Semiya Upma Recipe (Vermicelli Upma)

Semiya Upma also known as Vermicelli Upma, is a popular South Indian breakfast made with wheat vermicelli, spices, vegetables, curry leaves, lentils and cashews or peanuts. It is a super quick one-pan dish that you can whip up under 25 minutes. It is usually eaten with coconut chutney, peanut podi or seasoned yogurt (tempered curd).

Though it is a breakfast staple, it can be eaten for light dinner with a side of yogurt, pickle and a salad or roast veggies. Semiya Upma also goes well in office and school lunch box. In this post I share how to make non-sticky fluffy Vermicelli Upma 2 ways – classic version without vegetables and with vegetables.

About Semiya Upma

The name comes from the South Indian word Semiya which means vermicelli and Upma is a South Indian breakfast dish made with semolina and tempering spices and curry leaves. While there are numerous upma variations using poha, sabudana, oats, quinoa & millets, this version replaces the traditional ingredient semolina/rava with wheat vermicelli.

Semiya is one of the pantry ingredients in the Indian households and is often used to make various dishes. Some of the popular dishes made with it are Semiya Payasam (sweet vermicelli milk pudding), Meethi Seviyan (no milk vermicelli pudding) and Sheer Khurma (dates vermicelli dessert).

How to choose Vermicelli

You may be surprised to see the Asian grocery stores sell numerous kinds of vermicelli made with different grains. Indian stores usually have rice, wheat, ragi and other kinds of millet semiya. You will look for thick wheat vermicelli, preferably from an Indian brand.

Vermicelli from other Asian countries may not be suitable to make this dish. I use the Bambino or MTR vermicelli as the results are consistent with these brands. Indian wheat semiya is available in roasted and unroasted varieties.

The unroasted kind requires roasting them prior to cooking. To save roasting time you may buy roasted vermicelli and skip the roasting part mentioned in the recipe. However the flavor of pre-roasted semiya is nutty and is completely different.

It is very important to use the right amount of water to avoid a mushy semiya upma. Using the right amount of liquid makes it fluffy, non-sticky and beautiful.

For a quick 25 mins meal, make this dish without any veggies or use frozen veggies as chopping fresh vegetables takes some time. On occasions we have the vegetable semiya upma for a dinner with a spicy seasoned yogurt which I have shared below.

Vegetables like carrots, peas and young green beans go well in this. My mom would usually add a parboiled potato to this. But do not add the raw potato as it takes time to cook.

More breakfast recipes
Soft Idli
Crispy Dosa
Masala dosa
Puffed Poori

Photo Guide

How to make Semiya Upma (Stepwise Photos)

Roasting vermicelli & peanuts

1. Skip this step if using roasted semiya. Dry roast 1 cup vermicelli (110 grams) on a low to medium flame stirring often until light & slightly golden. Do not brown the vermicelli as the flavor alters. Transfer this to a plate.

2. Pour ½ tablespoon oil to a hot pan. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons peanuts. On a medium heat, roast them until golden and crunchy. Remove to a plate and set aside for garnishing.

Tempering

3. Pour 1 tablespoon oil to the hot pan or pot. Add

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon chana dal (skinned bengal gram)
• 1 teaspoon urad dal (skinned, split black dal)

4. Fry all the ingredients until the lentils become golden. Then add 8 to 10 cashew nuts (optional). Saute until all of the lentils become deep golden but not burnt.

5. Then add 1 sprig curry leaves, 1 slit or chopped green chilies and 3 to 4 tbsps chopped onions. (1 small onion)

6. Saute until the onions turn golden or transparent. The add a pinch of hing and 1 teaspoon fine chopped ginger. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds until the ginger turns aromatic.

7. Pour 1½ cups water and add ½ teaspoon salt. Start with 1/3 teaspoon and add more if required. Stir very well and taste test the water after which you can adjust the salt and spice (green chili). The water has to be slightly salty.

Tip: If using thin vermicelli 1 ¼ cup water would be sufficient.

8. Bring the water to a rapid boil on a high heat. Then add all of the vermicelli at one time. I have used store bought roasted vermicelli here.

9. Mix very well. Cook uncovered on a medium heat until the water is completely absorbed and the semiya is cooked through.

10. Cover and turn off the heat. Keep the pot covered for at least 5 to 6 minutes. This step is important and makes your semiya upma fluffy. Sprinkle some coriander leaves and fresh grated coconut if you want.

Troubleshooting

I do not add any extra water. But if your semiya is undercooked, bring 1/4 cup water to a rolling boil in a small pan and sprinkle little by little water and cook. The quantity of water I have mentioned works well with both MTR and Bambino.

Garnish semiya upma with roasted peanuts. Squeeze some lemon juice if you like and serve with peanut podi.

Photo Guide

How To Make Vermicelli Upma With Vegetables

1. Roast the vermicelli if required. Set aside. For this recipe you will require 110 grams. Pour half tablespoon oil to a pan and roast the peanuts on a medium heat until golden and crunchy. Remove to a plate and set aside for garnish.

3. To the same pan, pour 1 tablespoon oil and add –

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon urad dal
• 1 teaspoon chana dal

4. Fry until the dal turns lightly golden. Add –

• 1 pinch hing
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• ½ teaspoon chopped ginger(optional)
• 1 chopped green chili.

5. Add 1 small sliced onion and saute until transparent. Optional – You can also skip the vegetables. Add ¾ cup mixed vegetables – carrots, peas and french beans. Ensure the veggies are fine chopped otherwise they won’t cook fast. I sprinkle little salt so the veggies release moisture and cook easily.

6. Cover and cook on a low flame till they turn tender and almost cooked. If they don’t cook well, then sprinkle little water and cook.

7. Add salt and pour 1½ cups water. Stir and taste test the water. It has to be slightly salty. If using thin vermicelli 1 ¼ cup water would be sufficient.

8. Bring it to a rolling boil on a high flame.

9. Add the roasted vermicelli. Stir well to prevent lumps.

10. Cook on a medium high flame till all the water is absorbed. By then the semiya should be cooked well. (Troubleshooting tip: If the semiya does not cook well then boil little hot water and pour it here. Read tips below.)

11. Cover and cook on a low flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off and rest for 5 minutes.

When the temperature comes down a bit, sprinkle lemon juice and add coriander leaves. Mix and garnish with roasted peanuts or cashews. Serve it hot with peanut podi.

This is the semiya upma I made without veggies. It turns out good even without veggies.

Pro Tips

1. There are 2 kinds of semiya in the market – roasted & unroasted. If using preroasted vermicelli, you don’t need to roast them again. Otherwise you have to roast them following my step 1 otherwise the dish will turn mushy and sticky.

2. The quantity of water to use differs for thick and thin variety vermicelli. I use the thicker bambino semiya which takes 1½ cups water for every cup of semiya. If using thin semiya then it would only need 1¼ cups.

3. Semiya upma is always made with wheat vermicelli and not with rice vermicelli. If using rice vermicelli, then boil them following the instructions on the pack. Drain them and then just do the tempering without adding water. Then just mix the precooked vermicelli there. Cover and cook for 1 to 2 mins.

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