Rava Upma

Upma, uppumavu, or uppittu is a dish originating from the Indian subcontinent, most common in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtrian, and Sri Lankan Tamil breakfast, cooked as a thick porridge from dry-roasted semolina or coarse rice flour. Various seasonings and/ vegetables are often added during the cooking, depending on individual preferences.

Recipe

 * 1) Prep the ingredients first to make upma recipe. Take 1 cup rava (fine variety) and set it aside. Next gather the aromatics, lentils, nuts, spices and herbs ready. You will need:


 * ⅓ cup finely chopped onions
 * 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies
 * 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
 * 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro)
 * 8 to 10 curry leaves
 * 10 to 12 cashews
 * 1 teaspoon chana dal (hulled and split bengal gram)
 * 1 teaspoon urad dal (hulled and split black gram)

Expert Tips

 * Roasting rava: For an even roasting or toasting of rava, you need to stir rava often on a low or medium-low heat of the pan. See for signs of color change and the rava granules looking separate, crisp with a nice toasted aroma.
 * Adding rava in batches: Always add rava to the hot water in batches. After adding each batch mix the rava evenly with the water. This ensures that your upma will turn smooth and soft.
 * Fats: Upma recipe can be made with both ghee (clarified butter) or oil. With ghee the suji ka upma tastes better though. You can even drizzle a bit of ghee when serving upma. I also on occasions make upma with coconut oil. You can use oils like sunflower oil or safflower oil or peanut oil or any neutral tasting oil.
 * Rava and water proportion: For a softer rava upma, you can use the proportion of 1:2.5 or 3 for rava and water respectively. Which means that for 1 cup of fine rava you can add 2.5 to 3 cups water.
 * Variations: There are a few variations, you can make like tomato upma recipe or vegetable upma or even ragi rava upma. I have listed them in the FAQs section below.
 * Serving suggestions: Upma is best served piping hot or warm. Like me, you can top it up with some sev or bhujia with a drizzle of lemon juice. You can even serve suji ka upma with coconut chutney or lemon pickle or idli podi.
 * Scaling and storing: You can easily halve or double this recipe. Leftover rava upma can be refrigerated for a couple of days. You can even freeze it. While reheating, sprinkle some water and reheat the upma in a pan.