Rava upma- a traditional savoury porridge of semolina , few vegetables and basic spices
Upma is a very popular breakfast / tiffin recipes from southern india and now popular in all the states of india. Upma is made using semolina which is also called sooji /rava / cream of wheat. There are few versions of making upma -sooji upma, wheat upma, semiya upma, bread Upma, Quinoa Upma etc but the authentic and most popular one is made with sooji/ rava.
The spicy version of rava upma is khara Bhath, which I have posted earlier,I have also posted U.P Style – Sooji Upma
You can make this upma for breakfast , pack in kids tiffin or have it for a light dinner . It taste good every time. It is often served with coconut chutney and filter coffee. You need just few tempering ingredients and some vegetables to make upma. Addition of vegetables is also totally optional if you are in hurry then add just tomato and make upma.
If you have pre roasted semolina then upma can be made in a jiffy, it’s a good idea to dry roast the semolina before storing in the container , it also improves its shelf life.
The texture of upma depends mainly on two things- how well you have roasted the semolina and how much water you have added in it. for a soft restaurant style upma use 1:3 OR 1:4 part.
How To Make Perfect Soft Upma Like restaurants-
- The recipe of making upma seems very easy but there are few points to remember. First of all use good quality rava/ sooji to make upma.Don’t use very fine variety of sooji else it may become lumpy. Use coarse variety . Roasted sooji or unroasted both works well.
- Roasting sooji properly is also important else your upma will become sticky. Roast on low heat till fragrant.
- Tempering- tempering add flavour and taste in the upma so try not to skip any ingredient- mustard seeds,Cumin seeds, urad daal, chana dal, asafoetida, green chilies, ginger and curry leaves, addition of cashew or peanuts is optional
- Vegetables- you can add any of your favourite vegetables i.e carrot, beans, peas, tomato, potato etc.
- Variation- you can add only tomatoes and make tomato upma.
- Water Ratio- – the quantity of water added in the upma is most important, if you want dry crumbly upma then add twice water and if you want restaurant style moist upma then best is to add 1:3 or 1:4 part water ,i always add 4 times water and my upma remains soft for long time.
- Add Milk-This adding milk in the upma tip is shared by a restaurant chef and since then i am adding it in the upma and it turn out perfect every time.
- In restaurants they use good quantity of ghee or oil to make it soft , if you use little fat then it also become dry not soft.
You can also try these recipes-
★ Have you tried this recipe? Click on the stars ★ in the recipe card to let us know your feedback!
You can also follow me on Pinterest , Facebook ,Twitter, Instagram and You Tube for more delicious recipes and updates
Rava Upma
Ingredients
- 1 cup Semolina / Sooji
- 3 cup Water / Paani
- 1 cup Whole Milk / Doodh
- 1/2 tsp Sugar / Chini
- to taste Salt / Namak
Tempering
- 3 tbsp Ghee/Clarified Butter
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds / Rai *
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds / Sabut Jeera
- 1 tsp Bengal gram /chana daal
- 1.5 tsp white urad dal
- 3 Green Chillies / Hari Mirch chopped
- 1.5 tsp Ginger / Adrak chopped
- 10 Cashew Nuts / Kaju chopped
- few Curry Leaves / Kadi Patta
- pinch Asafoetida / Hing powder
vegetables-
- 1/4 cup Green Peas / Hari Matar chopped
- 1/4 cup Carrots / Gajar chopped
- 1 Tomatoes / Tamatar chopped
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice / Nimbu Ka Ras
- 1/4 cup Fresh Coriander / Cilantro / Hara Dhaniya
Instructions
- Take a pan and add 3 cups of water and 1 cup f milk in it and heat it to make it medium hot. Keep aside.
- In a separate pan add ghee and then add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, when they start crackling add urad daal and chana daal
- Lower the heat and add green chilies, ginger, cashew nuts and curry leaves and stir fry.
- Now add the semolina in the pan and roast on low heat, add 1 tsp of ghee ,if it looks dry at this point.
- Roast the semolina on low heat till a nice aroma comes but dont change the colour, roast for around 2-3 minutes on low heat.
- Now add the chopped vegetables and tomato in the pan and saute for a minute.
- Now gradually add the hot water and milk in the pan and keep stirring.
- Add salt and sugar in it and keep mixing on medium heat.
- When the liquid get absorbed then lower the heat , and cover te upma with a lid and cook on lowest heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Switch off the heat , add 1 tsp ghee and lemon juice, mix it and then cover again and let it rest for 2 minutes
- Now open the lid , fluff up the upma with a fork and serve with coconut chutney and tea or coffee.