Nourishing Oats & Tofu Upma- vegan, gluten free.

Upma is a spiced, savory porridge, easy South Indian breakfast, usually made with semolina, or cracked wheat. It is in my view, an Indian version of cream of wheat. Millets, rice flour, vermicelli also can be used to make upma. It is a quick dish made with ginger, spices and veggies of your choice.

The idea behind this recipe to to upgrade the nutrition content, add a different texture and make the beloved upma more wholesome. Oats are definitely nutrient dense than semolina and pack in more protein as well. And as a plus, organic oats are easily available than organic semolina.

Tofu, is the easiest way to include the daily dose of complete plant protein into various dishes. Just 3 ounces ( 85g) of tofu contains 8 g protein and 15% of daily calcium requirement as well. Tofu can be used to complement the veggies in curries, stir frys, and in baked goods as a perfect egg replacement.

In addition to the nourishment aspect, the taste profile and texture were very kid pleasing, which is a main requirement to make this dish blog-worthy. This upma is good anytime of the day, but gives a good head start to the day as breakfast. It is filling, nourishing and instantly made.

When a nutritious recipe can be made in under 20 min, with no fuss, and wins the palate, it deserves to be made. Try it.

Oats & Tofu Upma

A nutritious upgrade to the usual upma, that also is savory, flavor and texture filled, in under 20 min.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups rolled oats ( I used sprouted organic oats from costco)
• 1/2 block extra firm organic tofu- about 8 ounces
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp Oil- avocado or olive oil preferred -optional can be done without oil as well
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 2-3 dry red chilies
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1/2 cup sliced red onion
• 2-3 medium green chilies slit length wise per your spice preference
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots, can use grated also
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup cabbage- I used shredded purple cabbage
• 1/2 cup bell peppers chopped – color of your choice
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast- optional
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp cumin powder- optional
• dry toasted cashews to garnish- per your preferance
• cilantro to garnish

Instructions

 

• Take a heavy bottom pan and on medium heat, add the oil if using. Once hot, add the red chilies, mustard seeds, ginger , curry leaves, turmeric powder. The mustard seeds will splutter.

  If not using oil, you can add sprinkles of water at this stage.
• Then add the onions, green chilies. Wait two minutes, before adding the veggies of your choice, one by one. More veggies, the merrier for your health.

  Mix them well. Saute them for 4-5 min.
• While the veggies are being cooked, take the tofu out of the packaging, place heavy weight on the top, and let it drain extra water for 10 min.
• Now crumble the tofu with your hand and add it to the pan. Mix it well and cook for about 2 min.
• Once you see that tofu lost most of its moisture, add the oats, and stir in for a minute.
• Add the water, salt, cumin powder, and give it a good mix. Keep the lid on and cook for 6-8 min.
• Oats should be cooked by this time. Take the lid off and let it cook for a minute more, if needed, in case you notice still plenty of moisture.
• Add dry toasted cashews and chopped cilantro to garnish.

Notes

If you don’t have tofu, and are in mood to upgrade plain oats upma, open up a can of beans, or if not in a time crunch, soak beans of your choice for 4-6 hours, pressure cook and add them.

Chickpeas, black beans, rajma, soy beans all work well.