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You are here: Home / Breakfast / Idli Upma Recipe | Upma Recipe with Leftover Idlis

Idli Upma Recipe | Upma Recipe with Leftover Idlis

November 24, 2015 28 Comments

Idli Upma with Leftover Idlis

Amma makes idlis in bulk and stores them away. We also have dosa batter at home, dosa is our staple food, much like rotis are to those of you who have it every night or almost every night. For us, it’s dosa. Idli was initially meant to be made only the day after the batter was made but later on, amma started making idlis with more than half the batter and storing them away.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

We kids are not fans of idlis. So when we visit, she tries to make things more interesting by either making us some other kind of breakfast like appam or puttu or idiyappam, or we have idli upma. Simple, mild, and a delicious breakfast with hot filter coffee or cardamom tea.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

These series of pictures are from my mom’s kitchen, at her old yet gleaming stove near the window that lets in gorgeous golden light through the day. If I say anything more, I am going to get terribly homesick so on to the Idli Upma recipe!

Idli Upma

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4-6 people
Recipe source: amma

Ingredients:
15-20 idlis
2 onions, sliced thin
5-6 dry red chillies, halved
2 stalks of curry leaves
3 tbsp of oil
1 tbsp of channa dal / kadala paruppu
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
Salt of to taste
1/4 cup of grated coconut (optional)

How It’s Made:

1. Crumble the idlis fine. Actually you can decide how fine or chunky you want it to be, amma does it quite fine. It also helps if the idlis are a bit cold, crumbles easier.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

2. Keep your red chillies, curry leaves and onions ready.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

3. Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the channa dal.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

Fry until they turn golden brown – about a minute. This gives out a nice flavour to the idli upma.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

4. Add the chillies…

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

… and onions.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

5. Fry until the onions turn a golden brown. Throw in the curry leaves and salt. Be careful with the salt, since the idlis are already salted. Mix well.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

6. Add the crumbled idlis…

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

… and mix well to combine everything. Keep flame at medium-low at all times, or the idlis will start to fry. We need to maintain its softness at all times.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

7. Sprinkle the grated coconut on top (if using)…

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

… and mix again well to combine.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

All done! Serve hot with sambar and chutney. We normally just have it with some sugar or leftover pulusu / kozhambu from the day before.

Idli Upma Recipe ~ Recipes with Leftovers

Simple and delicious!

Notes – if you feel like the idli upma is turning dry, sprinkle some water as you mix it. Don’t add too much though. Also, be generous with the oil and always keep flame at low-medium.

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By nags Filed Under: Breakfast, Tamil Recipes, Uncategorized

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Comments

  1. Shaila

    October 19, 2016 at 7:14 am

    Which wet grinder to use for idli dosa, my premier grinder is useless , takes too long like 1 hr,

    Reply
    • nags

      October 24, 2016 at 10:43 am

      I use a Premier grinder and like it. Takes about 15-20 mins for the urad dal and another 20 mins for the rice to grind. you can also use a strong mixie-grinder or blender for the job if that’s what you prefer but wet grinder is the best

      Reply
  2. Parvathy Chandrasekaran

    April 9, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    My MIL soak idlis in warm water.. squeeze and crumble. this keep the idlis to remain soft and easy to crumble it. and she adds idli milagai podi with it…
    I love the pics…:) especially the onion frying is excellent.
    keep up the good work 🙂

    Parvathy
    http://parusamayal.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  3. AJITHA RAGHAVAN

    January 28, 2013 at 6:41 pm

    missing my home..:( definetly want 2 try this when reach back home in india…keep up the gud work…its really 2 see the step by step process even u have shown the colour 2 which the dhal has to be fried…gud job 🙂

    Reply
  4. Shiana Agarwal

    July 30, 2012 at 6:29 am

    Heaven in a few simple bites
    saadepunjab.com

    Reply
  5. Kavitha Bhargav

    July 6, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    Let me try with coconut next time. According to me adding green chilly will give nice flavor…

    Reply
  6. Anu Nandu

    June 30, 2012 at 7:06 pm

    Love the picture of the onions frying. And this is always a great dish and yes, I like mine too with sugar! Don't I like anything with sugar? My sis grates cold idlis and makes upma with that – the texture is different but really good too!

    Reply
  7. Vanamala Hebbar

    June 28, 2012 at 2:58 pm

    Love the recipe..nice

    Reply
  8. Dr.Sameena

    June 28, 2012 at 6:18 am

    Love idli uppuma..have it often…:)yummy…:)

    Reply
  9. Sag

    June 27, 2012 at 10:51 pm

    My mom prepares exactly same way. We just top it with some lemon juice and no coconut.

    Reply
  10. Tharisi

    June 28, 2012 at 4:56 am

    When I was younger I always had upma with lots of fried potatoes and fried egg plants! Never thought of making it with idli. Thanks for the new idea.

    Reply
  11. ramya anand

    June 28, 2012 at 12:07 am

    I usually make extra idlis for idli upma..love it!

    Reply
  12. Anonymous

    June 27, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    I love idli upma and am not so fond of idlis too! Mom would add dosai molagapodi for a nice spicy/salty/tangy touch.

    Reply
  13. jeyashrisuresh

    June 27, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    Wow it has been ages since i made this idli upma which is my fav one.Love your version

    Reply
  14. Jingalala

    June 27, 2012 at 1:20 pm

    Hi Nags,
    Love Love Love! My Appa loves Idli upma and yeah we used to have them with sugar and red chutney. We never used to add coconut, will try when I do this next time. We also add urad dal and green chilly along with the other items while tempering. At times we also soak the idli in water for a minute or so before crumbling them. Thanks Nags! This post reminded me of my happy days at home.

    Reply
  15. Priya

    June 27, 2012 at 12:12 pm

    My fav anytime.

    Reply
  16. APARNARAJESHKUMAR

    June 27, 2012 at 5:57 am

    could have added idly millagai podi 🙂 more taste 🙂

    Reply
  17. Arch

    June 27, 2012 at 5:43 am

    This is so new! Sounds awesome with coconuts! I will eat it as is 🙂

    Reply
  18. Aishwarya

    June 27, 2012 at 5:30 am

    Hi Nags, Do you store the idli in the fridge / do you freeze them?? how long do they stay??

    Cheers
    Aish

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      June 27, 2012 at 6:00 am

      you can store it in the chiller for up to a week and freeze it to up to a month.

      Reply
    • Aishwarya

      June 27, 2012 at 3:58 pm

      Thanks. Gorgeous pics of a simple dish. we always make extra idlies just because we have a quick and wholesome option for breakfast the next day :-). Your blog has become my go-to reference.Have been trying out a lot of your recipies.

      Cheers
      Aish

      Reply
  19. chinmayie @ love food eat

    June 27, 2012 at 5:25 am

    I make this very very often. My husbands favorite!

    Reply
  20. Anisha Ranjit

    June 27, 2012 at 5:04 am

    Wow that's a great idea…though we all love idli once in a while idli upma can do us good.

    Reply
  21. Sangeetha Nambi

    June 27, 2012 at 4:41 am

    Love this instant recipe any time…

    http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com

    Reply
  22. Tina

    June 27, 2012 at 12:34 pm

    Its my fav..Looks delicious..

    Reply
  23. Divya Kudua

    June 27, 2012 at 4:08 am

    I had idli upma for breakfast today!!Can identify so much with the bulk idli factor.Whenever I make dosa batter,the first thing I make is idli and then store it in the fridge.It takes shape into idli fry(just slice the idli into two and shallow roast on a dosa tawa with coconut oil till crisp on both sides)and idli upma and there's variety on the dining table too!

    Reply
  24. Black Swan

    June 27, 2012 at 4:41 am

    Lovely recipe for people like me who try to think of simple things to cook for one person! Idly upma makes me terribly homesick too

    Reply
  25. Sharmilee! :)

    June 27, 2012 at 3:14 am

    I love the way the idli is crumbled…looks beautiful in ur pics 🙂 This is my fav anytime esp for evening snack.

    Reply

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I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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