Rava Upma

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 under 30 minutes – wholesome, nourishing, and fulfilling. Serve upma with chutney, and filter coffee for a comforting breakfast.

What is ‘Upma’?

Upma is an Indian word for ‘savory porridge.’ It can be prepared with any combination of vegetables, whole-grain, or vermicelli. 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.

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

Even though suji (rava) upma has the addition of ginger, green chili, and curry leaves, you can choose what goes into the upma based on personal liking. 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.

Variations Of Rava (Suji) Upma:

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

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

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

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

What To Serve With Vegetable Upma?

Tips To Make Perfect South Indian Style Rava Upma

Be mindful of the water to be added to the upma. Too much or too little water may yield a mushy or a dry upma

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 mins and then fluff it up using a fork before serving.

For a creamier Upma, half the quantity of water can be substituted 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.

Upma can also be made vegan by using coconut oil or any other plant-based oil (that doesn’t have a distinct flavor) instead of ghee.

Rava Upma Meal Prep:

Apart from chopping vegetables and onion for upma in advance, one can store upma premix as well. For this “instant upma mix,” all you need to do is dry roast semolina and add a tempering of ginger, green chilies, cashews, chana dal, urad dal and curry leaves with spluttered mustard seeds. Add salt to taste, mix well, and let it cool.

This can be stored in the freezer for a couple of months. When in a hurry, all you need to do, boil two parts water, add one part of the upma premix while stirring and serve immediately.

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 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.

More Indian Breakfast Recipes For You:

Peas Paratha

Rava Idli

Potato Bread Roll

Broken Wheat (Dalia) Upma

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Watch Instant Rava Idli Recipe Video: