Upma Recipe | Rava Upma

Upma (Rava Upma) is a delicious and easy Indian breakfast dish made from semolina and veggies. This nutritious and filling savory porridge is ready min 30 mins and perfect with a side of chai or coffee. 

Here is how to make that perfect fluffy Rava Upma recipe with step by step pics.

Rava Upma is one of my favorite Indian breakfast recipe along with Poha and bread upma.

Growing up these were a staple and would be on repeat every single week since we all loved it!!

My kids call this the savory version of their favorite halwa, Rava Sheera (Sooji ka Halwa), a sweet semolina pudding.

What is Upma

Upma is a classic Maharashtrian and South Indian breakfast dish made with roasted semolina and veggies.

Semolina is known as Rava in South India and suji (sooji) in North and hence this upma is also known as Rava Upma or Suji upma.

Upma is a very easy, healthy, nutritious, and filling dish and can be made in less than 30 mins making it a popular breakfast choice in many Indian homes as well as restaurants.  

This thick savory porridge is delicious as is but often paired with coconut chutney and chai or filter coffee.

Upma can also be made from other ingredients like bread, oats, poppa, vermicelli, etc but today's recipe is upma from rava (suji).

How to make Upma recipe

Sooji Upma is really easy to make and quick too yet it can be tricky to get the perfect texture just like Sabudana Khichdi. The perfect upma will be nice and fluffy and not sticky.

To make upma start by dry roasting the semolina until it is fragrant and crunchy. This step is crucial for that perfect upma and can be done ahead of time.

Next make a tempering of onions, curry leaves, chana dal, urad dal and spices.

Veggies like carrots, green peas, and potatoes can be added to boost the nutritional value of this dish.

Add sufficient hot water and get everything to a rolling boil slowly mix in the roasted rava (on low heat) stirring continuously until mixed. Cover and cook until it's soft and fluffy. Upma is ready!!

Step by Step Method

1 - Dry roast the semolina (rava) for 5-10 mins on medium-low heat stirring intermittently until fragrant and crunchy. Do not brown it.

2 - Remove it into a clean dry bowl or plate. Keep aside.

3 - Simultaneously in a separate saucepan (fastens cooking process) add water along with the green peas and salt and bring it to a boil. The peas will cook while the water boils. Alternately, you can also cook them with onions and potatoes below.

4 - Once the water has boiled turn off the heat. Add sugar to the water and keep it aside.

5 - In the same pan (as we roasted semolina), heat ghee (or oil) and once hot add the mustard seeds (rai).

6 - Once the seeds splutter, add the cumin seeds, urad dal, and chana dal. Saute for a couple of seconds till they slightly change color and turn brown but not burn.

7 - Add the curry leaves. Saute for a minute. At this point, you can also add split cashews or peanuts and saute until golden. I haven't added them.

8 - Stir in the onions, salt and cook till they turn translucent. Add ginger and green chillies and cook for another 30 seconds.  

9 - Now add the potatoes (you can also add other veggies) to this and cover and cook till potatoes are almost done. 

10 - Add the hot boiling water with peas into the onions and potatoes (carefully). Let everything come to a rolling boil (this will be quick since already boiled the water before).

11 & 12 - Stir in the cilantro leaves (leaving a few for garnishing) along with lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Give it a good mix. 

13 - Lower the heat to low and then slowly add the roasted semolina in a slow stream with one hand and keep stirring continuously with the other hand. This helps incorporate the rava nicely into the water and makes a lump-free upma.

14 & 15 - Break lumps if any and keep mixing continuously till all the water has been absorbed by the semolina (happens really quick). Be careful since it could splatter.

15 - Cover and let it cook on medium to low heat for 5-7 mins.

16 - Open the lid give it a mix again and let it cook for another 5 mins or until done. Voila!!! Soft, fluffy Rava Upma is ready.

Serving suggestion

Serve upma warm! I like to garnish it with some sev (chickpea flour noodles), cilantro leaves, and grated coconut (optional).

Upma can be served on it own or with with side of chutney, pickle and chai or coffee and makes a great breakfast option and even as an easy dinner option when you want to switch things up.

Variations

Upma can be made with or without vegetables and is highly versatile.

My Mom usually adds green peas and sometimes potatoes to her upma and that's the way I've shown in this post. But here are a few other ways to make it

Tomato upma - After the onions are soft, add 2 medium tomatoes chopped and cook until they turn soft and mushy. The rest of the recipe remains the same.

In addition you can also add some turmeric (¼ tsp) after onions are cooked for that yellow color upma.

Vegetable upma - Where we have added potatoes and peas to this recipe you can also add more veggies like carrots, bell pepper, french beans. These really go well with upma and increase the nutritional value.

Recipe Tips

Rava variety - Use a good quality, regular or fine variety of rava for upma. Roasted rava is also available in many stores and can be used. 

Roasting Rava: Roasting gives it a wonderful nutty flavor and the key to a good, fluffy, and non-sticky upma. Do not skip this step. Makes sure to roast on medium-low heat as high heat can burn and brown the rava quickly spoiling the taste and color.

Rava and water ratio - Depending on the amount of water used you upma can be dry, just right, or soft (porridge-like consistency). 

If you prefer soft, thick porridge consistency upma, especially if you are making rava upma for babies, small kids, add to more water. Follow a ratio of rava to the water of 1:3.5 or 1:4. 

For a fluffy and non sticky upma, follow a ratio of rava to water of 1:21/2 

Adding Rava to water - It is important to add rava to boiling water, in slow stream and mixing until the water is completely absorbed for that lump free upma. 

Fats - Don’t skimp on ghee or oil while making Upma, it's another important ingredient for non-sticky upma. Ghee really enhances the flavor so if you don’t want to use all ghee, use a mix of both ghee and oil. Skip ghee to keep this recipe vegan. 

For Restaurant-style upma - use Chana dal (bengal gram) and urad dal (skinned split black lentils) as they impart a nice nutty flavor, curry leaves, and cilantro for that. fresh flavor and color, sugar and lemon juice, to balance the flavors. Cashews and peanuts can also be added.

Time-Saving hacks

Upma is really quick to make but to quicken the process even further these are the few things my mom does and now I do it too:

• Roast semolina in bulk and store that way you can use it as is and save on roasting time. 
• Use store-bought roasted rava - I still roast it again but it will cut downtime significantly like you just have to roast for 2-3 mins.
• Boil water separately as the rava is roasting and the onion and potatoes/veggies are cooking. 

Frequently Asked Questions

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Hope you enjoy this yummy rava upma recipe!! If you give this recipe a try, please rate by clicking stars ⭐️ in the recipe card. Thank you ❤️ ! You can also follow me on Facebook | Instagram to see what’s cooking in my kitchen!!