What is Upma?
Upma is an Indian dish commonly eaten at breakfast. It is commonly made with dry-roasted semolina and then cooked with various spices and sometimes vegetables. Seviyan or semiya upma uses the same idea but is made with vermicelli. Vermicelli is often used to make Meethi Seviyan without milk and Vermicelli Kheer with milk and is typically served during festivities.
Ingredients
In this recipe, pasta or vermicelli are boiled before adding in potato, sweetcorn and basic spices, Gujarati style.
- Vermicelli/Capellini/Angel hair pasta
- Potato – slice the potatoes thinly so that they cook evenly and quickly
- Sweetcorn – you can use frozen, fresh or tinned sweetcorn
- Green chillies and ginger crushed – use fresh or frozen
- Turmeric powder – adds a little colour but you can also skip this if you do not have it
- Curry leaves – fresh, dried or frozen although fresh lends beautiful flavours and aroma.
- Lemon juice – adds a little tanginess and fresh flavours
- Sugar – a little touch of sweetness makes this dish typically Gujarati in flavour
- Mustard and Cumin seeds – for tempering
- Oil – use a flavourless oil such as vegetable or sunflower oil or a light olive oil
- Asafoetida (hing)
- Coriander leaves – to serve with. You can leave this step out if you do not have fresh coriander
How to prevent vermicelli clumping together
Here is our tried and tested way to cook vermicelli the best way without clumping and sticking and thus making it easier to stir and serve. -add some oil while boiling the vermicelli. -blanch in cold water and mix it with a tablespoon of oil.
How to make Seviyan Vermicelli Upma step by step
(Follow this step by step instructions, full printable recipe card with the exact measurement is at the bottom of this post)1. Heat water, add oil. (pic 1)2. Add pasta and cook for 4-5 minutes. (pic2)3. Cut it, drain the water and leave it aside. (pic 3)4. Heat oil. 5. Add all the seeds and curry leaves. (pic 5)6. Add potatoes, turmeric powder and cook for 203 minutes (pic 6)7. Tip in sweetcorn and salt, cook for another 2-3 minutes or until done. (pic 7)8. Add crushed ginger-chilli and mix. (pic 8) 9. Cooked pasta, mix well. (pic 9)10. Salt and sugar to taste. (pic 10)11. Lemon juice. (pic 11)12. Coriander leaves and serve.
How to store Seviyan Upma
Fridge – this will stay fresh for up to 2/3 days in the fridge. To re-heat simply sprinkle a few drops of water to loosen up the vermicelli and either heat on the stove or in the microwave. Freezer – I do not recommend freezing this recipe as the potato will lose its texture.
Serving suggestions
Pair it with Karak or Masala Chai, Caramel Lassi or Hibiscus Rose and Basil Sharbat.
Other breakfast recipes and snacks:
- Kothimbir Vadi waffles
- Quick Vegan Oats Idli
- Mamra Upma
- Waffle Idli Delight
- Yogurt & Herb Summer sandwich As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations! Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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Note – this post was originally posted on 12th March 2012, since we have updated the post with new and better images and content.
