Rava upma recipe | Suji ka upma | Suji upma recipe | How to make rava upma

Rava upma recipe aka suji ka upma is a healthy and delicious south Indian breakfast or snack recipe which is immensely popular all over India, especially in south India and Maharashtra. It is a super easy breakfast recipe which hardly takes 20 minutes to come to plates. Any south Indian restaurant or tiffin centre’s breakfast recipe is incomplete without it. In this preparation, roasted rava is simmered with some specific spices, herbs, nuts and veggies. Suji ka upma recipe is mostly relished with coconut chutney, pickles or podi and with a cup of filter coffee.

About the recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Rava Upma (step wise photos)
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Upma is basically a savoury porridge prepared with roasted rava, veggies, spices, nuts and herbs. Rava is known by many other names as sooji, suji, semolina etc. It is a south Indian staple breakfast recipe which is prepared in almost every house of south India. Upma recipe is prepared in different ways using different combinations of ingredients in different areas. But few basic flavouring ingredients always remain same. The different preparations of the recipe are known by different names like uppeet, uppuma, uppumavu etc.

Upma recipe is mostly served as a comforting breakfast with some chutneys like coconut chutney or peanut chutney and filter coffee but it is also served with few other combinations.

Sometimes rava upma recipe is served with a portion of rava kesari bath and this combination is popularly known as chow chow bath in Karnataka.

I am a huge fan of south Indian food and always try different dishes of this cuisine. Upma, dosa, idli, uttapam etc. have occupied the top places of my list of favourites. When I was working in Bengaluru, I always used to go to a south Indian restaurant for breakfast and order rava upma recipe at least twice a week. I think at that period I got addicted towards it and its soothing flavour.

Apart from south India, I have seen crazy demand of suji ka upma in Maharashtra too. After my marriage when I shifted to Pune, I have seen lots of street food vendors to sell only upma, idli and few varieties of chutneys in the morning for breakfast. Initially, I got surprised to see the heavy demand of south Indian breakfast in north but later I have realised that rava upma has become one of the staple breakfasts in Maharashtra as well.

Honestly, though rava upma recipe aka suji ka upma is a super-duper easy breakfast recipe but for me, only after couple of attempts, it guided towards the perfection of the dish. On my first attempt, it was soggy and on my second attempt, it was dry. After lot of permutation and combination, I finally reached towards the exact flavour, texture and taste of the dish which reminded me the days of Bengaluru. For the perfect result, you just need to know few tips and tricks which I have included in the method section.

Rava upma recipe aka suji ka upma is an extraordinarily easy recipe and the difficulty level of preparing this dish is very low. In short, it is a perfect vegetarian breakfast recipe for a novice or beginner. It requires all the common ingredients which are regularly used in south Indian culinary, and each ingredient is easily available in any Indian grocery store. The best part of the recipe is that it can be prepared in larger quantity without putting any extra effort or spending extra time.

Rava upma recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. Before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about the recipe.

Always use coarse semolina for rava upma recipe which is also known as Bombay rava. Fine semolina turns it to a sticky pudding like texture rather than fluffy. Now a days roasted semolina is easily available in supermarket. You can directly use the roasted semolina too for upma recipe and skip the part of dry roasting semolina from the recipe.

It is one of the most frequently asked questions and most of the people get confused at this step. I always use 1: 2.5 ration of water for the suji ka upma. It means for 1 cup of semolina, use 2.5 cups of water. The proportion of suji and water is the most important part of the recipe. The complete texture of the dish completely depends on it. Addition of excess water makes the texture of upma sticky.

You can add own choice of vegetables in upma recipe. In this recipe, I have used only onion like the basic upma recipe. But you can add carrots, beans, peas, bell peppers too to make the dish more nutrient and healthier.

The answer is NO for the traditional recipe because it is cooked in ghee (clarified butter) but it can be made vegan by skipping ghee. Instead of ghee you can use any flavourless oil like vegetable oil, soya oil, sunflower oil for the recipe. But I must say addition of ghee makes the rava upma recipe more delicious and gives a nice flavour as well.

Upma turns sticky mainly due to two reasons.

1. The rava does not get roasted properly.
2. The addition of excess water as compared to the rava is another common reason for sticky upma.
3. Other than these two major reasons, if water does not get boiled properly before adding the rava, it may make the upma sticky.

Rava upma is high in carb and protein. It could be a healthy addition to your breakfast diet. But be careful with the portions of it to be consumed. Don’t add too much in your regular diet.

In south Indian restaurants and tiffin centres, ground spices, tomatoes and lots of vegetables are added unlike a traditional rava upma recipe which is also popularly known as khara bath.

Instant upma mix is a very handy and useful mix which cuts out the cooking time to 6-7 minutes from 18-20 minutes. You just need to bring the water to boil and need to incorporate the mix with some salt and simmer it in low flame for few minutes.

To prepare the instant upma, mix add oil into a pan and prepare the tempering then add rava and roast it till crunchy. Skip onion, ginger and green chillies from the recipe completely. Instead of ginger, add little bit of dry ginger powder, dry red chilli flakes. In fact, I would suggest you use dehydrated curry leaves rather than fresh curry leaves. Try to cut all the elements which has got moisture for the longer life of the instant upma mix. Make a completely dry moisture free mix.

After roasting the rava, spread the mix on a plate and allow it to cool down completely. Then transfer the mix either in an airtight container or in a zip lock bag. In this way, you can store the instant upma mix for 14-15 days. Keep the container in a cool and dry place away from sunlight. You can even refrigerate the instant upma mix for 6-7 weeks.

• Always use coarse rava (Semolina) which is also known as Bombay rava for the best result of upma recipe. It is also known as granulated wheat. But don’t use fine semolina for the recipe.
• Always dry roast the rava aka semolina before cooking upma. It resists the upma to turn soggy. Dry roasting the semolina lightly makes sure it does not turn golden.
• Allow the water to boil completely before adding the rava (semolina).
• Add the rava (semolina) in small batches and stir continuously or else lumps may occur.
• Don’t skip nuts. It induces nice flavour to the dish and gives a nice bite as well.
• Cover the pan and cook it in lowest flame at final stage for some time or else the rava (semolina) won’t get cooked properly. Don’t skip this part after mixing the rava in seasoned water.

To prepare the rava upma recipe, first dry roast the rava (semolina) slightly in a dry pan for 2-3 minutes over medium-to-medium high flame and stir continuously. But don’t overdo the process or else the rava will become golden in colour and it will not taste good. Transfer the rava on a separate plate and keep it aside.

You can even dry roast the rava before and allow it to cool down completely before storing. Then keep it in a dry airtight container for further use. Later, you can directly add it for upma and can skip the roasting part.

In the same pan, add oil, some ghee and allow it to melt. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal for tempering and fry them on medium flame till the urad dal turns pinkish. Then add cashew nuts and fry them for few seconds. Add asafoetida (Hing), curry leaves and mix them nicely.

Add finely chopped onion and fry them over medium flame for another 5 minutes till translucent. Then add finely chopped ginger, chopped green chillies and give a quick mix. Cook them in low flame for another couple of minutes until the raw smell goes away.

Add measured amount of water into the pan and give a stir. Add salt, sugar and mix it. Cover the pan and put the flame in high until the water boils completely.

Then put the flame on low and add the roasted rava in 3 batches into the boiled water and mix it continuously. Don’t add the complete rava once at a time. At this step, you need to be quick or else lumps may occur.

Cover the pan and cook it in lowest flame for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped coriander leaves and give a nice mix and then switch off the flame. Cover the pan and don’t disturb it for another 5 minutes.

Then fluff the suji ka upma with the help of a fork. Add lemon juice at this stage and mix it properly.

Many vegetarian breakfast recipe Indian have already been shared in my previous posts. You may like few of them like

Kanda poha
Methi paratha
Sabudana ki khichdi

..And Many more…

• 1 cup Semolina (Rava or Sooji)
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
• 1-2 green Chillies, finely chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons Coriander leaves, chopped
• ½ Lemon
• 12-15 Cashew nuts
• 1 teaspoon Urad dal
• 1 teaspoon Chana dal
• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing)
• 10-12 Curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1½ teaspoon Salt, add according to taste
• 2½ cups Water
• 1 tablespoon clarified Butter (Ghee)
• 1 tablespoon Oil

1. Put a pan on flame and let it become completely dry. Then add 1 cup rava (semolina) into the pan and dry roast it slightly for 2-3 minutes over medium-to-medium high flame. Stir continuously but don’t overdo the process or else the rava will become golden in colour and it will not taste good.
2. Transfer the rava on a separate plate or else it will get over roasted during the time of sitting into the hot pan. Keep it aside.
3. In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon ghee and allow it to melt.
4. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon urad dal, 1 teaspoon chana dal for tempering and fry them on medium flame till the urad dal turn pinkish.
5. Add 12-15 cashew nuts and fry them for few seconds. You can add 2-3 tablespoons peanuts as well for better flavour.
6. Add ¼ teaspoon asafoetida (Hing), 10-12 curry leaves and mix them nicely. Cook it in low flame for few seconds.
7. Add finely chopped onion and fry them over medium flame for another 5 minutes till translucent.
8. Add finely chopped ginger, chopped green chillies and give a quick mix. Cook them in low flame for another couple of minutes until the raw smell goes away.
9. Add 2½ cups of water into the pan and give a stir.
10. Add 1½ teaspoon salt or as per taste, 1 teaspoon sugar and mix it well. Cover the pan and put the flame in high until the water boils completely.
11. Put the flame on low and take off the lid of the pan. Add the roasted rava or semolina (Step 2) in 3 batches into the boiled water and mix it continuously and quickly. Don’t add the complete rava once in a time or else lumps may occur.
12. Cover the pan and cook it in lowest flame for 2-3 minutes.
13. Add 2-3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and give a nice mix. Then cover the pan and switch off the flame. Don’t disturb the pan for another 5 more minutes.
14. Fluff the suji ka upma with the help of a fork. Add ½ lemon juice at this stage and mix it properly.
15. The suji ka upma is ready to serve.

Transfer the rava upma recipe on serving plate. Serve immediately to enjoy its best taste. Serve the suji ka upma with a lemon wedge and some coconut chutney or pickle and enjoy the healthy and delicious Indian breakfast.

Rava upma recipe | Suji ka upma | Suji upma recipe | How to make rava upma

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: NA calories NA fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

• 1 cup Semolina (Rava or Sooji)
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
• 1-2 green Chillies, finely chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons Coriander leaves, chopped
• ½ Lemon
• 12-15 Cashew nuts
• 1 teaspoon Urad dal
• 1 teaspoon Chana dal
• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing)
• 10-12 Curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1½ teaspoon Salt, add according to taste
• 2½ cups Water
• 1 tablespoon clarified Butter (Ghee)
• 1 tablespoon Oil

Instructions

1. Put a pan on flame and let it become completely dry. Then add 1 cup rava (semolina) into the pan and dry roast it slightly for 2-3 minutes over medium-to-medium high flame. Stir continuously but don’t overdo the process or else the rava will become golden in colour and it will not taste good.
2. Transfer the rava on a separate plate or else it will get over roasted during the time of sitting into the hot pan. Keep it aside.
3. In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon ghee and allow it to melt.
4. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon urad dal, 1 teaspoon chana dal for tempering and fry them on medium flame till the urad dal turn pinkish.
5. Add 12-15 cashew nuts and fry them for few seconds. You can add 2-3 tablespoons peanuts as well for better flavour.
6. Add ¼ teaspoon asafoetida (Hing), 10-12 curry leaves and mix them nicely. Cook it in low flame for few seconds.
7. Add finely chopped onion and fry them over medium flame for another 5 minutes till translucent.
8. Add finely chopped ginger, chopped green chillies and give a quick mix. Cook them in low flame for another couple of minutes until the raw smell goes away.
9. Add 2½ cups of water into the pan and give a stir.
10. Add 1½ teaspoon salt or as per taste, 1 teaspoon sugar and mix it well. Cover the pan and put the flame in high until the water boils completely.
11. Put the flame on low and take off the lid of the pan. Add the roasted rava or semolina (Step 2) in 3 batches into the boiled water and mix it continuously and quickly. Don’t add the complete rava once in a time or else lumps may occur.
12. Cover the pan and cook it in lowest flame for 2-3 minutes.
13. Add 2-3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and give a nice mix. Then cover the pan and switch off the flame. Don’t disturb the pan for another 5 more minutes.
14. Fluff the suji ka upma with the help of a fork. Add ½ lemon juice at this stage and mix it properly.
15. The suji ka upma is ready to serve.