Aval Upma Recipe | How to make Aval Upma

Aval Upma Recipe – Recipe for making Tamil style aval upma made with potatoes and onion. Perfect and easy breakfast upma variety that can be made quickly for the busy mornings. Tasty home style Recipe with step by step images / pictures and step by step YouTube video. 

Aval upma is one of my all time happy breakfasts that I do at-least once a week. Aval Upma and a hot cup of south Indian filter coffee is all you need to start your day with a big high. I make it sometimes for dinner too! Its my kind of breakfast for dinner recipes. Its also a favorite for both my boys at home. Aval (Beaten rice) is one of my favorite ingredients. Its so versatile and so quick and easy to cook. I used to make this and pack it up during our travel and it tastes so good to eat on the road. There is something about the crunchy peanuts and fried potatoes for breakfast. Do try it at home and enjoy!

Click the link below to find the recipes on the site that uses the main ingredient as aval. Aval is called as Poha in North India.
Aval – Poha – Avalakki Recipes
Here are some of the equipment, utensils and gadgets that will be useful for making this recipe. Click the link to buy them online.
Thick aval
Big Peanuts
Turmeric powder
Triply Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid
Lemon Juicer

Click the link below to view the YouTube video of how to make Aval Upma Tamil style at home.

Here is the step by step pictures and explanation of how to make quick and easy aval upma at home with peanuts, potatoes and onions.

Prep Work for making Aval Upma
Wash and soak the thick aval variety. soak at room temperature in regular water for a minute. Drain the water and set aside. Do not soak the aval for a long time as it will become soggy and thick like a porridge. So be careful and make sure to drain the aval after just a minute. The aval will become puffy after a while. Do this the first thing so our aval is puffed up and ready to add after we cook the veggies and masala for the aval upma. I use this particular brand of aval available in the market and I really like it.
Note: There are two types of aval available in the market. The thick variety and the thin variety. The thin variety is used for making snacks like the south Indian mixture / chivda etc… and the thick variety is used for cooking and making upma. Use only the thick variety. The thin variety will not work in this recipe and will immediately turn into a mush once soaked in water. ( I have used thin variety during my early marriage days and I still remember spoiling the breakfast. So do not be like me. Use the correct aval )

Lets make easy Tamil style Aval Upma
Heat refined peanut oil in a pan. If you do not have peanut oil, any vegetable oil can be used for making this aval upma recipe. When the oil is hot, add in the peanuts and roast on a low flame for 2-3 minutes. Remove the peanuts and set aside on a plate to cool. I like to add the roasted peanuts at last just before serving so it adds a nice crunch to the upma.

In the same oil, add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, finely minced ginger and finely chopped curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds crackle. The one thing I do wherever possible is to chop the curry leaves as fine as possible so everyone at the table eats it and doesn’t get discarded. Curry leaves are very rich in fiber and very good for health. By finely chopping it, no one even realizes it and its my way of sneaking healthy ingredients into the dishes I cook for my family.

Add in the finely chopped onions and the salt. Saute onions until the onions are soft.

Once the onions are soft, add in the turmeric powder and asafoetida.

Add in the green chillies. I like to finely chop the green chillies so a big chilli doesn’t end up on the plate while having aval upma and its really tasty to have roasted green chillies in the aval upma. Fry for a few seconds. Add in the finely chopped potatoes and peas. I like to finely chop the potatoes while making aval upma as it cooks evenly, cooks faster and roasts better. Add in a teaspoon of sugar too to balance out the flavour. Sugar is optional. If you do not want to add sugar, its ok.

Close the pan with a lid and cook covered on a low flame for about 5-6 minutes. If you have added little bigger chopped pieces of potatoes while making aval upma, it can take longer time to cook. Sprinkle little water if you think the bottom of the pan is starting to scorch.

Once the potatoes are soft, add in the drained aval. Add in the lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mix well. Cover the pan with the lid and cook for a minute to heat up the aval. Immediately switch off the flame. Mix the aval upma well and serve hot.

Aval upma is one of my all time happy breakfasts that I do at-least once a week. I make it sometimes for dinner too! Its my kind of breakfast for dinner recipes. Do try the aval upma at home and enjoy!

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