Do you like to try new foods? You'll love this Indian Upma recipe from my friend, Indu, another Mom from Kids Baking Championship Season 6 — I'm so excited to share it with you!
In the coming weeks I'll be posting recipes from my new friends that I met last summer when we were all in New Orleans with our kids for the taping of Food Network's Kids Baking Championship Season 6. (Read more about that whole WILD story here plus see pics of our trip to tape the show.) One of the neatest things about these new friends, besides that we hit it off so well and have this crazy deep connection that is such a huge blessing, is that we are all so different!!! We're from all over the country, with very different backgrounds, cultures, and religions, yet we all just laugh when we're together and have a blast! We also think it's SO special how much our kids all love each other too. God is so good you guys, the people He brings into our lives in ways you'd never expect. 🙂
Recently those of us who could make it met up in New Jersey/New York City for a few days (to watch the finale together!) and Kasey and I stayed with Indu and Karthik's family. They were such wonderful hosts and we had a great time being with them and seeing everyone. (Subscribe to my Youtube channel and click the bell to be notified when a new video goes up, because soon I'll be adding a fun new video all about our out-East trip!)
Indu made this Indian Upma recipe for us and the flavor, oh. my. gosh you guys, it was bursting with flavor! Indu said this is what she makes when they're short on time and she needs a quick breakfast that everyone loves. Yep, they have this for breakfast. She said, “we eat savory breakfasts, not sweet”.
By the way, to all of you other Moms from Kids Baking Championship Season 6, I'm coming for you next, asking if you'll share a family favorite recipe too!
Moms of Kids Baking Championship Season 6: Indian Upma Recipe from Indu
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons oil, I used sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons mustard seed, I used 2 Tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon chana dal/split chickpeas, optional (Indu didn't use these and neither did I)
- 1 Tablespoon lentils <-- those are the ones I used, but I omit nowadays, I can't seem to get them to cook all of the way and soften.
- 2 dried red chilis, I found a bag of them at the store.
- A few curry leaves <-- those are the ones I used, I threw in about 6 of them.
- Optional: 1 teaspoon cumin/jeera, but Indu didn't use this and I liked it without too -- I loved the Indian taste of this dish and think cumin would make it taste more like a Mexican dish.
- 2 teaspoons ghee/clarified butter, I used 3 Tablespoons because oh how I love my healthy fats, especially this kind of ghee
- 1/2-1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 inches ginger root, peeled and finely chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried), add more if you'd like
- 3 green chili peppers or poblano peppers, very mild on the heat scale, finely chopped -- Indu just cuts them open down the middle. I often use 2 jalepenos if that's what I have, they give a little more zip!
- 6 cups water, I used bone broth for extra nutrition, but Indu's family is vegetarian so they use water. You made need a little more liquid at the end.
- 1 teaspoon sugar, I used a bit more
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, or more to your taste.
- 2 cups cracked wheat/bulgar <-- that's the kind I used
- Juice of 1 organic lemon, plus more to your taste if desired.
- 4 Tablespoons of chopped cilantro or 1 T. dried coriander
Instructions
- I made this in my big 16" frying pan or Indu made it in a large skillet on the stove. The amounts below are enough to fill my 16" pan and fed all 6 of us with just a little bit of leftovers, but we ate it as a side dish for dinner with some chicken so as a main dish you may need more. As I said, Indu's family eats it for breakfast! Read more about my FAVORITE pan here--or snag one here.
- Heat the oil, mustard seed, optional chickpeas, optional lentils, red chili, curry leaves, and optional cumin.
- Sauté until the mustard seeds pop a little, then add in ghee, onion, ginger, and split green chilis. Sauté well.
- Pour in water/broth and bring to a low boil as you stir in the sugar, and salt.
- Keeping the heat on low and slowly add in the cracked wheat, stir continuously to prevent lumps from forming until mixed well. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes or longer until the grain is cooked well and completely soft (taste-test to be sure). Stir occasionally and keep the heat high enough so it bubbles a bit, but don't let it burn. You may need to add a little more liquid toward the end if it's starting to stick but the grain isn't all the way softened yet. It'll sort of have the consistency of a very well-cooked rice dish. You'll LOVE the wonderful flavors.
- Before serving, stir in the lemon juice and cilantro.
- Let me know what you think! By the way, get someone to help you with the chopping and the time it takes to actually whip up this recipe is pretty fast.
Notes
In case you're wondering whose Mom is who in the photo above… left to right: Mindy (Madison's Mom), Moraydda (Nyah's Mom), Sasha, sitting on the floor (Misha's Mom), Indu (Karthik's Mom), Suhair (Jenna's Mom), and me, Kelly (Kasey's Mom). Sadly the others couldn't join us this time. 🙁
Watch the recipe video here — Moms from Kids Baking Championship Season 6 Family Favorites: Indian Upma from Indu:
More you might like:
- Check out our Keto wine tasting party! (Or just get my favorite Keto wine here — it's low-sugar but still lovely and delicious + NO headaches, try a bottle for a penny!)
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