Originally originated from the Indian subcontinent, mostly common in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Besides its origin in the Indian subcontinent, Upma is also one of the common breakfast foods in Sri Lanka also. Upma is the most loved breakfast of south Indian and mostly made in south also. There is one thing clear, Upma is an easiest Indian breakfast and can be made with daily used items like curry leaves, tempering spices, nuts and semolina. There are many names of Upma according to the different religions in the south like uppumavu, uppeet, uppindi, uppittu and many others. So what do you call Upma in your own language and religion? Do let us know in the comment section.
If you are Indian we hope you are familiar with Upma but those who are not, Upma is an everyday instant food and staple made in south India. Upma is well known to students and almost everyone who lives far from home because it’s easy to make and Upma as a breakfast is loved by everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you are a good cook or you are just a newbie, here in this article we will cover all the recipes to make the best Upma at home. So without wasting any time, let’s make the best Upma.
Upma Recipe Ingredients
There are many types of Upma available and you can also made any Upma at home but keep in mind, Upma will only called well made and delicious if it is made without sticking and it should be fluffy with bursting flavours of curry leaves, chillies, mustard and cumin seeds, ginger and roasted lentils. We have already mentioned, Upma is the easiest breakfast to make and also it’s not going to take long to make, just 20 minutes would be enough.
Do you still have any questions about Upma? If you are new to Indian cuisine then you don’t need to wonder about what is Upma? Let us be clear in a simple way. Here, we have explained the famous Rava Upma Recipe Step by Step:-
Rava Upma
Rava is a South Indian word that means ‘Semolina’, so don’t be confused as we are going to use the word Rava rather than semolina. As we have already mentioned above Upma is a south Indian dish. Upma is simply made by roasted rava in tempered and spiced boiling water but what if we are going to make Upma traditionally? Traditional Upma is made with coarse ground wheat and rice but in different places, different ingredients are used like Poha, bread, oats, vermicelli, quinoa etc. The traditional way to make Rava Upma is to dry Rava until it’s crunchy and and next use spices, urad and chana Dal, and curry leaves to make a tempering.
After tempering, onions are sauteed in it and you have to pour the right amount of water and mix the spices. And then in a slow stream boiling water, roasted rava is incorporated to make the Upma soft and smooth without lumps. If you want to enhance the taste of Rava Upma, you can add some optional ingredients like cashews, ghee, vegetables, peanuts etc. Vegetables can be carrots, peas and beans to increase the nutrition.
In south India, Upma is mostly eaten with coconut chutney, idli podi, peanut podi or with pickles also. So, you can choose how you want to eat Upma. Incase of kids, Upma is mostly served with ghee and a dash of sugar.
How to Choose Rava?
If you want to make good Upma then you have to choose good quality Rava. Choosing good quality Rava isn’t that hard as it is simply available in stores. If you have the pre-roasted rava handy then making Rava Upma is a breeze and since the rava is already pre roasted, the time to make Upma will reduce. If you are going to buy the rava then here are the choices you will have.
Single Roasted Rava
Single roasted rava will be a good option if you want to roast it again when making Upma at home but most of the time this type of Rava doesn’t make the best Upma if you cook without roasting it again at home because it’s roasted lightly when bought. Also if we roast it again at home after buying then the chances of giving the desired results like double roasted will be low. The organic rava you find at the stores are most probably roasted single, so choose your rava carefully.
Double Roasted Rava
If you want better shelf life and flavour than regular rava then double roasted rava will be a good option to make the best Upma. You can use double roasted rava directly in the kitchen as it is pre-roasted from the seller’s end. If you find out the best fluffy and non sticky Upma then there most probably double roasted rava has been used.
Unroasted Rava
The organic rava available in the market is unroasted most of the time. You have to roast it after buying and we already mentioned single roasted rava which is not good rava to make Upma, unroasted Rava is also similar to it.
How to make Upma (Stepwise Preparation)
Step 1
- First take 1 cup rava, clean it and add it to a pan and roast it on medium heat till it turns crunchy. To prevent it from discolouring, keep it stirring and also don’t roast it to brown. If you prefer double roasted rava then the roasting process only takes a few minutes, so roast accordingly. Keep the roasted rava aside to cool it after roasting it till crunchy.
Step 2
Prepare the following ingredients while your rava is cooling.
- Finely sliced a small onion.
- Half spoon nicely chopped ginger.
- 2 or 3 chopped chillies.
- Curry leaves according to your taste.
- If you love vegetables then you can add half cup green peas and half cup finely chopped carrots and 2 or 3 french beans. Make sure you have finely chopped the vegetables because they won’t cook well if mistaken while chopping.
Step 3
You will need these ingredients to temper.
- Mustard seeds half teaspoon.
- Half teaspoon Cumin seeds.
- Urad Dal one teaspoon.
- Chana Dal two teaspoons.
- Peanuts two tablespoons.
- 12 to 15 whole cashews.
Here if you don’t have all the ingredients mentioned above then peanuts are optional and can be used only if you want to make your Upma crunchy but in case if you don’t need crunchy Upma then you don’t have to add peanuts.
Step 4
If you wish to add peanuts then add 1 teaspoon oil on a frying pan and fry peanuts until it is golden and also make sure it should not be burnt. After frying peanuts till golden, remove it on the pan. If you are going to add pre roasted peanuts then you can skip this step.
Step 6
Temper spices
- Take a hot pan and pour two tablespoons of oil and after the oil becomes hot, add the above mentioned ingredients which are mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Add urad Dal and chana Dal when the seeds splutter. Fry them until light golden for a minute.
- After that add cashews and fry it until the cashews turn golden.
- Next add green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and fry for a minute till the ginger turns fragrant and curry leaves turn out crisp.
- Now add onion.
- If you are using vegetables then you can add after the onion turns transparent. Cover the pan and let it cook until the vegetables turn slightly tender.
Step 7
After the veggies are ready, pour 2 and half cups of water and add salt according to the taste but make sure water needs to be slightly salty for a better taste. Now you can set flame on a high mode till the water boils, after the water boils turn down the flame to low heat.
Step 6
While stirring the water with one add, slightly add roasted rava with another hand, the flame should be on low heat. You have to keep in mind the water should be still boiling after you finish adding Rava. Stir continuously and if you find any lumps then break it and cook until it begins to splash. After the water is fully absorbed, cover and cook.
Step 7
After 2 or 3 minutes, stir the Upma and add ghee according to your taste. Adding ghee is optional. After adding ghee, turn off the flame and cover it for five minutes.
Step 8
After the Upma has cooled down, add fresh grated coconut if you wish because it will make the Upma look clumpy while hot. The Upma will start looking fluffy after cooling down, add lemon juice and fried peanuts before serving.
Are Suji and Rava the same thing?
Most of the time people are confused between Suji and Rava but there is nothing to be confused between them because Suji and Rava are the same thing. In North India, Pakistan and Nepal people use the word Suji for the Semolina but in South India, the Rava word is used for semolina. Suji and Rava both are the same thing as durum wheat products.
How to Eat Upma?
You should start eating Upma as your breakfast if you want to lose weight. The Upma has everything that a human body needs like fibre, vitamins and healthy fats and also Upma is low in cholesterol and calories, making it the best meal for anyone. Upma mostly served both snacks and breakfast with coconut chutney.
Final Verdict
If you follow the above recipe for making Upma then we are sure you are going to make the best Upma. Also if you think we have missed to include some important details on how to make Upma then please let us know.