Uggani is a traditional South Indian savoury dish made with puffed rice. It’s a naturally vegan and gluten free dish that gets ready in 15 minutes.
Typically, it is basic ingredients like onions, green chilies, curry leaves, peanuts, and spices like turmeric and mustard seeds. The puffed rice is stir-fried with these seasoned ingredients and garnished with roasted gram dal powder and coriander leaves.
This dish is especially popular in North Karnataka and some parts of Andhra Pradesh, where it’s a favourite teatime snack often served alongside mirchi bajji at tea stalls and street side eateries. The soft, light puffed rice balances beautifully against crisp spicy bajjis.
Other Names For Uggani
Uggani goes by several regional names depending on where you are
- Puffed rice upma or borugula upma
- Mandakki susla, oggarane or churumuri usli
- Murmura upma or pori upma
Notes On Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Spices: Mustard seeds, cumin seeds and turmeric powder.
- Vegetables: Onion, tomato, green chillies, lime, coriander, curry leaves and fresh coconut.
- Nuts and Rice: Peanuts and puffed rice.
- Liquid: Any cooking oil for tadka and water to soak puffed rice.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to make uggani?
(As always, I recommend watching the recipe video and checking out these step-by-step instructions first. Then you can find the full recipe with the exact measurements in the recipe card below!)
Chop the onions, green chilies, and gather all the ingredients together.
Place roasted gram dal in a mixer grinder jar and grind it to a powder.
Transfer the roasted gram dal powder into a bowl.
Place the chopped coconut in the same jar and grind it coarsely. Transfer the ground coconut into a bowl.
Soak puffed rice in water for a couple of minutes and then drain water.
Squeeze puffed rice to remove the excess water and place it in a bowl.
Heat oil in a large steel pan or kadai. Add mustard seeds and cumin and let them splutter.
Then add peanuts and sauté until they are lightly roasted.
Now add green chillies, curry leaves and saute for a minute
Add chopped onions and sauté until they turn translucent.
Then add tomatoes and cook until they start to soften.
Add turmeric powder and salt to the mixture. Mix well to ensure the spices coat the ingredients evenly.
Add the soaked puffed rice to the pan.
Mix everything gently and thoroughly so that the spices and tempering coat the puffed rice evenly.
Cook for a few minutes on low heat to allow the flavours to blend.
Now switch the heat off.
Finally add chopped fresh coriander leaves, lime juice, freshly ground coconut and roasted gram powder, and mix well.
Serve uggani with bajji, pickle or podi.
Check out bhel puri, puffed rice vegetable salad and mint murmura chivda recipes made with puffed rice on the blog.
Substitutions and Variations
Vegetables: You can add grated carrots, peas and cabbage for added flavour and nutrition.
Spices: Adjust the spice level to your liking by reducing or increasing the number of green chillies.
Nuts: Peanuts are a common addition, but you can use cashews for a different taste and flavour.
Tempering: The tempering or tadka (using mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, etc.) is what gives uggani its distinctive flavour. Experiment with variations like adding urad dal or chana dal for different tastes.
Coconut: I have used fresh coconut, but you can use frozen grated coconut instead of fresh. But ensure to thaw it before adding in uggani.
Serving Suggestions
Chutneys: Uggani can be accompanied by chutneys or pickles like coconut chutney, peanut chutney, spicy ginger chutney or tomato pachadi.
As a Base: Use it as a base and add toppings like sev, chopped veggies and a dollop of yogurt to transform it into a chaat-style dish.
With Tea or Coffee: Enjoy uggani with a hot cup of chai, rose milk tea or coffee.
Party Snack: Uggani can also be served as a part of a snack platter or at parties. You can arrange it alongside other snacks like cabbage pakoda, vegetable pakora, or bajji.
Storage
Fridge: Transfer the leftover uggani to an airtight container and place it in the fridge. Ensure the container is dry and clean before adding the uggani. Try to consume the stored uggani within a day or two for the best taste and texture.
Tips and Tricks
Puffed Rice Preparation: Squeeze out as much water as possible from puffed rice before combining it with onion tomato mixture.
Vegetable Preparation: Ensure the onion is finely diced for quick cooking. Sauté them along with the tempering just until they’re tender yet retain a bit of crunch. Do not brown the onions.
Garnishes: Finishing touches matter! Add lime juice, gram dal powder and coconut right before serving to enhance the taste and freshness.
Serve Fresh: Uggani tastes best when served immediately. If you’re making it ahead, store the puffed rice separately from the garnishes and onion-tomato mixture. Soak puffed rice, heat onion and tomato mixture and then combine soaked puffed rice, garnishes and lime juice just before serving to maintain the freshness.
Grated Coconut: I’ve used a mixer jar to simplify the process and save time. You could use a hand grater to grate the coconut if you do not have a mixer grinder.
FAQ
Uggani and poha are two distinct dishes, although they share some similarities in the process of cooking, ingredients used and they both use rice as a primary ingredient.
While both dishes use rice as a base and involve tempering spices, they differ in the type of rice used. Puffed rice is used in uggani whereas flattened rice is used in poha.
Puffed rice and flattened rice, while both derived from rice grains, undergo different processes, resulting in distinct textures and uses.
Puffed rice is made by heating rice kernels under high pressure until they pop. This process expands the rice grains resulting in a light, airy texture. It’s lighter and crunchier compared to flattened rice.
Whereas Flattened rice is made by parboiling rice and then flattening the grains to produce thin, flat, dry flakes. These flakes are then dried to varying thicknesses. Flattened rice comes in different thicknesses—thin, medium, or thick.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you try this popular south Indian breakfast uggani. (puffed rice upma). If you like this recipe kindly consider rating it using stars in the comment section or on the recipe card to help more people find this recipe online. You can stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribing to my Youtube channel. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get simple recipes straight to your inbox?
Uggani (Puffed Rice Upma)
Equipment
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Mixer Grinder
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 160 gms (or) 8 Cups Puffed Rice
- 15 gms (or) 1 Tablespoon Roasted Gram Dal
- ¼ Cup Fresh Coconut chopped
- 1.5 Tablespoons Oil
- ½ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 35 gms Peanuts
- Handful Curry Leaves
- 4 Green Chillies slit
- 135 gms Onion finely chopped
- 100 gms Tomato chopped
- ½ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- Salt as required
- 6 Cups Water to soak
- Handful Fresh Coriander Leaves chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice adjust to taste
Instructions
- Chop the onions, green chilies, and gather all the ingredients together.Place roasted gram dal in a mixer grinder jar and grind it to a powder.Transfer the roasted gram dal powder into a bowl.15 gms (or) 1 Tablespoon Roasted Gram Dal
- Place the chopped coconut in the same jar and grind it coarsely. Transfer the ground coconut into a bowl.¼ Cup Fresh Coconut
- Soak puffed rice in water for a couple of minutes and then drain water. Squeeze puffed rice to remove the excess water and place it in a seperate bowl.160 gms (or) 8 Cups Puffed Rice, 6 Cups Water
- Heat oil in a large pan or kadai. Add mustard seeds and cumin and let them splutter. Then add peanuts and sauté until they are lightly roasted.1.5 Tablespoons Oil, ½ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds, ½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds, 35 gms Peanuts
- Now add green chillies, curry leaves and saute for a minute.4 Green Chillies, Handful Curry Leaves
- Add chopped onions and sauté until they turn translucent.135 gms Onion
- Then add tomatoes and cook until they start to soften.100 gms Tomato
- Add turmeric powder and salt to the mixture. Mix well to ensure the spices coat the ingredients evenly.½ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder, Salt
- Add the soaked puffed rice to the pan. Mix everything gently and thoroughly so that the spices and tempering coat the puffed rice evenly. Cook for a few minutes on low heat to allow the flavours to blend.160 gms (or) 8 Cups Puffed Rice
- Finally add chopped fresh coriander leaves, lime juice, freshly ground coconut and roasted gram powder, and mix well.Handful Fresh Coriander Leaves, 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
- Serve uggani hot with lemon wedges on the side for an extra tangy flavour.
Notes
Nutrition
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