South Indian Rava Upma Recipe

Rava Upma is a vegetarian South Indian breakfast prepared with semolina (rava) and fresh vegetables. It is a thick, savory porridge, that can be made in under 30 minutes – wholesome, nourishing, and fulfilling. Serve upma with coconut chutney, and filter coffee for a comforting breakfast.

What is ‘Upma’?

Upma is an Indian word for ‘savory porridge.’ It can be made with a combination of different vegetables, whole-grains, or vermicelli.

Rava Upma is a staple breakfast across South India. There are many varieties of upma in South Indian cuisine.

Adding seasonal vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, carrots, beans, peas or even sweet corn lends a great taste to the traditional South Indian rava upma.

You can pack in a lot of vegetables (almost the same quantity as the semolina) to increase the fiber content of the upma.

The addition of peanuts and cashews can even boost your protein intake. One can also use good fat such as coconut oil or ghee to prepare the upma.

Recipe Variations

Plain Upma – with only aromatics such as ginger, curry leaves, onions, and green chilies

Masala Upma – with onion and tomatoes and a bit of sambar powder or any other kind of masala

Tomato Upma – adding tomatoes and leaving out the onions to give the upma a tangy spin (Jain-friendly).

Vegetable Upma – with addition of carrots, peas, beans etc.

Semiya Upma – adding roasted semiya (vermicelli) instead of semolina for a change in textures.

Rava Upma Meal Prep

Upma Premix: For the “instant upma mix,” all you need to do is dry roast semolina till light golden in color. Transfer to a bowl to cool down.

Heat a teaspoon of ghee/coconut oil, add black mustard seeds; once they splutter, add ginger, green chilies, cashews, chana dal, urad dal, and curry leaves. Fry for 1 – 2 minutes. Add salt to taste, mix well, and add it to the roasted rava (suji). Mix nicely and allow to cool down.

Store this dry upma premix in the freezer for a couple of months.

When in a hurry, all you need to do, boil two parts of water, add one part of the upma premix, stir continuously, once suji (rava) is cooked and thick, serve rava upma.

My Tried & True Tips

Be mindful of the water to be added to the upma. I follow a ratio of ½ cup rava to 1 ½ cup water.

Add semolina only after the water comes to a boil. Stir constantly in a circular motion while adding the semolina to avoid the formation of lumps.

After the addition of semolina, cook the upma covered on low heat. Once cooked, give it a resting time of 5 minutes and then fluff it up using a fork before serving.

For a creamier rava upma, substitute half the quantity of water with milk or curd.

If you want the upma to be richer you can roast the semolina in ghee, and garnish it with ghee-roasted cashew nuts.

For a vegan rava upma, use coconut oil or any other plant-based oil (that doesn’t have a distinct flavor) instead of ghee.

Step 1) First, dry roast semolina over medium heat in a heavy bottom pan for 5 – 6 minutes. Stir continuously at regular intervals while roasting. Transfer to a plate and set aside till required. If you are using readymade roasted semolina then skip this step.

Step 2) Heat oil in the wok or kadhai over medium flame. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, peanuts, curry leaves, asafoetida, and fry for 1 – 2 minutes. The colors of lentils and peanuts will change to light brown.

Step 3) Next, add sliced cashews, grated ginger, green chili, and fry for 1 – 2 minutes or till cashews turn light golden in color. Add the chopped onion and fry for 3 – 5 minutes or till the onion starts turning translucent.

Step 4) Add peas, salt, crushed pepper, and stir to combine. Next, add water, stir to combine, and increase the flame to high. Let the water start boiling. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Step 5) Slowly add the roasted semolina with a steady flow and stir continuously from the other hand in a circular motion to avoid any lumps. Keep stirring until semolina absorbs all the water.

Cover the wok with a lid and cook over low heat for 3 – 5 minutes.

Step 6) After 3 – 5 minutes, turn off the heat. Open the lid and fluff the upma using a fork. Drizzle a teaspoon of ghee and garnish with chopped coriander.

Serving Suggestion

In South India, the rava upma is served with a variety of side dishes such as coconut chutney, green chutney, or vegetable sambar.

You can serve suji upma as a breakfast or teatime snack. It is a fantastic dish for a kid’s lunchboxes as well.

More South Indian Breakfast Recipes

• Rava Idli
• Medu Vada
• Instant Rava Paniyaram
• Karnataka Maddur Vada
• Karnataka Style Khara Bhath

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