A 5 Minute Indian Breakfast Recipe with Quinoa

Quinoa is a super food indian breakfast recipe that is rich in proteins and other essential nutrients.

Although it may not be native to India, surprisingly, quinoa works really well for Indian food.

It is very commonly used as a substitute to rava in making upma which is a famous south Indian breakfast recipe. Other Indian adapted recipes include dosas, kichadi, pongal, etc.

This is a very breakfast popular Indian breakfast recipe for kids and well as adults as it is both delicious and nutritious.

Moreover, substituting quinoa in place of rava comes with a lot of benefits. They include:

1. Quinoa is gluten-free, while rava contains gluten.

2. It has more fibre content (twice as much).

3. More nutritional content

4. Richer in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, calcium, potassium, and selenium.

Other benefits of quinoa include:

1. Rich in antioxidants

2. Rich in amino acids.

3. Improves blood sugar

4. Improves cholesterol levels

5. Aids weight loss

6. Contains an abundance of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals

Here’s a 5 minute recipe of quinoa upma:

Quinoa grains, Credit: Pixabay

North Indian Style Quinoa Upma

This recipe is very quick and easy to make as well as healthy too!

Servings: 5

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa

1 teaspoon of mustard seek

1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

½ teaspoon of mustard seed

2 green chilies, chopped fine

1 large onion, chopped fine

5-6 curry leaves

A handful of raw peanuts

½ green peas

1 large carrot, chopped fine

¼ cup of finely chopped coriander

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Rinse the quinoa and set it aside to drain

2. On a heat and oil a non-stick pan. To it, add mustard seed and saute for a few on medium flame.

3. Add chilies, ginger, curry leaves, peanuts and saute for two minutes

4. Then, add the onions, green peas, and carrots. Stir for a few minutes.

5. Then add the quinoa and let it saute again.

6. Add salt and 2 ½ cups of water, cover the lid and let it cook until the quinoa has popped open and all the water is soaked in.

7. Turn off flame and add coriander and lemon juice.

Bonus: Try it with coconut chutney on the side!

Additional Tip

It is very important to rinse out the quinoa and not skip this process. This is because rinsing it will help remove the natural coating, called saponin, which tastes very bitter and soapy. Thus, to ensure maximum results of deliciousness, rinsing is important!