Vermicelli Upma Recipe Semiya Upma Fun Food Frolic

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

What is ‘vermicelli’?

Vermicelli is a thin, long thread-style noodle or pasta. In the Indian sub-continent, it is known as ‘semiyan’, ‘seviyan’, or ‘semiya’. It is commonly used to make sweets, kheer, and snacks like spring rolls or stir fry noodles. These vermicelli noodles are often made with various flours like all-purpose flour, wheat, ragi, or semolina. The Indian variety of vermicelli noodles is approximately one inch long, or you can say they are bite-size, unlike the Southeast Asian style vermicelli noodles.

About Semiya Upma

Semiya Upma is an Indian breakfast made with vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and spices. It perfectly qualifies all the criteria of a quick and easy Indian breakfast. I am sharing a South Indian-style, wholesome, and tasty upma recipe. With each season, the ingredients of my vermicelli upma also keep changing. During the winter, it is loaded with bright and shiny vegetables – green peas, carrots, and beans. We like to keep it simple with onion and potatoes during hot summer days.
My favourite is lemon semiya upma with only peanuts, cashews, a lot of lemon juice, and fresh coriander. Plain and refreshing!

Meal-Prep Tips For Upma

These two meal prep tips always work for me:

possible vegan and gluten-free easy to pack for lunchbox packed with vegetables highly customizable meal-prep friendly

You can clean, chop, mix, and store all the vegetables for the upma in an airtight container at the beginning of the week or a day before. Usually, I boil the vermicelli noodles the previous night or the day before. Toss boiled noodles gently in a teaspoon of cooking oil and store them in the refrigerator.

Last minute, all you need to do is cook the upma. A hearty breakfast is on the table in under 30 minutes.

Watch Semiya Upma Video

Serving Suggestion

You can serve vermicelli upma as a breakfast or a teatime snack. The green mint chutney or the traditional coconut chutney tastes best with the upma. You can pack it for the office or school lunchbox as well. It is easy to carry around, store, and reheat.