Rava Upma Recipe

Upma Recipe

Upma is one of the underestimated food in Indian breakfast menu. But I think sooji ka upma recipe is the most versatile dish to prepare. We make it at least once a week for the family. Most of the times i make it simple with spices and onions. When I am serving this for kids, I load it up with vegetables. We make mini tiffin during weekends often, I like to add upma and kesari along with medu vada and tomato chutney which is my family top favorite.

About Rava Upma

Upma is a tasty, flavourful staple Indian breakfast dish which is made with sooji | suji or semolina flour. Sometimes suji is also known as cream of wheat. This dish is very popular in the South Indian region but equally popular around North part of India as well.

Traditionally dish is made by tempering spices like mustard, urad dal, split chana dal, cashews in oil or ghee. Onions, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves is stir fried for few seconds before adding suji or rava.

The key to make a fluffy and tasty upma is to roast suji really well before adding water. I like to roast them till golden brown. This makes the upma fluffy. This hot breakfast dish can be made completely vegan if you use oil instead of ghee. It will be your family favorite breakfast recipe like my semiya upma recipe.

The main ingredient in making upma recipe is rava as we call it in South India. It is also called as 'suji' or 'sooji' in Hindi, 'semolina flour' or 'cream of wheat' in English. Why not try this Rava upma a staple breakfast dish which is so flavourful than regular oatmeal.

Watch Upma Video

My Upma Recipe

I make rava upma the basic way with tempering spices and cooking them. Depending on what you serve, this breakfast dish can be transformed into sweet or savoury. Serve it with coconut chutney and sambar for a savoury breakfast. Sprinkling of sugar or jaggery for a sweet one.

Growing up my mom makes upma the same way I am showing here. This dish is not only popular in South India but enjoyed in Maharashtra, Mumbai & some parts of Karnataka,

• More Breakfast Recipes
• Semiya Upma
• Oats Upma
• Rava Kichadi
• Bread Upma
• Idli Upma

Rava Upma Ingredients

Rava | Suji - I prefer to use roasted rava which is readily available in the market. Use slightly coarse rava if you prefer texture.

Onions - One of the most important ingredient in making upma. Use onions or shallots which is peeled and chopped finely for even distribution.

Green Chillies - depending on your spice tolerance you can increase the quantity. Some times I add broken dry red chillies when tempering spices.

Ginger - I prefer to grate or mince my ginger using a microplane zester or grater since I don't want to bite into bits of ginger.

Tempering Spices - split chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves adds the flavour to upma.

Cashews - cashews adds a crunch to the upma when toasted in the oil.

Oil | Ghee - this recipe needs generous amount of oil or ghee to make it tasty.

Optional - you can bulk up upma with mixed vegetables which gives added nutrition. Lemon juice and coriander leaves is added in the end of cooking for taste.

Choosing Rava

There are few varieties of suji available in the market these days. Bombay rava, fine suji, kesari rava, bansi rava are the most common suji you can find. Bombay rava is the most common one used to make upma. But you can use bansi rava which is a coarsely ground form of wheat made from "Bansi" a traditional wheat.

Wheat rava is often confused with bombay rava. Even though both can be used to make upma, it is entirely different.

Unroasted Rava

As mentioned in the name it is a non roasted rava. The most common rava which is available in the market. If you are using this, you have to roast it prior cooking. Heat 1 tsp of oil or ghee and roast unroasted rava for minimum 3 to 4 minutes till lightly golden in colour. Once I add it into the onion mixture, I roast it again for few minutes. This way my upma turns out fluffy.

Most organic brands available in the market is unroasted. Since it is not roasted, it has very low shelf life. You have to store in fridge or freezer else it might get small bugs or insect.

Double Roasted Rava

I prefer to buy this variety of sooji because it has longer shelf life and I store them in pantry.

Even though I use roasted suji when making upma, I prefer to roast it further for 2 to 3 minutes till golden brown which adds nutty aroma to the cooked upma. 

Expert Tips

I have learnt many tips and tricks for making perfect upma from over a decade of experience. I am sharing all the tips here for you. Learn how to make upma with step by step pictures, video & guide with faq's & expert tips.

Roasting Rava

This step is essential to get best tasting upma. Even if you use unroasted, single roasted or double roasted rava, I suggest you to roast it well before cooking.

If you are using unroasted rava, roast them in a separate pan with some ghee or oil for few minutes. Double roasted rava doesn't need to be roasted in a separate pan, instead I roast them with the onion or vegetable mixture.

Rava & Water Ratio for Upma

Water to rava ratio totally depends to your taste and preference. The more water you use the softer the texture will be. I am sharing the water ratio below so you can choose how you want your upma to be. The one thing you have to keep in mind is to use hot boiling water when cooking.

• 2 cups water : 1 cup rava - for fluffy suji ka upma which my family prefers.
• 21/2 cups water : 1 cup rava - cooking upma in heavy bottom pan like cast iron or ceramic will absorb more water.
• 3 cups water : 1 cup rava - softer upma which is equally delicious.
• 4 cups water : 1 cup rava - results in kichadi like texture. I use this measurement for making rava kichadi.

Cooking Method

Pour hot water slowly while mixing the rava evenly for lump free upma. Also mix the sooji with the water till it get thick then cover the pan and cook. Once upma is cooked, you have to let it rest covered for at least 5 minutes before serving which makes the upma fluffier.

Ghee vs Oil

The combination of oil and ghee enhances the flavour of the upma. I like to start cooking the upma in oil. Ghee can be added in the end for flavour.

Lentils & Nuts

Split urad dal, chana dal, peanuts and cashews adds crunchy texture to upma. Toasted nuts and lentils adds nutty aroma to upma.

How to Make Upma (Stepwise Pictures)

Tempering spices

1)Heat oil in a kadai. Once oil is hot enough, add in chana dal

2)Now add in mustard seeds and urad dal. Let them sizzle till golden.

3)Add in asafoetida and curry leaves. I used asafoetida which is in gum form which I what I had on hand at that moment. You can use powdered asafoetida which is what preferred.

4)Add in finely chopped onions, green chillies and grated ginger. 

5)Saute for 1 minute till the raw smell leaves. 

Roasting Rava

6)Add in suji | rava into the onion mixture and start roasting.

7)I add a tsp of ghee when roasting the sooji for added aroma. This step is optional.

8)Even though I used roasted suji, I prefer to roast it further for 2 to 3 minutes till golden brown which adds nutty aroma to the cooked Upma. 

9)Meanwhile I took 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rava. Bring water to a good boil. It has to be hot when you pour into the Upma. 

Cooking Upma

10)Once the suji is roasted well, reduce the flame and pour the hot water little at time and mix gently till sooji starts to thicken.

11)Now the upma has thickened up.

12)Add a tbsp of ghee over the Upma. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves.

13)Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

14)After 5 minutes, open the lid, fluff up the upma and add extra 1 tbsp ghee, squeeze of lemon juice and mix. 

15)Turn off the flame. Cover again and let the Upma sit covered for another 5 minutes. 

16)Serve hot with coconut chutney.

How to Make Upma with Vegetables

Delicious and health upma made with lots of vegetables. In this version of upma preparation, I used mixed vegetables and turmeric powder for golden yellow colour. In the cooking upma, I used a mixture of milk and water.

The key for a beautiful soft upma is you have to add a generous amount of oil and ghee while making it and also a cup of milk will do the trick. Yes adding a cup of milk will make this upma so soft and delicious.

How to Make Upma with Vegetables

1)For making this upma, I used 1cup of rava | suji. In a sauce pan. Take 1 cup water and 1 cup milk. Heat and bring this to a boil.

Tempering spices

2)Now let's start making the upma. Heat oil and in a kadai or a pot. Add in the tempering spices and let them sizzle in the oil till golden brown.

• 3 tbsp Oil
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 tsp Channa dal
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 10 Cashews
• ¼ tsp Asafoetida

3) Add in onions, green chillies and curry leaves in the oil and saute for 1 minute. Now add in all the vegetables and saute for 3 to 4 minutes the raw smell from the vegetables leaves.

• 1 Onion chopped finely
• 3 Green Chilli chopped finely
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 1 tbsp Ginger minced
• 1 large Carrot chopped
• 5 Beans chopped

4)Add salt to taste.

5)I added 1 tsp of turmeric powder. You can skip this if you want your upma to be white in colour.

6)Add in suji | rava. I used roasted sooji. If you are using un roasted suji, you have to roast for 5 to 6 minutes to get it roasted.

Roasting sooji with vegetables

7)Even though I used roasted suji, I prefer to roast it further for 2 to 3 minutes till golden brown which adds nutty aroma to the cooked Upma. 

Milk in Rava Upma

8)Now pour in the hot water and milk mixture. As you pour, keep mixing it so no lumps are formed in the upma.

9)Cook upma on low flame. As you pour the water milk mixture the upma will start to thicken almost immediately.

10)Now the upma has thickened well.

11)Cover the kadai with a lid and let it cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

12)Once it is cooked, Add in a tbsp of ghee and mix well. Once mixed turn off the heat and let it sit covered for another 10 minutes.

13)Fluffy upma is ready to serve. Enjoy with coconut chutney or sugar.