Semiya Upma (Vermicelli Upma) – Stove top + Instant Pot Recipe

Semiya Upma also known as vermicelli upma is a delicious and healthy one pot vegan South Indian breakfast dish. Make it either plain or toss it with your choice of vegetables. Serve it along with coconut chutney, pickle on side and enjoy. Here is how to make semiya upma recipe step by step in three ways – in Instant pot and on stove top with and without boiling the vermicelli.

What is Vermicelli?

Vermicelli is basically a long thin thread like pasta made out of either all purpose flour (maida) or wheat or semolina. Popularly known as Semiya in most part of the southern India. Seviyan is a Hindi name, Shemai in Bengali and shavige is a Kannada name for vermicelli.

The great quality of this vermicelli is that you can transform it into a dish in number of ways. From sweets to savoury dishes to snacks, the vermicelli has the character to mould itself beautifully into any form.

The most famous brand is Bambino vermicelli and now you can see MTR and many other brands as well. Furthermore, both, roasted as well as unroasted ones are widely seen on the aisle of a stores.

You will find various sizes of vermicelli, they are available in thick, thin and even fine form. Fine vermicelli significantly goes into Sheer khurma or Sweet Seviyan. Thick ones goes in payasam, upma, pulao, Khichdi and so on.

Semiya Upma (Vermicelli Upma)

Coming to the today’s vermicelli upma recipe, every household may have slight variations in the recipe, but the outcome is always impeccable. It is easy, tasty and light on stomach.

Semiya upma makes a great meal for school lunch boxes. The best part of this dish is, it take only 15 minutes from start to finish.

This vermicelli recipe is brought together in two ways. One way is without boiling the seviyan, that is directly adding it into the pan and cook.

And, the other way is by boiling the vermicelli first and then tossing it in oil or ghee with rest of the ingredients. I shall also be sharing the step by step method below of how to make semiya upma in an instant pot.

I personally like the to use the roasted vermicelli for this recipe as it reduces an extra step of roasting it in ghee or oil.

The recipe of semiya upma has a basic set of ingredients that is a must to go in. They are onions, chilies, chana and urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Rest of the spices powders are totally ones choice to enhance the flavours.

Very popularly made recipe is with lemon as flavouring agent, hence lemon semiya. But, the addition of choice of vegetables is a great way to make this seviyan upma more nutritious and tasty.

Tips to make best semiya upma recipe at home

Always, roast the vermicelli preferably in ghee before making the dish. However, you can roast it in an oil as well. Roasting gives nice earthy flavour and aroma to the dish.

If you have bought roasted vermicelli from the store, then skip the roasting step and straight away proceed to make the dish.

There are two ways of making semiya upma recipe on stove top. First method is directly adding vermicelli without pre boiling it. And the second method is by boiling the vermicelli separately first. Then, straining the water and then tempering and tossing it. For the first method, the ratio of water to vermicelli that works best is 1 cup of vermicelli to 1.5 cups of water only. Especially, when you prefer the upma to be the perfectly cooked one with each strands of it separated well and not mushy or sticky.

For the instant pot version, always use one cup vermicelli to one 1 cup + 1/4 of water only.  Do not add more water than the mentioned quantity as the upma will turn out extremely sticky or mushy.

You can add any of your choice of vegetables into it. I have used carrot, peas and beans. You can add capsicum, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage or any of your favourites.

 Method 1 – How to make Semiya Upma Step by Step

To begin with, first heat 2 teaspoon of ghee or oil. Once the heats up, add vermicelli and roast until light brown. Take care it doesn’t burn as it tends to brown quickly. Take it out on plate and set it aside. (photo 1)

Heat oil or ghee in same pan or kadhai. Add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. (photo 2)

Then, add chana dal and urad dal and fry for 30 seconds on medium heat. (photo 3)

Add raw peanuts and fry until just golden and aromatic. (photo 4)

Then, add slit green chilies and curry leaves, fry for few seconds. (photo 5)

Add chopped onions and salt, fry until soft and pink. (photo 6)

Then, add chopped carrots, beans and green peas, sauté on high for a minute. (photo 7)

Add turmeric and red chili powder, sauté for a minute. (photo 8)

Now, add 3 cups of water and bring it to boil. (photo 9)

Once water boils well, add lemon juice and roasted vermicelli, mix. Allow the vermicelli to absorb water. (photo 10)

Cover and cook for for 2-3 minutes only. (photo 11)

Add chopped coriander leaves, switch off the heat and leave it undisturbed for couple of minutes. Then fluff up with spoon or fork, dish out and serve with coconut chutney and pickle on the side. (photo 12)

Method 2 -How to Make Semiya Upma

This method calls for boiling the vermicelli separately first and then proceeding with the tossing.

1. First, heat 2 tsp of oil or ghee or oil in a pan or kadhai, Add seviyan and roast until just golden.

2. Then, add enough water and 1 tsp of oil in deep pan and bring it to a boil.

3. Add roasted vermicelli and boil it for 1 minute only or until it is just soft. If it is still not soft, then allow it to boil further for 30 seconds.

4. Immediately, strain the water form the vermicelli using colander. Run cold water once over the strained vermicelli in a colander. Allow the water to strain completely.

5. Now, proceed with the steps from photo 2 to 8 from the method 1.

6. Add boiled and strained vermicelli along with lemon juice and toss well.

7. Lastly, add coriander leaves and mix.

8. Dish out and serve.

How to make Vermicelli Upma in Instant Pot – Step by Step

Switch on the IP and press sauté mode. Heat oil or ghee, add mustard seeds and allow it crackle. (photo 1)

Then, add chana dal and urad dal and fry for 30 seconds. (photo 2)

Add peanuts and fry for a minute until just brown and aromatic. (photo 3)

Now, add curry leaves and green chilies, fry for another 30 seconds. (photo 4)

Add chopped onions, salt and fry until just soft and pink. (photo 5)

Then, add green peas, chopped carrot and sauté for 30 seconds. (photo 6)

Add turmeric powder and red chili powder and saute for few seconds. (photo 7)

Now, add semiya and mix. (photo 8)

Add 2 and 1/2 cup of water, lemon juice and mix. (photo 9)

Immediately, close the IP with valve in sealing position and pressure cook on low for 1 minute only. (photo 10)

Quick release the pressure carefully with valve in venting position. Open the pot and cover it with IP glass lid or any lid that fits into it. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes. (photo 11)

Fluff the semiya upma with fork, add coriander leaves and serve. (photo 12)

Some of the breakfast recipes you may want to try:

Rava upma

Bread Pakora

Mumbai Pav Bhaji

Aloo Tikki

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Semiya Upma Recipe Card

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Semiya Upma

Semiya Upma is a delicious and healthy one pot south Indian breakfast dish made using vermicelli. It is also known as vermicelli upma or seviyan upma. You can make it in instant pot too.

Course Breakfast, Snacks

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Instant Pot Vermicelli Upma, Semiya Upma, Vermicelli Upma

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 5

Calories 473kcal

Author Farrukh Aziz

Ingredients

• 2 cups Vermicelli (Semiya)
• 1 Onion medium sized, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Green Peas
• 1/4 cup Carrot chopped
• 1/4 cup French beans (optional) chopped
• 1/4 cup Raw peanuts or 10-12 Cashew nuts (optional)
• 1-5 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 1.5 tsp Chana dal
• 2-3 Green chillies slit or chopped
• Few curry leaves
• 3/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
• 2 tsp Lemon juice
• 2 tsp Oil or ghee (to roast the vermicelli)
• 2 tbsp Oil or ghee
• 3 cups Water (2.5 cups for Instant Pot version)
• Coriander leaves as needed finely chopped

Instructions

How to make semiya upma recipe on stove top

• Heat 2 teaspoon of ghee or oil. Add vermicelli and roast until light brown.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil or ghee in same pan or kadhai. Add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Add chana dal and urad dal and fry for 30 seconds on medium heat.
• Add raw peanuts (or cahsew nuts) and fry until just golden and aromatic.
• Add slit green chilies and curry leaves, fry for few seconds.
• Add chopped onions and salt, fry until soft and pink.
• Then, add chopped carrots, beans and green peas, sauté on high for a minute.
• Add turmeric and red chili powder, sauté for a minute.
• Now, add 3 cups of water and bring it to boil.
• Once water boils well, add lemon juice and roasted vermicelli, mix. Allow the vermicelli to absorb water.
• Cover and cook on low for 2 minutes only.
• Add chopped coriander leaves, switch off the heat and leave it undisturbed for couple of minutes. Then fluff it up using spoon or a fork. Dish out and serve with coconut chutney and pickle on the side.

How to make vermicelli upma in instant pot

• Switch on the IP and press sauté mode. Heat oil or ghee, add mustard seeds and allow it crackle.
• Add chana dal and urad dal and fry for 30 seconds.
• Add peanuts (or csahew nuts) and fry for a minute until just brown and aromatic.
• Now, add curry leaves and green chilies, fry for another 30 seconds.
• Add chopped onions, salt and fry until just soft and pink.
• Then, add green peas, chopped carrot and sauté for 30 seconds.
• Add turmeric powder and red chili powder and saute for few seconds.
• Now, add semiya and mix.
• Add 2 and 1/2 cup of water, lemon juice and mix.
• Immediately, close the IP with valve in sealing position and pressure cook on low for 1 minute only.
• Quick release the pressure carefully with valve in venting position. Open the pot and cover it with IP glass lid or any lid that fits into it. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
• Fluff the semiya upma with fork, add coriander leaves and serve.

Notes

Always use the ratio of 1 cup vermicelli to 1.5 cups of water for stove top version and 1 cup of vermicelli to 1.25 cup of water for instant pot version.

If you are using thin variety of vermicelli, then reduce the amount of water to 1 cup to 1 cup of vermicelli.

If you are using unroasted vermicelli then do roast the vermicelli in ghee or oil for more earthy flavour and aroma. 

If you are using pre roasted vermicelli then skip the roasting step and proceed with the recipe.

You can skip the nuts if you re allergic to it or do not want to add. Proceed with the rest.

You can add your choice of vegetables in the recipe or simply skip them and make plain lemon semiya upma.

Modify the amount of chillies as per your liking.

Nutrition Facts

Semiya Upma

Amount Per Serving

Calories 473 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 5mg2%

Sodium 232mg10%

Potassium 172mg5%

Carbohydrates 84g28%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 1165IU23%

Vitamin C 8.5mg10%

Calcium 36mg4%

Iron 1.4mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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