Upma Recipe

Upma is a traditional South Indian breakfast dish made from roasted semolina or cream of wheat (called rava or suji locally), cooked with tempered mustard seeds, cumin seeds, lentils, curry leaves, onion, ginger, green chilies, creating a soft, savory, and lightly spiced dish often enjoyed with Coconut Chutney or lemon pickle. The Upma recipe I share here is adapted from my mom’s recipe and continues to be a favorite in my home. The ingredients used to flavor the rava upma (also called suji ka upma) give it a deliciously satisfying taste that will make this dish one of your new preferred go-to breakfasts.

About Upma Recipe

Upma is a flavorful, tasty, savory and popular South Indian breakfast that is made with cream of wheat or semolina flour (called rava or suji), a few lentils, nuts, vegetables, herbs and spices.

This traditional dish involves cooking roasted rava in hot boiling water that has been flavored by ghee (or oil), cashews, urad dal (white lentils), chana dal (husked and split bengal gram), onion, ginger and additional herbs and spices. Sugar can be added for a mildly sweet and savory dish.

This steaming hot breakfast dish can be made vegan by using oil instead of ghee. Full of warmth, flavor and deliciousness, this upma tastes so good. So why not take a break from that boring oatmeal and try something new? You can’t lose!

The main ingredient in any upma recipe is rava. Also called ‘suji’ or ‘sooji‘ in Hindi and ‘cream of wheat’ or ‘semolina’ in English, it is simply granulated wheat. Thus this breakfast food is known as Suji ka Upma in North India.

What really makes an upma recipe special are all the fried and sautéed ingredients that are used for tempering. These ingredients can vary depending on the recipe, but usually include some sweet, savory and nutty flavors.

Upma is a traditional breakfast served in restaurants throughout South India, including Maharashtra.

It is also a common breakfast prepared in South Indian homes. In fact, upma was a regular breakfast or evening snack in my house while growing up.

What is Rava

Rava is coarsely ground wheat to a fine or semi-fine texture. It is not floury but has a fine grainy texture. Rava is also called cream of wheat or farina or semolina flour in English.

To make upma, use the finer textured rava. You can also use the rava variety sold as Bombay rava in the Indian market.

Pro Tip To Make Upma Quicker

This warm, homemade breakfast can be made relatively quickly, especially with this one easy tip. In the step-by-step photo guide below, you will see the first few steps of roasting the rava (cream of wheat).

This can easily be done ahead of time and I actually recommend roasting your rava and keeping it in an air-tight container right after purchase. This will help it stay good longer and prevent it from becoming moldy or spoiled. 

Having your rava already roasted means this hot breakfast of upma recipe can be prepared in only 15 to 20 minutes. Roasted rava can also be used in a variety of other recipes, including Rava Cheela and Rava Pongal.

If you enjoy rava-based dishes, you can also try Rava Kesari – a vibrant South Indian sweet; and the North Indian Suji Halwa, known as Sheera in Western India. Both are made with semolina and often prepared during festivals or special occasions.

How to make Upma Recipe

Prep and Roast Rava

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)

2. Heat a pan or kadai first. Add 1 cup rava or cream of wheat (fine variety).

3. Begin to roast the rava. Stir often while roasting the rava.

4. The rava or sooji grains should become fragrant and start to look dry, separate and crisp. Don’t brown the rava.

5. Once the rava becomes fragrant and starts to look dry and crisp, switch off the flame and put the roasted rava on a plate and set aside.

Fry and Sauté Spices, Nuts & Aromatics

6. In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or oil. You could use sunflower oil or peanut oil or safflower oil or any neutral tasting oil.

7. Lower the heat. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds. When you hear the crackling sound of mustard seeds, it means they are getting fried.

8. Now add the following ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split bengal gram)
• 1 teaspoon urad dal (husked and split black gram)

9. Stirring often fry until the chana dal and urad dal begin to brown a bit.

10. Immediately add 10 to 12 cashews and begin to fry on a low to medium-low heat.

11. By the time the cashews get golden the dals should also be golden.

12. Now add the ⅓ cup of finely chopped onions.

13. Sauté the onions until they soften and become translucent on a low to medium-low heat.

14. Then add 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger and 8 to 10 curry leaves.

You can also add 1 dried red chilli (halved and with seeds removed) at this step.

15. Mix well and sauté for a few seconds.

Boil Water

16. Then add 2.5 cups water to this mixture.

17. Add salt as required. Mix well and check the taste of water. It should be a bit salty but not too much.

In case if the salt becomes less in the dish, you can always sprinkle some salt from the top when eating.

18. Then add ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar.

Sugar is optional and you can skip it. We prefer a slight sweet taste in the upma and hence we add it.

19. Stir again. On a medium to high flame, heat the water and let it come to a rolling boiling.

Make Rava Upma

20. When the water comes to a rolling boil, lower the flame to its lowest. Then add the rava in 4 to 5 batches with a spoon.

21. Once you add the first batch of rava, stir and mix immediately so that the roasted rava gets mixed evenly with the water.

22. Then add the next batch of rava. Mix and stir again very well ensuring that the batch of rava is mixed evenly in water.

23. Continue to add and stir the rava up to the last batch.

24. Quickly stir and mix very well. The rava grains will absorb water, swell and get cooked.

25. Cover and allow the rava upma to steam for 2 to 3 minutes on a low heat.

26. Then turn off the heat. In the below photo, the rava is cooked well and the suji ka upma is ready.

27. Lastly add about 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro). You can add more coriander leaves if you like.

28. Mix again.

30. Serve upma hot or warm with slices of lemon or a side of lemon pickle or coconut chutney.

You can opt to drizzle half to one teaspoon of Ghee while serving. If you like you can garnish with some coriander leaves.

I also sprinkle some Sev (fried gram flour vermicelli) on upma while serving. Though this is not the way upma is traditionally served, the folks at home prefer this Mumbai style. You can also serve it with Idli Podi.

If you like, pair rava upma with classic Indian hot beverages like Masala Chai or Filter Coffee.

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. Roasting rava perfectly and evenly prevents stickiness resulting in a soft fluffy texture.
• 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. Remember that the water has to be hot.
• 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, depending on the texture and quality of rava.
• Variations: There are many delicious ways to customize upma. You can make Tomato Upma, Vegetable Upma, or even use ragi rava for a healthier twist. In Karnataka, upma is known as Khara Bath and is often served with Kesari Bath as part of a popular breakfast combo called Chow Chow Bath.
• 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 could also lightly add a bit of ghee on it. 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.

FAQs

More Questions Answered

Can I skip green chillies?
Yes, you can. Some crushed black pepper can be added in place of green chillies. 

Can I add peanuts?
Yes, you can add peanuts. Fry or roast the peanuts separately and then add as a topping or garnish on the upma while serving.

Can I add tomatoes?
You can add tomatoes. Add them when the onions soften. Then sauté until the tomatoes soften. 

How to make ragi rava upma?
Roast both the rava and ragi flour separately. Follow this recipe. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the rava and ragi.

Depending on the amount of ragi and rava added you will need to increase the water quantity. Do roast ragi really well as undercooked ragi can cause stomach aches.

What is urad dal and chana dal and what are their english names?
Chana dal is called Bengal gram in English. These are black chickpea lentils. Urad dal are called as black lentils or white lentils.

They are shaped like mung beans except that the husk is black in color and the lentils are in white color. The other name for it is vigna mungo or black matpe beans.

Upma recipe from the archives was first published on August 2009.