The Superfood ‘Broken Wheat’ | The best alternate to Rice| Dalia

Broken Wheat or more popularly Dalia is a superfood that I started including in my diet last year. It is also called Lapsi Rava.

I see that with just the name of this superfood, a lot of people make weird faces! But I just feel they don’t like broken wheat or Dalia because they don’t know how to cook it deliciously!

There was a time when I never use to eat broken wheat even once a year but last lockdown while restructuring my diet. I decided to skip rice with broken wheat for a month.

I have various stomach issues due to IBS but rice is like a staple for me. So, just couldn’t imagine my day without rice and one month skipping rice, was a big decision for me. 

But I did and the reason why I could resist my rice cravings was because of broken wheat.

I couldn’t feel the need for rice when I used to eat it. That one month was a ‘explore Dalia period’.

I ate Dalia Upma, Dalia pulao, Dalia fried rice, Dalia khichdi, Dalia, and Dalia for my lunch. And, I used to treat Dalia as my rice. Cooking Dalia just like how we cook steamed rice and eating it along with dal or curry-like how we eat Dal Chawal(Lentil soup and rice). So, that’s maybe a reason why I never missed rice in that period. 

Important Note:

• Rice doubles in quantity when cooked but Broken wheat gets four times its quantity when cooked. So, keep a check on the quantity you are cooking as you cannot eat more than a bowl of Dalia at once.
• And, always dry-roast broken wheat for 3-5 minutes before cooking. It doesn’t make it sticky. 

I get filled while eating it pretty soon as compared to rice. It keeps me full for a long time. 

Of course, I stopped eating Dalia after that because of the changes in my lifestyle.

But yes! Whoever wants to diet or has any bloating or gut issues then, broken wheat is a better option to hop on as per my experience.

During that one month, I didn’t feel any IBS issues. Not Dalia is the only reason for it but yes! It was one of the reasons.

The above image is Dalia Upma. I cooked it as my breakfast yesterday. Because I was facing IBS issues again. So, for few days, Broken Wheat is going to replace my rice.

Just added water when all the onions and tempering gets 70% cooked. When the water starts boiling, add Dalia. Wait till the water is soaked and it gets cooked, that’s it.

Why you should try Dalia or broken Wheat?

• It keeps your stomach full for a longer period.
• Lapsi Rava is very low in fat content and aids in weight loss.
• It helps in gut health and reduces constipation too.
• Broken wheat is a good source of iron, manganese, and fibers. 
• According to research, it reduces the risk of breast cancer.
• Easy to cook, hardly takes 10-15 minutes.
• Like rice, it can be made into a wide range of recipes such as fried rice, biryani, which can be used for dosas, Upma, Idli, and many.
• And, especially if you are rice-lover, but for some reason want to avoid rice may be for weight loss or bloating issues, skip rice to Dalia. 

So, stop making weird faces and hop on to this amazing super meal. It is healthy, nutritional, and easy to cook.