Jowar upma is a delicious and healthy breakfast porridge made with whole grain sorghum millet and seasonal vegetables. It is gluten-free, vegan, and filled with the nutritious whole-grain.
Upma is a popular Indian breakfast dish which originates from South Indian cuisine. Upma is made with different grains. Most commonly with rava (wheat semolina) but in this recipe in place of semolina, I have used whole jowar grain. I really like a warm bowl of upma for winter breakfasts. While the recipe for upma is a lot like a millet stir-fry with whole grain millets and vegetables, it usually has a thicker consistency. Which is why it is more like a breakfast porridge but unlike common porridge recipes, it is savory.
How to make Sorghum Porridge/ Jowar Upma
Ingredients for Sorghum Porridge
- Whole Sorghum grain forms the base for upma.
- Mixed vegetables add to the taste and nutrition. Use a mix of crunchy and soft seasonal vegetable.
- Tempering and seasoning: Curry leaves, mustard seeds and a light seasoning of salt, turmeric, and lemon juice. You can also use dried red chilies.
- Oil/ fats and water
Tools needed to cook Sorghum Porridge
Not a lot of fancy things are needed to cook sorghum porridge.
Whole jowar or sorghum grain can be cooked, just like how you would cook brown rice. You can cook it in a pot on stove-top, in a rice cooker, insta-post, or slow cooker.
Apart from that just basic utensils like:
- wok/ kadhai
- Cutting Board and knife
- Spoon
How to cook Jowar upma
- Cook the whole jowar in 3 times water.
- Sauté the vegetables lightly with a little seasoning in tempered oil.
- Mix in the cooked jowar grain and done.
Health benefits of (Sorghum) Jowar and Jowar nutrition
This sorghum porridge is an ideal breakfast dish. Sorghum is rich in complex carbohydrates, proteins, and B-vitamins to give you energy through the day and keep you full for longer. The vegetables add to the minerals and vitamins of the dish. Choose a mix of seasonal vegetables that you like.
- Sorghum is naturally gluten-free. It is easier to digest than wheat and is a good wheat alternative for people with gluten sensitivity or allergies.
- Sorghum helps in managing weight: Being a whole grain, sorghum or jowar is high in dietary fibre. It helps keeping the digestive system happy and healthy. They are also slowly digested by the body, helping you feel fuller for longer and avoid overeating or odd time eating.
- It is a high protein grain, making it a good choice for breakfast cereal. 100g of sorghum has 11 g protein and 72 g complex carbohydrates.
- Sorghum is high in antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and lower free radical damage.
Check out the Millet Glossary for an ongoing list of different types of millets.
Sorghum grain is very neutral and can easily take other flavorings. While this is a, very Indian, savory porridge, in South African cuisine, a sweet sorghum porridge is a popular breakfast. Something that I am going to try soon! If you like this recipe, please take a moment to rate it and/or leave your feedback in comments. It will really encourage me to keep exploring, learning and improving.
Jowar Upma | Sorghum Porridge
Ingredients (1cup = 240ml; 1tbsp = 15ml; 1tsp = 5ml)
- 1 cup jowar (Sorghum grain, soaked for 30 mins)
- 1 tbsp Olive Pomace oil
- 2 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
- 1 dried red chili
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 1 green chili , chopped
- 1 inch ginger , chopped
- 2 green onions , sliced
- 1 capsicum , chopped
- ½ cup bottle gourd , chopped
- ½ cup green peas , boiled or defrosted if using frozen peas
- 2 tomatoes , chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt , to taste
- 1 lime
- fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Soak jowar grain in water for at least 30 minutes.
- In a deep pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add some salt. Drain and add the soaked whole jowar and to the boiling water. Cover and let it cook on medium heat till the grains are soft. Takes about 10 mins. Jowar grains will soak in most of the water and be a little wet and mushy. You can also cook whole jowar in the rice cooker.
- On another stove, heat oil in a wok/ kadhai. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, dried red chili, and curry leaves. Sauté for a minute before adding green chili, ginger, and onion. Mix well and cook for a minute.
- Add the chopped bottle gourd and capsicum. Mix and cook for 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add the boiled peas, tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the cooked jowar and lime juice.
- Mix well and cook for another minute.
- Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.
Notes
- Nutritional Information is approximate information for 1 serving.
- This recipe for sorghum porridge can be used to make porridge with other whole millets like foxtail millet, proso millet, and other small grain millets.
This recipe uses whole jowar grain. For recipes with sorghum flour, check out:
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For more sorghum and other millet recipes, check out: Health benefits of millets and millet recipes.
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[…] To make sorghum porridge, by cooking the grains in water beyond 45 minutes, until they become like rice pudding. (20) […]