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aval upma served in a black bowl placed on a wooden plate and then on a black plate
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5 from 1 vote

Thengai Aval | South Indian Aval Upma with Coconut

Thengai Aval | Aval Upma - Quick, easy, and delicious South Indian style upma recipe with flattened rice or beaten rice with a hint of coconut.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: South Indian
Keyword: aval upma, thengai aval
Servings: 5
Calories: 250kcal
Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

  • Sauce pan or kadai

Ingredients

Measurement Details - 1 cup:240ml;1tbsp:15ml;1tsp:5ml;

  • 1.5 cups flattened rice aval/poha
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp urad dal dal
  • 1 green chili chopped
  • 5 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
  • ⅓ cup coconut grated. If using frozen, thaw it to room temperature.

Instructions

  • Wash the flattened rice thoroughly and drain the water. Now sprinkle ½ cup of water and let it sit for 8 to 10 minutes. A minimum of 5 minutes is sufficient.
  • After around 5 minutes, you can start the tempering/seasoning process.
  • Heat a pan or kadai and add the coconut oil.
  • When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, and chopped green chili. Let the mustard seeds splutter and then add the curry leaves—Fry for 30 seconds.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low. Now add the flattened rice. (flattened rice would have absorbed all the water that you sprinkled by now) Add the salt and gently mix—yet another critical thing in getting non-mushy and grainy aval poha. Do not mix so hard.
  • Immediately add the coconut and gently mix. And turn off the heat.
  • That's it. Aval upma is ready. Serve warm with sugar or pickle.

Notes

  • Adjust the green chilies and salt according to your taste preference.
  • You can use white poha as well, but make sure to use the thick variety.
  • I did not include any nuts. You can roast some peanuts or walnut or blanched almonds as well. Roast it first until it turns crunchy then start the tempering process.
  • Coconut oil adds a nice flavor to this recipe, so I highly recommend it.
  • You can add some soaked moong dal to this recipe, as I mentioned barnyard millet flakes upma.
  • You can add up to ½ cup of coconut for this aval measure.
    Tips for getting perfect aval upma-
  • Do not soak the poha. Wash and sprinkle water. Let it sit for 5 minutes and at the maximum 10 minutes but not more than that.
  • Do not overmix the poha also mix it very gently. After adding poha, you don't need to cook for a longer time. Three minutes of cooking time is more than sufficient.

Nutrition

Calories: 250kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 499mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 38IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg