion becomes translucent.

Then add the juice of half a lemon and mix well. Mandakki oggarane is ready.

step to saute onions with turmeric powder and salt collage

To the oggarane, add puffed rice (make sure there is no water), 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, 2 tablespoons grated coconut (optional), and mix well.

Note: Adding fresh shredded coconut is optional; I do not add it regularly.

Lastly, add 2-3 tablespoons of fried gram powder and ½ teaspoon sugar (optional), toss everything well, and turn off the gas.

step to add soaked puffed rice and fried gram ,cilantro and coconut to susla collage

Serve mandakki usli/mandakki oggarne with chilli bajji and hot chai.

mandakki usali/puffed rice upma served in a brown plate and lemon,curry leaves by the side

Serving Suggestions

Serve mandakki usli with mirchi bajji, onion pakoda, and adrak chai.

Storage Suggestions

You can store the leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. But tastes best when served fresh.

Tips & Variations to make the best Churumuri Susla

You can add finely chopped veggies like carrots, beans, and capsicum to make it healthier.
The secret ingredient to getting an authentic mandakki usli/susla taste is by adding fried gram/putani powder. So don't skip it.
Taste also depends on the variety and quality of the puffed rice. I do not prefer using mysore mandakki variety for this recipe.
More the onion tastier the mandakki usli is.

More Indian Breakfast Recipes

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Mandakki Usli served on a brown plate garnished with coriander leaves and lemon on side

Karnataka Style Mandakki Usli Recipe (Puffed Rice Upma)

Bhavana Patil

Mandakki Usli Recipe (puffed rice upma) is a simple Karnataka style breakfast made with soaked puffed rice, onions, groundnuts and curry leaves and is typically relished along with mirchi bajji and chai.

4.72 from 14 votes

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Servings:

Calories : 160

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian, Karnataka, South Indian

Diet: Vegan

Method: Stovetop

Prep Time : 5

Cook Time : 10

Total Time : 15

Ingredients

8 cups puffed rice/murmura/mandakki
2-3 tablespoons oil
¼ cup peanuts
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 stalk curry leaves
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
2 medium onion finely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
juice of half lemon
2 tablespoons coriander leaves
2 tablespoons grated coconut (optional)
2-3 tablespoons putani/dalia/fried gram powder
½ teaspoon sugar (optional)

Instructions

Firstly, soak the puffed rice in the water for about 2 minutes. Then, squeeze out the water and keep the soaked puffed rice aside.
**Note: Make sure it doesn’t soak much water and turn mushy.
Make a fine powder of putani/dalia split/fried gram and keep aside.
Heat the oil in a Kadai. When it's hot, add peanuts and fry until golden brown.
Then add mustard seeds let them splutter. Next, add curry leaves, green chilies and saute for a few seconds.
Add onion, salt, turmeric, and saute for about 2-3 minutes until the onion becomes translucent.
Then, add the juice of half a lemon and mix well. Mandakki oggarane is ready.
To the Oggarane, add puffed rice (make sure there is no water), coriander leaves, grated coconut (optional), and mix well.
Lastly add fried gram powder, sugar (optional) and toss everything well and turn off the gas.
Serve mandakki usli with chilli bajji and hot chai.

Notes

You can add finely chopped veggies like carrots, beans, and capsicum to make it healthier.

The secret ingredient to getting an authentic mandakki usli/susla taste is by adding fried gram/putani powder. So don't skip it.

Taste also depends on the puffed rice variety and quality. I do not prefer using mysore mandakki for this recipe.

More the onion tastier the mandakki usli is.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Serving: 100gramCalories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 15mgPotassium: 79mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 100IUVitamin C: 2.5mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1.3mg

Keyword borigulu, churmuri susla, mandakki usli, puffed rice upma, uggani

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