Oats Upma is a quick, healthy, and delicious Indian breakfast recipe made with old-fashioned rolled oats, mixed vegetables, and some spices. Serve it with yogurt, coconut chutney, and masala chai for the perfect morning breakfast.
As a South Indian, Rava upma has been a staple breakfast dish for me growing up, alongside other upma variations like vermicelli upma, puffed rice upma, and dalia upma.
Oats weren't something that I grew up eating, but due to their health benefits and nutritional value, I try to include them in my diet. This versatile ingredient is generally used for breakfast. There are so many easy recipes, from oats chilla, Indian masala oats to oat smoothies.
If you love having oats as much as we do in our breakfast, we have a delicious recipe. Don’t worry! It is super quick and easy to make. We are talking about veg oats upma. This dish has oats sautéed with a variety of veggies and masalas, making it a refreshing variation on the traditional upma.
It can be enjoyed on its own or with a side of homemade yogurt or coriander coconut chutney. A cup of masala chai or filter coffee on the side perfectly complements the savory oats upma.
Other Indian Oats Recipes you may enjoy
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Ingredients
- Oats: For making this upma, I highly recommend using organic old-fashioned rolled oats. My favorite is Organic Bob's Red Mill old-fashioned oats brand. Rolled oats have a lower glycemic index than quick oats.
- Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds, Urad dal, and Chana dal: are part of every South Indian tempering. You can increase the quantity if you desire.
- Vegetables: Used onions, carrots, beans, bell peppers, and green peas.
- Water: Use 1 cup of water for old-fashioned rolled oats and ½ cup of water if using instant-cooking rolled oats.
How To Make Vegetable Oats Upma Recipe
Start by dry roasting 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats on a medium-low flame in a pan for about 3-5 minutes or until they turn crisp, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once roasted, transfer the oats to a clean, dry bowl or plate, and set aside.
Note: Do not brown the oats while roasting.
In a Kadai, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, and ½ teaspoon jeera seeds. Stir fry till the mustard seeds crackle.
Then add 1 teaspoon urad dal, 1 teaspoon chana dal, and 8-10 cashew nuts and saute until the dal and cashews are light golden brown.
Then add 2 green chilies, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 1 stalk curry leaves, and saute for a few seconds.
Add ½ cup of onion (finely chopped) and saute until the onions become light brown.
Then add 1 cup mixed veggies (carrot, beans, bell pepper, green beans) and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add ¼ teaspoon turmeric and salt to taste. Mix well.
Add 1 cup of water (if using instant quick-cook oats, use ½ cup of water) and bring the water to a boil.
Add the roasted rolled oats, mix well, and cook until the water is absorbed.
Then cover with a lid, and cook for 2 minutes on medium low flame until no excess moisture is left.
Turn off the gas. Add 1 tablespoon lime/lemon juice and 2 tablespoons coriander leaves. Mix well.
Serve Vegetable oats upma hot with coconut chutney, or yogurt.
Serving Suggestions
Serve piping hot Vegetable Oats Upma with a side of yogurt or onion tomato raita along with masala chai for the morning breakfast.
You may also pair it with a spicy pickle, coconut chutney, or tomato onion chutney for added kick.
Storage Suggestions
- Make-ahead: Roast the rolled oats and store them in an airtight container in a cool and dry place for up to a month. Next time, you can use these pre-roasted oats to make oats upma quickly and significantly reduce the cooking time.
- Store: You can store leftover oats upma in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days.
- Reheat: Add 1-2 tablespoons of water and reheat on a stovetop or microwave warm.
Expert Tips
- Type of Oats: Rolled oats are the best and recommended type of oats to make upma as they don't turn mushy. If you don't have them, you can also use instant quick-cooking rolled oats; make sure to roast them as well.
- Roasting Oats: Always roast the oats to get a good texture to the upma without making them gooey.
- Oats and water ratio: It is very important to add the right amount of water to cook oats, or else the upma will turn mushy. For every cup of uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats, you will need 1 cup of water, and ½ cup of water for 1 cup of Instant Oats.
Variations
- Vegetables: Add vegetables of your choice, like broccoli, potato, zucchini, and sweet corn, to make a healthy vegetable oats upma.
- Fresh Coconut: You may sprinkle some freshly shredded coconut on top of the oats upma just before serving.
- If you don't have urad dal or chana dal at home, you can skip them and substitute roasted peanuts for crunch.
Other Upma Recipes You May Enjoy
Vegetable Oats Upma
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 1 teaspoon chana dal
- 8-10 cashewnuts
- 2 green chilies finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced or grated
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- 1 cup mixed veggies (carrot, beans, bell pepper, green beans)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
Instructions
- Start by dry roasting the old-fashioned rolled oats on a medium-low flame in a pan for about 3-5 minutes or until they turn crisp, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once roasted, transfer the oats to a clean, dry bowl or plate, and set aside.Note: Do not brown the oats while roasting.
- In a Kadai, heat oil over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add mustard seeds, and jeera seeds. Stir fry till the mustard seeds crackle.
- Then add urad dal, chana dal, and cashew nuts and saute until the dal and cashews are light golden brown.
- Then add green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and saute for a few seconds.
- Add onions and saute until the onions become light brown.
- Then add chopped vegetables and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add turmeric and salt to taste. Mix well.
- Add 1 cup of water (if using instant quick-cook oats, use ½ cup of water) and bring the water to a boil.
- Add rolled oats, mix well, and cook until the water is soaked.
- Then cover with a lid, and cook for 2 minutes on medium low flame until no excess moisture is left.
- Turn off the gas and add lime juice and coriander leaves. Mix well.
- Serve Vegetable oats upma hot with coconut chutney, or yogurt.
Notes
Tips
- Type of Oats: Rolled oats are the best and recommended type of oats to make upma as they don't turn mushy. If you don't have them, you can also use instant quick-cooking rolled oats; make sure to roast them as well.
- Roasting Oats: Always roast the oats to get a good texture to the upma without making them gooey.
- Oats and water ratio: It is very important to add the right amount of water to cook oats, or else the upma will turn mushy. For every cup of uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats, you will need 1 cup of water, and ½ cup of water for 1 cup of Instant Oats.
Variations
- Vegetables: Add vegetables of your choice, like broccoli, potato, zucchini, and sweet corn, to make a healthy vegetable oats upma.
- Fresh Coconut: You may sprinkle some freshly shredded coconut on top of the oats upma just before serving.
- If you don't have urad dal or chana dal at home, you can skip them and substitute roasted peanuts for crunch.
Nutrition
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