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Home » Instant Pot Recipes » Instant Pot Quinoa Upma

Instant Pot Quinoa Upma

Published: Jun 30, 2020

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Quinoa Upma is a nutritious, protein packed dish made with quinoa, vegetables, curry leaves and green chili.

This recipe is similar to the traditional Upma made in India, just replaced semolina with quinoa.

Sharing the easy method of making the quinoa vegetable upma in the instant pot. This upma is vegan and gluten free!

quinoa upma served with peanut chutney in a white bowl and water on the side

I always have a pack of quinoa at home, I usually mix it with rice and cook it. But also like to make Indian dishes with quinoa as the main ingredient. Some of our favorite Indian quinoa recipes are upma, lemon rice, pulao and khichdi.

This Instant Pot Quinoa Upma

  • is a whole some protein packed dish
  • is vegan and gluten free
  • can be easily made in the instant pot
  • can served for breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Instructions:

rinsed quinoa, sauteed cashew, mustard, green chily and onion in the instant pot

1 – Add quinoa in a large bowl and add plenty of water. Wash them thoroughly by rubbing with your hand. Repeat this step about 3 times. This will helps remove any bitterness from the quinoa. Using a strainer drain all the water.

2 – Press the saute button on your instant pot and add oil. When the oil is hot add the cashew and saute till light brown. Remove and set a side.

3- Now add mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the urad dal, cumin seeds and curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds or until the dal turns light brown.

4 – Add the sliced onion, ginger and green chili, cook for 2 to 3 minutes till onion turn light brown.

veggies and quinoa, water added to the instant pot and cooked

5 – Add the mixed veggies and tomato paste (optional) and coat them with the oil.

6 – Add the rinsed quinoa and salt. Mix well.

7 – Cancel the saute mode, add water and give a nice mix making sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pan. Check for salt and adjust.

8 – Press the manual or pressure cooker mode and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes..You will observe that the upma is little wet, let it rest for few minutes, the upma will absorb the excess moisture.

But if you still feel the upma is still wet, just saute for couple of minutes to remove the excess moisture.

Add fresh coriander leaves and fried cashew and serve the Quinoa Upma with peanut chutney or ginger pickle.

f you are looking for more quinoa recipes, then do try my Quinoa Brown rice Veggie Cutlets and Instant Pot Lemon Quinoa.

quinoa upma served in abowl topped with cashew and coriander and peanut chutney on the side.

Few Variations-

  • Quinoa can be replaced with millets or semolina.
  • To add some more protein, you can add lima beans, edamame or chickpeas.
  • Don’t have mustard seeds or urad dal, you can skip it and add some toasted peanuts for crunch.

More easy Instant Pot Recipes –

Instant Pot Paneer Butter Masala

Insant Pot Vegetable Pulao

Instant Pot Cashew Curry

If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to give a star rating below. For more recipes and to see what’s cooking in my kitchen, follow me on  Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

quinoa upma served in abowl topped with cashew and coriander and peanut chutney on the side.

Instant Pot Quinoa Upma

Different spin on a traditional upma made with Quinoa.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, lunch
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 3
Author: Madhavi

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup mixed vegetables ( green beans, peas, carrot, corn)
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 2 green chili, finely chopped or to taste
  • 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
  • 1.5 tsp tomato paste ( optional) or use 1 small tomato
  • 1.5 tbsp oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp urad dal
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tbsp cashew
  • 12 curry leaves
  • 1.5 cups water (if cooking in instant pot) use 2 cups water for stove top method
  • salt to taste
  • freshly chopped coriander leaves
  • lemon juice to taste

Instructions

Rinse & Drain the quinoa-

  • Add quinoa in a large bowl and add plenty of water. Wash them thoroughly by rubbing with your hand. Repeat this step about 3 times. This will helps remove any bitterness from the quinoa. Using a strainer drain all the water.

Cooking in the Instant Pot –

  • Press the saute button on your instant pot and add oil. When the oil is hot add the cashew and saute till light brown. Remove and set a side.
  • Now add mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the urad dal, cumin seeds and curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds or until the dal turns light brown.
  •  Add the sliced onion, ginger and green chili, cook for 2 to 3 minutes till onion turn light brown.
  • Add the mixed veggies and tomato paste (optional) and coat them with the oil. Add the rinsed quinoa and salt. Mix well.
  • Cancel the saute mode, add water and give a nice mix making sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pan. Check for salt and adjust.
  • Press the manual or pressure cooker mode and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes..You will observe that the upma is little wet, let it rest for few minutes, the upma will absorb the excess moisture.
  • But if you still feel the upma is still wet, just saute for couple of minutes to remove the excess moisture.
  • Add fresh coriander leaves, lemon juice and fried cashew. Serve the Quinoa Upma with peanut chutney or ginger pickle.

Cooking on Stove Top –

  • Heat oil in the pan and add the cashew. Fry it light brown, remove and set a side.
  • Add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Now add the urad dal, cumin seed and curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds or until the dal turns light brown.
  •  Add the sliced onion, ginger and green chili, cook for five minutes till onion turn light brown.
  • If using tomato add it now and cook till mushy. You can also add tomato paste if your prefer. Adding tomato or tomato paste is optional.
  • Add the mixed veggies and cook for a minute. Add the rinsed quinoa and salt. Mix well.
  • Add 2 cups of water, mix it well and cook on medium flame till all the water is absorbed. Cover the pan while cooking the upma.
  • It's done when there is no water and quinoa is cooked and looks fluffy.
  • Set a side for ten minutes.
  • Finally add some lemon juice, fried cashew and coriander leaves. Serve the quinoa upma with chutney or pickle.

Notes

After cooking the upma in the instant pot, you may feel the upma is still wet. Let it rest for few minutes before eating. The quinoa will dry up as it cools. If we add less water it tastes fine immediately but will dry up after sometime. 
Adding tomato paste is totally optional, I add it because it binds everything together and makes it more tasty.
If skipping the tomato paste, reduce the cooking time to three minutes.
The amount of water can vary depending on the type of quinoa used. If you feel the quinoa is wet, cook for couple more minutes on low flame.
If the upma is too dry, sprinkle some water and simmer for 5 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes before enjoying. 
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @MadhusEverydayIndian or tag #MadhusEverydayIndian!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristi

    August 01, 2021 at 10:24 pm

    5 stars
    I’m making this right now and I can’t wait to actually eat it. It smells divine! I know I should wait and report back but I can tell already from the aroma this is going to be a hit!! Planning to make it again with other veggies in the future- just have carrots on hand right now but will try with peas or potatoes or Swiss chard or some combo next time!

    Reply
    • Madhavi

      August 02, 2021 at 11:55 am

      Thank you Kristi. Hope you enjoyed the upma. Also I love the idea of adding the chard, will try next time.

      Reply
      • Kristi

        August 11, 2021 at 6:25 pm

        5 stars
        It was so good I made it again the next day! And the following day I made your oats pongal because I’d run out of quinoa (another amazing recipe, thank you!!)

      • Madhavi

        August 11, 2021 at 11:13 pm

        Thank you for the update Kristi. I am so happy you enjoyed both the recipes.

  2. Sujatha

    July 01, 2020 at 6:13 am

    5 stars
    Tried the recipe. It came out nicely and taste is good.

    Reply

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Hello there, I am Madhavi, welcome to my blog! I share vegetarian, dairy and egg recipes from India and around the world. Hope you enjoy my recipes and Happy Browsing!

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