Aval Upma is a quick breakfast that is a southern Indian favorite. Made with beaten brown rice that takes only minutes to cook, this is a very nutritious way to start the day.
Aval or Poha is a common cereal (for lack of better word), that is used in making breakfast, desserts etc in India. Poha is normally beaten white rice in the form of rice flakes and Aval is what it is called in Southern parts of India, made with both white and brown rice. I love the nuttiness of the brown aval and the more nutritious value in it draws me to it more.
Upma is a variety of breakfast meal that is made with a variety of grains – semolina, vermicelli, beaten rice flakes etc. It is a quick sauté of tempered seasoning of mustard seeds and curry leaves with onions, green chillies and a variety of vegetables (optional) with your choice of grains and topped with some fresh grated coconut. The cooking time varies with the kind of grain that you use, some needing more time to cook along with more water and some others like this aval needing only a quick stir and almost no water at all.
Check out this recipe for Oatmeal Poha, a northern Indian variety of Aval Upma, if this recipe interests you.
Some of the other Upma recipes I have on the blog are:
Aval Upma
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown aval / brown rice flakes
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
- 8 curry leaves
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 3 Thai green chillies chopped
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup fresh grated coconut
- ½ tsp urad dal
Instructions
- Rinse the aval with water and drain water and keep aside. This is enough to soften it. You wont need any more water to cook it, except maybe a few sprinkles to keep it moist.
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds to it. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and urad dal to it as well.
- Add the onions and green chillies and saute till the onions soften and are translucent but not brown.
- Add the drained aval to this and the salt and mix well. Sprinkle a handful of water, switch off the heat, cover and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
- Add the coconut to this, mix well and serve hot with a side of some sugar and bananas or your favorite chutney.
Nutrition
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