Vermicelli upma or semiya upma - Packed with the right amount of nutrition, this is the perfect breakfast to energise your mornings. Load it up with your favorite veggies to make it more delicious and nutritious! With its fast and simple prep feature, this vermicelli recipe is the perfect choice for a healthy breakfast or even a light lunch!
In my opinion, breakfast recipes must always be quick and easy. You know, the kind of recipes that you can whip up in a jiffy, and that doesn't even need the use of accurate measurements. Do you love such recipes? Then read on to learn all about this rush hour recipe that also happens to be super delicious.
The traditional upma is a South Indian breakfast dish with semolina as the main ingredient. Semolina cooked with vegetables makes for a very healthy breakfast, and is very popular in India.
This vermicelli upma features a slight twist from the traditional version. In this recipe, we're going to replace semolina with vermicelli. Yes, I'm talking about the vermicelli noodles that you get from Indian grocery stores. You might find different varieties of vermicelli these days. But I'd recommend buying either the ones with long strands that look like pasta or the ones with short strands.
Although vermicelli look like pasta or noodles, the cooking method used in this recipe is totally different. Vermicelli is first roasted in ghee or oil until you get a light golden color before adding to the veggies.
Now heat a little oil or ghee to splutter a few mustard seeds, split black gram, curry leaves and asafetida. To give this dish a bit of flavor, you'll need to sauté onions, green chilies, and ginger. The veggies used in this recipe are totally your choice. I used green beans, carrot and green peas that go really well with the flavors of vermicelli. You can also add bell peppers if you like.
Alright, green beans and carrots goes into the pan first along with enough salt. As we are going to use frozen green peas, it's always a good idea to add them towards the end of cooking process to retain the color as well as the shape.
Now simply add water to cook the veggies. And finally, the vermicelli goes in to get cooked and absorb all the beautiful flavors in the pan. Once all the cooking is done, add the green peas and heat through.
Another important thing to remember while making this vermicelli upma is the amount of water you need to add to cook vermicelli. You know, just because we don't want to end up with mushy vermicelli. In order to cook the vermicelli perfectly, don't forget the type of vermicelli you're using. Thin or thick. If you are using thin vermicelli, add 1 cup of water for 1 cup of vermicelli. On the other hand, if you're using the thick variety, add 2 cups of water for 1 cup of vermicelli. So simple, right? In fact, this is the only 'exact' measurement that you need in this recipe.
I love anything healthy for breakfast, and my family is a huge fan of this simple meal. I make this at least once in a week, and this just sounds perfect on any day especially when you are time poor. I mean, who could resist such a colorful dish with so much depth of flavor? The flavors in this recipe are very simple but, believe me, this is damn delicious.
All in all, isn't this the kind of perfect healthy breakfast dish? In short, fast and simple breakfast for a healthy start of your day!
More Recipes using Vermicelli
Vermicelli Upma | Semiya Upma | Video
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon ghee clarified butter
- 1 cup vermicelli I used thin noodles
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon split black gram urad dal
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- A pinch of asafetida
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 green chilies chopped
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1 cup vegetables green beans + carrot
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup frozen green peas
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a large frying pan over low heat. Add vermicelli. Sauté, stirring continuously, for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Set aside.
- Heat oil in the same pan over medium-high heat. Splutter mustard seeds, black gram (urad dal) and curry leaves. Stir in asafetida. Add onions, green chilies and ginger. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until the onions turn soft and translucent.
- Add beans and carrot. Sauté for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables are half cooked. Pour in one cup of water. Increase the heat. Bring to the boil. Add vermicelli. Lower the heat to medium. Simmer until vermicelli is cooked and water is absorbed. Stir in green peas. Heat through.
Video
Notes
-You can also add chopped bell peppers or capsicums in this recipe.
-If you are using fresh green peas, add it along with the other veggies as it requires a longer cooking time.
Nutrition
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Smitha says
I tried vermicelli upma sometime back and to my surprise it turned disgusting because i had been preparing it before regularly. After that i never tried it. May be i will give it a try Nish. Will note ur recipe
srividhya says
yummm.. love that video.. 🙂 My fav recipe
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
I love semiya upma and your version sounds awesome. Will try it, Rose.
CHCooks says
Love this, Rose 🙂
Anlet Prince - Annslittlecorner says
Simple upma explained in detail and so make more interesting. Want to try your upma immediately 🙂
Carina Simeon says
this looks unusual to me, so will try this soon. Not sure if husband, who is Malayali will like this instead our usual Rava Upma 🙂 🙂 there are some more recipes I have seen I like - so will come back to you again.