How to cook broken wheat (dalia): water ratio and cooking time

Dalia needs no soaking and no long boil: ten to fifteen minutes of simmering in three cups of water per cup of dalia, or two to three whistles in a pressure cooker, leaves the grain soft with a little bite. Upma starts with a dry roast, khichdi cooks the dalia with the dal in the cooker, and porridge simmers in water or milk. A katori of cooked dalia is made from 40 g of raw dalia, so a small katori for one person scales straight up for a family.

1. Measure. Use one cup of dalia for three to four people, a single katori for one.
2. Pick the water. Three cups for upma and for plain soft dalia; the milk porridge and the khichdi each take four cups, the khichdi's extra cup for the dal.
3. Roast or not. For upma, dry-roast the dalia on low heat, stirring, until it smells toasty, about four minutes. For khichdi and porridge, skip the roast and go straight to the pot.
4. Cook. Stovetop: bring the water to a boil, stir in the dalia, cover and simmer on low; ten to fifteen minutes for porridge, twelve to fifteen for plain dalia. Pressure cooker: two whistles on medium, then leave it shut until the pressure falls by itself.
5. Rest and fluff. Off the heat, leave the pot covered five minutes, then fluff with a fork. The grain should be soft with a slight bite; if water remains, drain it, and if it is dry and hard, stir in a splash of hot water and cook a minute more.

Soaking is optional at every step: fifteen to thirty minutes shortens the simmer by a few minutes, and overnight soaking is unnecessary because the grain is already cracked. The exact ratio and whistle count for each dish is what the recipes pin down: dalia khichdi fixes the khichdi numbers, and dalia upma walks through the thirty-minute version.

The ratios below are for one cup of dry dalia on a home stove; pressure-cooker times are for a medium flame, and the grain is done when a piece crushes softly between two fingers.

Why the spread: upma takes three cups because the roasted grain stays separate; the milk porridge takes four cups so it stays spoonable; khichdi's fourth cup feeds the dal, and the rest step finishes the cooking. For the sweet porridge with milk and jaggery or its savoury vegetable variation, the dalia porridge recipe gives the full quantities.

• Too little water. Dry, hard grains that stick to the pot: add half a cup of hot water and simmer a few minutes more.
• Too much water. An extra cup turns khichdi into soup; cook off the extra water uncovered for a minute or two.
• Skipping the roast in upma. Unroasted dalia can turn sticky in upma; the four minutes on low heat help the grains stay separate.
• Opening the cooker at full pressure to stir. Let the pressure drop on its own after the whistles, or the khichdi stays wet and the dal half-cooked.
• Cooking porridge too fast. Milk boils over at a hard boil; keep the flame low and stir now and then.
• Soaking overnight for no reason. Overnight-soaked dalia goes soft and needs less water than the recipe states; if you soaked it, drain and cut the water by a quarter cup.

Dry dalia is a shelf food: store it sealed, in a cool dry cupboard away from moisture, and it keeps for months; smell it before cooking if the pack has been open a while. Once cooked, dalia follows the same rule as other cooked grains: cool it within an hour or two, keep it in the fridge and finish it within two days, or freeze what is left (UK Food Standards Agency). Reheat it with a splash of water so the grain does not dry out. The grain itself, from names to nutrition, is covered on the broken wheat hub page.

Should dalia be soaked overnight?

No. Broken wheat is already cracked, so it cooks in ten to fifteen minutes without a soak. A short soak of fifteen to thirty minutes takes a few minutes off the simmer, and that is all the soaking it ever needs; overnight soaking only makes it soft, so cut the water slightly if you do.

Can dalia be soaked overnight?

Yes. Cover the dalia with cold water, leave it overnight in a cool corner (or the fridge in summer), drain before cooking, and use a little less water than the recipe states. It is not necessary, because cracked wheat cooks quickly anyway, but nothing is spoilt by the soak.

How long does it take to cook dalia?

Ten to fifteen minutes of simmering on the stove, or two to three whistles in a pressure cooker, plus a few minutes of rest. Upma, with its dry-roast first, takes about thirty minutes end to end. The grain is done when a piece crushes softly between two fingers.

Does broken wheat expire?

Dry dalia keeps for months when it is stored sealed in a cool, dry cupboard; smell it before use if the pack has been open a while and throw it out if it smells musty. Once cooked, it belongs in the fridge and is best eaten within two days, per UK Food Standards Agency advice, or frozen.

How dalia is made?

Dalia is whole wheat grain cracked into small pieces, which is why the English name is broken wheat. Unlike bulgur, it is not parboiled before cracking. The wheat stays whole, only cracked, so it cooks in ten to fifteen minutes.

What is the dalia water ratio?

Three cups of water per cup of dry dalia for plain dalia and upma, four for khichdi; the milk porridge takes two and a half cups of milk with one and a half cups of water. One katori of cooked dalia comes from 40 g of raw dalia, so scale the ratio up or down by the same measure.