Quinoa · High protein
Quinoa Upma
🌙 Night Before
- Rinse quinoa (1 cup) thoroughly in cold water until it runs clear (removes saponin bitterness)
- Soak 15–20 min, drain, refrigerate — cuts morning cook time
Ingredients
Main
- Quinoa, rinsed and soaked1 cup
- Water1¾ cups
- Water, for her pan⅓ cup
- Fresh ginger, grated1 tsp
- Green chili, slit1–2 (adults)
- Ghee2 tbsp
- Lemon juice1 tsp
Tempering
- Mustard seeds1 tsp
- Cumin seeds½ tsp
- Hing¼ tsp
- Curry leaves8–10
- Cashews, optional10
Vegetables & finish
- Capsicum, finely diced½ cup
- Tomato, chopped1 medium
- Green peas, frozen¼ cup
- Turmeric¼ tsp
- Saltto taste
- Fresh coriander2 tbsp
Method
1 Tempering
- Heat ghee (2 tbsp) in a heavy pan on medium
- Add mustard seeds (1 tsp) — splutter; add cumin seeds (½ tsp)
- Add hing (¼ tsp), curry leaves (8–10), cashews (10) — stir 30 sec
- Add ginger (1 tsp) — cook 20 sec
- Add capsicum (½ cup) and tomato (1 medium); cook 2 min
- Add peas (¼ cup), turmeric (¼ tsp), salt (to taste); stir
👶 Toddler — pull portion here
- Scoop out the cooked vegetables (3–4 tbsp) before adding chili to the main pan
- Add water (⅓ cup) and rinsed quinoa (3 tbsp) to a small pan with her vegetables
- Cover and cook on low 12 min until quinoa is soft and water absorbed
- Mash lightly if needed; add ghee (a drop)
2 Add chili and cook quinoa
- Add green chili (1–2) to the adult pan; cook 20 sec
- Add remaining quinoa (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) to the tempering pan; stir to coat 1 min
- Add water (1¾ cups) and bring to a boil
- Reduce to low; cover and cook 12–14 min until water absorbed and quinoa tails appear
- Rest covered 5 min; fluff with fork
- Finish with lemon juice (1 tsp) and coriander (2 tbsp)
Tip The white "tail" curling out of each quinoa grain means it's cooked. Don't skip the 5-minute covered rest — it makes the texture fluffy rather than sticky.