Click here to view Jowar Upma recipe | vegetable jowar upma | homemade jowar rava upma | jowar atta upma |
jowar upma is a healthier upma as compared to the traditional rava upma usually made in most households. Learn how to make jowar atta upma.
Ready in a jiffy, vegetable jowar upma is a healthy snack you can whip up for breakfast, supper, or just any time of the day. This is made by replacing a large quantity of the refined semolina with fibre and iron richgreen peas and jowar flour. Of course, a small portion of rava is used to improve the consistency.
To make jowar upma, heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan, add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the mustard seeds crackle, add the asafoetida and curry leaves and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds. Add the onions and sauté on a medium flame for 1 minute. Add the semolina and sauté on a medium flame for another 2 minutes. Add the jowar flour and sauté on a medium flame for 2 more minutes. Add the green peas, green chilli paste, coriander and salt and mix well. Add 3 cups of hot water, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring continuously. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Serve immediately.
To make it healthier, you can also add vegetables like carrot, capsicum and tomatoes to add to the taste, crunch and nutrient quotient. Like with most millet-based foods, it is essential to serve the homemade jowar rava upma immediately.
Adults, kids,
senior citizens and women with
PCOS all can enjoy ½ serving of this jowar atta upma in small quantities as an occasional treat only to satisfy their craving for this South Indian style breakfast. We do not recommend this recipe as a regular healthy fare. It is best avoided for people aiming weight loss.
Tips for jowar upma. 1. Do not over boil the green peas. They should be slightly crunchy. 2. After adding the hot water, ensure to stir continuously to avoid lump formation. 3. Avoid cooking after adding lemon juice to avoid losing its vitamin C content.
Is Jowar Upma healthy?
No, this is not healthy. Let's see why.
Let's understand the Ingredients.
What's good.
1. Jowar Flour : Jowar flour is a complex carb and will be absorbed slowly in the blood stream and not cause a spike in insulin. Jowar and all Millets are rich in Potassium. Potassium is critical for those with High Blood Pressure as it lessens the impact of sodium. Hence a good safe food for diabetics but to be had in restricted quantity and safe for those who want to live and eat healthy. Being high in Fibre, Jowar reduces bad cholesterol (LDL) and increases the effects of good cholesterol (HDL). See 17 benefits of jowar and why you should have it.
2. Onions (pyaz, kanda) : Raw onions are a very valuable source of vitamin C – the immune building vitamin. Along with other phytonutrients from onions, it helps to build WBC (white blood cells) which serves as a line of defence against illness. Yes, it’s a source of many antioxidants, the most important one amongst them being Quercetin. The quercetin in Onions promotes production of HDL (good cholesterol) and lowers total cholesterol in the body. The sulphur in onions act as a blood thinner and prevents blood clotting too. This in turn would lower blood pressure and good for heart, diabetics. Read the benefits of onions.
3. Green Peas : Green peas are good for weight loss, good source of vegetarian protein, has insoluble fibre to relieve constipation. Legumes like green peas, cow peas, mung, chick peas and kidney beans have a cholesterol lowering effect. Green Peas are rich in Vitamin K which aids in bone metabolism. Green peas have a Glycemic Index (GI) rank of 22 which is low and good for diabetics. Is green peas good for diabetics and see full benefits of green peas.
4. Coriander (kothmir, dhania) : Coriander is a fresh herb often used as a flavour enhancer in Indian cooking. It is mainly used as a garnish. This is the best way to use it - no cooking. This preserves its vitamin C content which helps to build our immunity and bring that sparkle to the skin. The antioxidants vitamin A, vitamin C and the quercetin present in coriander works towards strengthening our immune system. Coriander is a fairly good source of iron and folate – the 2 nutrient which help in the production and maintenance of red blood cells in our blood. Good for reducing cholesterol and good for diabetics. Read 9 benefits of coriander to understand details.
5. Lemon, Lemon Juice : Lemon is a very good source of Vitamin C and thus helps in the production of white blood cells and antibodies in the blood which attacks invading microorganisms, prevents infection and builds immunity. Therefore, Lemon juice is given to prevent common cold. The ascorbic acid in lemon juice helps in absorption of iron from the food. So if you’re iron deficient or have anaemia squeeze a lemon on iron rich recipes. See detailed benefits of lemon, lemon juice.
What's the problem?
1. Rava (semolina, sooji) : What's good? Semolina is a fairly good source of Magnesium and phosphorus which is necessary to keep our nervous system healthy and working. But once again, it’s minus the fibre which is also one of the important nutrient to maintain healthy heart. So don’t opt for just the plain rava upma… instead toss in some sprouts or veggies and limit the amount of salt used and then add it occasionally to your meals. What's the issue? Fibre is one key nutrient for weight loss and semolina is devoid of it. Semolina is not suitable for diabetics. For details read is sooji healthy?
Can diabetics, heart patients and over weight individuals have Jowar Upma?
No, this recipe is not good for diabetics, heart and weight loss. Fibre is one key nutrient for weight loss and semolina is devoid of it. Semolina is not suitable for diabetics.
Here are some Healthy Indian snack options.
You can have oats upma, baked sev , baked whole wheat puris, paneer pudina tikki or buckwheat pancake as one healthy recipe option.
Oats Upma ( Breakfast Recipes)
Can healthy individuals have Jowar Upma?
No.
8 Pointers to get healthy on a Indian diet
1. Eat healthy and say yes to good home cooked food. Prefer whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, buckwheat, barley and healthy flours like bajra flour, jowar flour, quinoa flour, wheat flour etc. rather than refined ones like maida. Have healthy Indian fats like ghee, coconut, coconut oil in your diet.
2. Opt out of junk food, packaged food, deep fried foods. Prefer steamed snacks and other non-fried snacks. Check out some Healthy Indian Snacks. Remember to eat small frequent meals through the day as that will keep you always full and prevent your blood sugar from dropping. By starving your body through some diet, will not help you one bit. In fact, dieting will make you binge on 2 to 3 meals which is not good.
3. Have 4 to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 3 servings of fruit is a must. Follow the logic of a vegetable in each main meal of the day and a fruit in-between meals. Check out a few Healthy Indian Soups and Healthy Indian Salads recipes using this food group.
4. Cut down on sugar and salt in your diet and pick honey ( very small amounts) or dates to sweeten your food. Slowly cut the sugar habit as this is not going to happen over night. Sugar is also called white poison. It is a simple carbohydrate with zero nutritional value. On intake, sugar will cause inflammation of the body which will last for many hours. It will spike your blood sugar level and shut down the fat burning process. This also causes high blood sugar levels in your body. The development of prediabetes comes from uncontrolled eating sugar and refined food products for many years and the classic symptom is if you have excess belly fat. This leads to diabetes and further onwards to heart attack, high blood pressure, strokes, impotence and kidney damage.
Salt and blood pressure. Apart from stress and obesity, one of the main reasons for high blood pressure is excessive sodium and salt intake. Most people find it difficult to limit the amount of salt in their cooking, thinking it will affect the taste of their favourite dishes.
This is not true. Bajra and jowar are rich in potassium and critical for those with High Blood Pressure as it lessens the impact of sodium. Eating more Potassium Rich Foods will remove more sodium from your body through urine. So include the basic bajra roti and jowar roti in your daily diet to have with Lower Blood Pressure Subzis Recipes.
5. Befriend a few healthy seeds and nuts like chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts and almonds.
6. Sprouts are called ‘living food’. They are high is most nutrients and easy to digest as well. Let them feature in your meals at least thrice a week. Also Read : All Benefits about Sprouts.
7. Exercise 45 minutes every day. No excuse. You can walk fast, run, do weights, play your favourite sport or go to the gym.
8. Sleep early and get up early. Get your body into rhythm and it will function best. Sleep helps your body to recover.
Jowar Upma is high in
1. Vitamin C : Vitamin C is a great defence against coughs and colds.
Note : a recipe is deemed high in a Vitamin or mineral if it meets 20% and above the recommended daily allowance based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
How to burn 206 calories that come from Jowar Upma?
Walking (6 kmph) = 1 hr 2 mins
Running (11 kmph) = 21 mins
Cycling (30 kmph) = 27 mins
Swimming (2 kmph) = 35 mins
Note: These values are approximate and calorie burning differs in each individual.