Broken Wheat Upma – A South Beach Diet Phase 2 Vegetarian Breakfast
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In my last post I ranted about folks who don’t respond to my oh-so-very-helpful e-mails. But to be honest, I have to say that I am no saint either! I have promised many things on e-mail to readers which I never delivered. One such undelivered promise is about posting an Indian themed South Beach Diet menu plan. It is one of the most frequent queries I get after I started sharing my SBD experiments here.
Many Indians -even the non-vegetarians- are not comfortable with eating meat or seafood three times a day. Most of the South Beach Diet menu plans and cookbooks out there have meat/seafood as part of every meal. Breakfast is really one of the toughest, as eggs seems to be the only choice available sometimes and many are not very keen on eating eggs everyday. I have shared some of my thoughts and research findings on the topic of eggs before, but still it comes down to personal preference. And there are many out there on the look out for more vegetarian dishes to fit into their SBD meal plan. Even though I am nowhere close to posting a SBD meal plan customized for Indian palates, I will try and post more SBD friendly Indian recipes here. And one of these days, who knows I might have enough recipes to make a meal plan.
Broken wheat or cracked wheat (Dalia) I have used here is not the same as the middle-eastern Bulgur. The main difference between Bulgur and the broken wheat is that wheat cracking takes place after cooking then drying in the former case while it is done in a raw stage in the latter. This means that while bulgur requires very little cooking, the broken wheat requires a whole lot more. This article has full details on the differences between the two. I have only seen the broken wheat in Indian stores here in the US, I will look for these in other major grocery stores and add a link later if I find any. You can use bulgur in this recipe, but make sure the cooking time is reduced considerably.
Broken wheat has a wonderful nutty and chewy texture and it is very much SBD friendly. This Upma (full credit for the recipe goes to Siv) is very flavorful and can be had on its own really, but you could have it with some low fat yogurt or even coconut chutney if you are not on SBD. (While coconut is allowed on SBD, it is recommended to have in moderation.) We had it with chicken curry for breakfast one day, yeah that no meat three times day rule doesn’t apply in our household.
Broken Wheat Upma
(Serves 3)
Ingredients
- 1 cup broken wheat
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 2 green chilies, slit
- 1/2 tsp grated ginger
- a few curry leaves
- 5 mint leaves, torn
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp urad daal
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup frozen corn (Substitute with cut green beans or other veggies for SBD)
- 10 cashew nuts, broken
- salt to taste
- a few sprigs of cilantro for garnish
Method
Heat about 1 tbsp of the oil and stir fry the broken wheat on medium heat for 4-5 minutes and keep aside.
Add 1 more tbsp oil to the pan and while it’s hot add the mustard seeds and urad daal. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add onions, green chilies ,curry leaves, grated ginger and mint leaves and saute till onions are softened. Add garam masala, chili and coriander powder and saute for a few minutes till the raw smell disappears.
Add the vegetables and cashew nuts and sauté for a couple of minutes. Pour 2 cups water and salt and bring it to a boil.Add the wheat and stir well and cook on low heat till dry.
Stir in the coriander leaves and serve warm.
Note 1: Since I am not following SBD strictly anymore, we used corn in this, but corn is not allowed on phase 2, so you can substitute that with other chopped vegetables like green beans, cauliflower, broccoli etc.
Note 2: For some extra protein, you can scramble a couple of eggs and stir into the upma, which is what we did with the left overs the next day.
More like this..
Category: Breakfast Recipes, Breakfast and Brunch, For Vegetarians, India - Other, Phase 2
Seeing your transformation thanks to SBD, I am sooo tempted to go for it myself!!! But I am not sure I have your will/discipline and having an uncooperative husband (who thinks any word diet is sinful to even talk about) does not help!!! May be one day when I balloon up to 500 pounds or somthing, he will come to his senses
Have you thought about just not telling him? The food on SB is really good that no one I make it for notices that it’s diet food.
What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. And on phase 1 you can always just tell him you don’t feel like it when he asks for the usual breads or pastas or things.
oh so that’s why you mainly posted this! i was wondering how come Sig started posting about upma
it looks very good, i can never get the individual grains to stay separate after cooking. my upmas are always a mush!
Wise choice..superb shot as well
cooool, superb idea, i make a sweet version for my son, he’s going to love this savoury version….thanks!
Hmmm… The last 2 days of phase 1 were not observed at all…guests at home… and it was easy for me to make one pot meals… which are usually rice.
But we’re back on from today. Don’t know whether to enter phase 2 now or stay on for sometime in phase 1 (because we didn’t stick to it on day 13 and 14)
I love dalia upma… the garam masala is new to me… I should try.
This is one of my most often made breakfasts (and dinner sometimes!) because it’s quick to make and very filling too.
I’ve never used garam masala though I have tried sambhar powder a couple of times.
I didn’t read your previous rant (the title said “salmon” so I skipped!!).
I do reply to all the questions I get (delayed sometimes), and I guess I have been lucky to get replies/ thank yous a lot of the time.
And if there are people who do not understand that a “thank you” is a courtesy, what can anyone do?
Great Sig, hope this will inspire me to get onto SBD, though my self restraint with food is something I still aspire for…I make this with a lot of veggies for my son..
i too try to answer queries at the same time as i know i’ll forget later on
I am not fond of broken wheat much, i remember my mom used to make similar upma and force me to eat, but she cud never force down more than one spoon
the click is gorgeous!
i too try to answer queries at the same time as i know i’ll forget later on
I am not fond of broken wheat much, i remember my mom used to make similar upma and force me to eat, but she cud never force down more than one spoon
the click is gorgeous!
P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
“But to be honest, I have to say that I am no saint either!”
You got that right sistah
I love upma…easy to make and filling too. Yours looks so pretty
Wow! Great picture and easy recipe. I love upma of any kind, its easy to make and light to eat.
Seriously gorgeous looking Broken Wheat Upmaa sig. Sounds delicious and healthy too.
I make this kinda upma with buttermilk. No garam masala though.
Super shot
For some extra protein, you can scramble a couple of eggs and stir into the upma, which is what we did with the left overs the next day.
You’ve given me an idea here, how about adding mince meat for the extra protein? I’ve added textured soy protein granules to Upma in the past, but it never occurred to me to add meat or eggs.
You know as the texture was so much like brown rice, we were talking about trying a “chicken fried broken wheat” with a chicken-fried-rice recipe next time.
Adding minced meat would sure make it more SBD friendly for sure. Now that you are back, are you back on SBD?
My grandmother would make this kick-ass Semiya Upma, well, it was more like Semiya Biriyani – Semiya with mince, coconut milk and other biriyani spices. I’m thinking Chicken Fried Broken wheat would be just as good.
I’m trying very hard to do a modified phase 1, but all the snacks and goodies that my mum and m-i-l packed for me are making it EXTREMELY difficult! But am being better than I was in India.
Hi Sig!
I finally started my SBD couple of days of back. I aint an ardent NV person so I kinda found the diet to be an overdose of NV. Esp the tuna salad on the second day was pathetic to my palate. My tastes are more Indian and I need a bit of chilli pow, cummin, garam masala in the food (if poss). So instead of the grilled chicken with balsemic vinaigrette. I coated the chicken breast with chilli, tur n dania pow mixed in water n grilled them. I hope that I am not falling out of the diet he he.
Do share with me some Veg option in Phase1 of SBD.
Nice post n nice click!
Hey Sig, thnx for the recipe….. i make a very dull version of this without adding any spice pdr.. but this seems quite interesting…. i will try this and let you know how our taste buds responded…..
Hi Sig,
Firstly, many thanks to you for sharing all about SBD, this was totally new to me & have been frequently hopping on to your space ever since the SBD series started here.
Being inspired by you, I undertook this task & am quite glad I did, as I stand almost 10 kgs lighter than what I did a couple of months before !
Look forward to many more helpful recipes like these….Can’t thank you enough though !
Have a nice day !
We like Dalia a lot. I have a Dalia Pulao in my blog and I also add Keema or Soy granules to it. If it is SBD that is what I will eat 3 meals a day
Never had upma…looking at your dish I think I should try it. Looks yummie, does not look like diet food
I read about SBD on your blog and having a blogger certify it, gave it much credibility
Like you, I am not doing it strictly now, but it has certainly made me aware of how much I eat, and how much I could cut out wihthout compromising on taste/nutrition.
I so love your blog Sig! Your style of writing, the food, reviews etc etc. all so worth reading! You are that no-crap and down to earth person.
I have never made upma with broken wheat…will try this.
I never thought of making upma with dalia.. great idea. i love the texture of dalia.. that picture looks delicious.
Oh my god, ive falling in love with that dish! Looks Georgous!
Thankyou
Diana
[...] Broken Wheat Upma – A South Beach Diet Phase 2 Vegetarian Breakfast [...]
Sig, I made this last night for dinner and it came out very tasty. My whole family loved it.
Cracked wheat is such a healthy alternative to regular upma rava.
Thx for the recipe.
Hi Lakshmi, glad you and your family loved it! Thanks for the feedback.
Hey..
Can u guide as to how make this broken wheat upma in microwave??
Not specific about grams or garnishing we use generally. For a very quick, simply broken wheat upma.. pls..
You’re such an inspiration! I started the SBD a few weeks back and was looking for a ‘desi’ who’s doing the same. Found you and got started, Sig! Thanks for all your recipes.