AuthorChandniIf you make your upma mix over the weekend, making breakfast on a weekday will be as easy as adding boiling water, but healthier.
When I first moved out of home, I realised that feeding myself was going to be the biggest challenge. I cannot function in the morning, so the thought of pulling out the chopping board and peeling onions first thing in the morning made me want to cry. So I did what every young person does when mum isn't around to make breakfast - I went and bought a bunch of 'instant breakfasts'. Upma, poha, and whatnot. Only to find out that these instant breakfasts taste like cardboard.
This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all. I actually make decent upma when I want to, but this waking up in the morning thing was still not my cup of tea. That's how I got this idea - out of sheer laziness. I knew that if I made the whole upma the night before, it would be a clumped up cake the next morning when I had to eat it. So I made the mix ahead and just finished it off the next morning, making my own take on an instant breakfast. Plus it was delicious and didn't have random preservatives! Low effort, high reward. Just my kind of food.
You can use this exact mix and add vermicelli to it instead of rava and you'll have a nice seviyan upma. But that you can make the night before since vermicelli won't stick. If you have different upma recipes, go ahead and try to meal-prep the mix. It'll save a ton of your time in the morning.
Instant Upma Recipe Card
To begin making your Instant Upma, heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan. If you're using cashews, fry them in ghee until they're golden brown and set them aside.
Add mustard seeds to the remaining ghee in the pan. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, ginger, and green chilli. Fry for a few seconds and add the chopped onion. Once the onion turns translucent, add the chopped carrot, season with salt, and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add the cashews back to the mix and allow the mixture to cool. Once it's completely cooled, transfer it to an airtight container along with the washed coriander and lemon wedge. Your Instant Upma mix is ready! Store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To cook the upma, first place a saucepan on medium heat. Remove the chopped coriander and the lemon wedge from the box of your Instant Upma Mix and add the mixture to the pan to bring it back up to heat.
Once the mixture is hot, lower the heat and add 1.5 - 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil, and add 1 tsp ghee to it.
Once the ghee dissolves, gently drizzle the rava into the water while mixing it continuously so that lumps don't form. Allow the upma to cook on low heat until most of the water has evaporated. Then cover it and set it on a tawa on a low flame for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, squeeze lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Enjoy a no-fuss breakfast on a weekday morning!
Ingredients
Directions
To begin making your Instant Upma, heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan. If you're using cashews, fry them in ghee until they're golden brown and set them aside.
Add mustard seeds to the remaining ghee in the pan. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, ginger, and green chilli. Fry for a few seconds and add the chopped onion. Once the onion turns translucent, add the chopped carrot, season with salt, and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add the cashews back to the mix and allow the mixture to cool. Once it's completely cooled, transfer it to an airtight container along with the washed coriander and lemon wedge. Your Instant Upma mix is ready! Store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To cook the upma, first place a saucepan on medium heat. Remove the chopped coriander and the lemon wedge from the box of your Instant Upma Mix and add the mixture to the pan to bring it back up to heat.
Once the mixture is hot, lower the heat and add 1.5 - 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil, and add 1 tsp ghee to it.
Once the ghee dissolves, gently drizzle the rava into the water while mixing it continuously so that lumps don't form. Allow the upma to cook on low heat until most of the water has evaporated. Then cover it and set it on a tawa on a low flame for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, squeeze lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Enjoy a no-fuss breakfast on a weekday morning!