If your breakfast needs a healthier upgrade, look past the usual rava and try this Jowar Upma recipe, also known as Sorghum Ghoogri or Jolada Uppittu.
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Jowar (Sorghum) transforms a standard, mushy porridge into a vibrant, chewy, fiber-packed breakfast bowl resembling a savoury Mediterranean farro or pearl barley salad, but bursting with classic South Indian flavours.
The Whole Grain Advantage
When you utilize the whole, unrefined jowar millet, you lock in some serious nutritional benefits:
- The Ultimate Texture: Whole jowar pop in your mouth like large, soft boba or pearled grains. It makes breakfast an actual, satisfying chew.
- Zero Nutritional Loss: Because the millet hasn’t been milled or cracked, the fiber-rich bran layer and nutrient-dense germ stay entirely intact.
- Stupidly Low Glycemic Index and No Gluten: Whole sorghum digests incredibly slowly, meaning you get a sustained, drip-feed release of energy that easily powers you through to lunchtime.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Whole Sorghum (Jowar) is an excellent, naturally gluten-free millet and a staple whole grain in India, often used as flour to make Bhakri (chapati).
- Sesame Oil or Ghee to cook the base for upma. You can use coconut oil or any other vegetable refined oil.
- Vegetables: Onion, Carrot, French Beans, Green Peas. Add easy to cook vegetables like finely chopped zucchini, sweet corn, broccoli florets, capsicum and so on.
- Peanuts are quintessential if you are making an upma.
- Tadka (Tempering): Cumin Seeds (jeera), Black Mustard Seeds (rai), Curry Leaves, Dried Red Chilli, Asafoetida (hing), Ginger
- Seasoning: Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin Powder
- Fresh Coriander Leaves, Grated Coconut, Lime Juice
How To Make Jowar Upma
1. The Vital Overnight Soak – (8 to 12 hours)
- Wash the whole jowar grains thoroughly in running water 3 to 4 times until the water runs completely clear.
- Submerge them in a deep bowl with plenty of water and let them soak overnight. Do not skimp on this step—soaking breaks down the tough outer fibers and makes the nutrients bioavailable.
2. Pressure Cook the Grains – (20-25 minutes)
- Drain the soaking water. Transfer the plump grains into a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Add double quantity of fresh water, and salt.
- Pressure cook for 2 whistles on high heat, then drop the flame to low and let it cook for another 4 to 5 whistles. Let the steam release naturally.
- Open the pressure cooker. The grains should look plumped up. Press a grain between your fingers; it should crush cleanly without a hard core, though it will naturally retain a distinct, bouncy, al dente chew. Drain any residual water completely.
3. Build Your Upma Base:
- Heat your oil or ghee in a large pan or kadhai.
- Splutter the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
- Toss in the hing, red chilies, curry leaves, and ginger, sautéing for 30 seconds until intensely aromatic.
- Add the diced onions and cook until translucent.
- Toss in your chopped carrots, beans, and peas. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt, cover the pan, and let the veggies steam in their own moisture for 4 to 5 minutes until they are cooked but still have a light bite.
4. Add Jowar and Cook:
- Dump your cooked, drained whole jowar into the pan.
- Stir vigorously to coat every single grain in the tempered spiced oil and veggies. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan one last time, and let everything steam together for 5 minutes so the flavour penetrates the millet.
The Finishing Touch: Turn off the stove. Fold in the freshly grated coconut, squeeze your fresh lemon juice over the top, and shower it with chopped coriander. Give jowar upma a gentle final mix.
Watch Upma Video
Hina’s Tried and True Tips
- The golden rule here is a long soak. Whole jowar is a tough grain wrapped in a dense, fibrous coat. If you skip the soak, you’ll end up with pebbles; nail the soak, and you get marvellous, tender pearls.
- Jowar is perfect for meal prep! You can pressure cook 3 or 4 cups of the grain over the weekend, portion it out, and store in the refrigerator. When Monday morning rolls around, whip up a quick upma in a pan, and your wholesome breakfast is served.
Looking for more wholesome and healthier upma recipes then try Quinoa Upma, sattvic Barnyard Millet Upma, or the Broken Wheat Upma.
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Jowar Upma Recipe
If your breakfast needs a healthier upgrade, look past the usual rava and try this Jowar Upma recipe, also known as Sorghum Ghoogri or Jolada Uppittu.
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Servings: 4 adults
Calories: 295kcal
- Heavy Bottom Kadhai
Ingredients
Ingredients To Cook Jowar:
- 1 Cup whole Jowar pearls (sorghum millet)
- 2 ½ Cup water
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Ingredients To Cook Upma:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
- ⅛ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ½ inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 2 dried red chilies
- ¼ Cup peanuts
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 4 – 5 french beans, fine chopped
- ¼ Cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder (jeera powder)
- 1 tablespoon grated coconut
- handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Wash the whole jowar grains thoroughly in running water 3 to 4 times until the water runs completely clear.
- Submerge them in a deep bowl with plenty of water and let them soak overnight. Do not skimp on this step—soaking breaks down the tough outer fibers and makes the nutrients bioavailable.
- Drain the soaking water. Transfer the plump grains into a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Add double quantity of fresh water, and salt.
- Pressure cook for 2 whistles on high heat, then drop the flame to low and let it cook for another 4 to 5 whistles. Let the steam release naturally. Open the pressure cooker. The grains should look plumped up.
- Heat your oil or ghee in a large pan or kadhai. Splutter the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Toss in the hing, red chilies, curry leaves, and ginger, sautéing for 30 seconds until intensely aromatic.
- Add the diced onions and cook until translucent. Toss in your chopped carrots, beans, and peas. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt, cover the pan, and let the veggies steam in their own moisture for 4 to 5 minutes until they are cooked but still have a light bite.
- Dump your cooked, drained whole jowar into the pan. Stir vigorously to coat every single grain in the tempered spiced oil and veggies. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan one last time, and let everything steam together for 5 minutes so the flavour penetrates the millet.
- Turn off the stove. Fold in the freshly grated coconut, squeeze your fresh lemon juice over the top, and shower it with chopped coriander. Give jowar upma a gentle final mix.
Recipe Notes:
- If you skip the soak, you’ll end up with pebbles; nail the soak, and you get marvellous, tender pearls. Usually the more you soak jowar, easier it becomes to cook. Try to soak it between 10 – 24 hours.
- After soaking, don’t cook it in the same water. Drain the water and use fresh water and salt to pressure cook jowar.
- It is always best to cook it over low to medium heat rather than high pressure.
Nutrition
Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 316mg | Potassium: 444mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2442IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 4mg
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