# Upma (Cream of Wheat Stir Fry)
> A quick vegetarian stir fry: onion, ginger, carrot and peas are sautéed, then cream of wheat is cooked in boiling water until it swells and pulls away from the pan. The texture is close to couscous, cooked a bit like polenta.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/kid-friendly-recipe-upma/
- Ages: 3+ · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep 15 min, activity 20 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group
- Skills: cooking, healthy-eating, trying-new-foods, measuring
- Cautions: wheat-gluten, dairy

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 cup Cream of wheat
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds (optional)
- 1 piece Onion, medium
- 0.5 inch Fresh ginger, julienned
- 1 piece Carrot, diced
- 0.5 cup Peas
- 1 tbsp Vegetable or canola oil (household)
- 1.5 cup Water (household)
- 1 tsp Salt (household)
- 1 tsp Ghee (clarified butter) (optional)
- 1 piece Pan (household)
- 1 piece Spoon for stirring (household)
- 1 piece Knife and cutting board (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of ghee: Leave it out (The ghee is optional and only adds flavor at the end.)

## Safety
- Adult does all the stove work. Hot oil and spluttering mustard seeds can jump out of the pan, so keep kids well back from the stove.
- Adult handles the boiling water and the hot pan, and does the stirring while the cream of wheat is added.
- Let the upma cool before serving to kids. It holds heat in the middle.
- Contains wheat (cream of wheat). The optional ghee is clarified butter (dairy). Check food allergies before serving.
- Adult does the chopping and julienning with the knife.

## Before you start
- Dice the onion and carrot and julienne the ginger.
- Measure out the cream of wheat, water, peas, oil and salt so they are ready by the stove.

## Steps
1. Adult: heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, if using, and let them splutter.
2. Adult: add the onion, ginger, carrot and peas. Sauté until the onions are translucent.
3. Adult: pour in 1 1/2 cups water and 1 tsp salt and bring it to a rolling boil.
4. Adult: turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the cream of wheat slowly, a little at a time, stirring the whole time to avoid lumps, just like cooking polenta.
5. Keep cooking for about 5 more minutes while the cream of wheat absorbs the liquid and swells.
6. It's done when all the liquid is absorbed and the cream of wheat pulls away from the pan easily.
7. Drizzle a little ghee on top for added flavor, if you like.
8. Let it cool a little before serving to the kids.

## Tips
- The ratio of cream of wheat to water is 1 : 1 1/2. For every cup of cream of wheat, use 1 1/2 cups of water.
- If you would like the dish to be flaky, keep the proportions. If you'd rather have it moist, add another 1/2 cup of water, but never go beyond a 1:2 ratio. Anything higher makes the dish very soggy.
- You can adjust the other ingredients to your preferences.
- Not familiar with cream of wheat? Do give it a try. It is very similar in texture to couscous but cooked in a slightly different way, almost like cooking polenta.
- Kid-friendly vegetarian recipes are hard to come by. To expand your horizons, try other cuisines for vegetarian options. This one is such a staple in my home country that writing it up is like writing a recipe for toast!

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

Kid-friendly vegetarian recipes are hard to come by. To expand your horizons you might want to try other cuisines for vegetarian options. Today's post is a easy to make vegetarian recipe that uses cream of wheat and vegetables. It feels funny to try write a tutorial for this because it is such a staple in my home country. It is like writing a recipe for making toast! However outside of our cuisine, not many people know about this recipe. Getting kids to eat healthy is a challenge these days. Processed foods have made it to every home and sure enough you cannot eliminate it from your diet completely. And truthfully if you have a picky eater on your hand then it changes that equation in a heart beat. I cook for my family everyday and try to use fresh and wholesome ingredients whenever possible. "Upma" /Cream of What stir fry is one such recipe, If you are not familiar with cream of wheat, do give it a try. It is very similar in texture to couscous but cooked in a slightly different way, almost like cooking polenta. Here is what you need:

- 1 cup cream of wheat
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp (optional)
- Onion 1 medium
- Ginger – ½ inch - julienned
- Carrot – 1 diced
- Peas – ½ cup
- Vegetable/Canola oil – 1 tbsp
- Water 1 1/2 cups
- Ghee ( Clarified butter) 1 tsp – optional
- Salt to taste

Take oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, allow them to splutter. Add onions, ginger, carrots and peas and sauté till onions are translucent. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, 1 tsp salt and bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cream of wheat slowly, a little at a time and keep stirring to avoid lumps. Just like you would cook polenta. The cream of wheat will absorb all the liquid and swell. Cook for another 5 minutes approx. Once all the liquid is absorbed and the cream of wheat easily pulls away from the pan you are done. Drizzle a little ghee for added flavor.

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### Cooks Note:

The ratio of cream of wheat to water is 1 : 1 1/2. For every cup of cream of wheat it is 1 1/2 cups of water. You can adjust the other ingredients to your preferences. If you would like the dish to be flaky keep the proportions. If you rather have it moist add another 1/2 cup of water taking take care to never go beyond a 1:2 ratio. Any thing higher makes the dish very soggy.