Rava Upma / South Indian Breakfast Recipe

Upma is among the fixed weekly breakfast menu in my house since my childhood and till date it remains one of my favourite . For those who do not know , Upma is a traditional South Indian breakfast dish cooked as a thick porridge from dry roasted Semolina. The added vegetables make it all the more nutritious and tasty.

The recipe is very simple and this breakfast dish can be made in a jiffy. You may cook it with out without veggies and add any of your variation to it. I have kept it the same way my Mumma cooks. The only thing to be remembered while making Upma is that the Suji / Semolina used should be little coarse. A very fine suji will not give proper texture and taste to Upma.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coarse Suji / Rava
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 1 Carrot finely cubed
• 2 green Chilies chopped
• 2 tbsp roasted Peanuts
• 1/4 cup fresh green peas
• Few sprigs of Curry Leaves
• 1 tbsp of soaked Urad dal( skinned and split)
• 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing
• 1-2 tsp Sugar ( optional)
• 1 tsp of ghee
• 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
• Sev for garnishing ( optional)
• Salt to taste

   Method:

1. Dry roast the rava/ suji in a heated pan on a low to medium flame until light pink in color. Remove and keep aside.

  2.  In the same pan heat up oil. Add mustard seeds, once they splutter add the cumin seeds followed by curry leaves , green chilies and soaked and drained urad dal. Stir fry for a while.

   3.  Add Peanuts . Let them be light brown, now add the chopped Onion. saute it until translucent.

  4. Now add the chopped carrots and green peas. Once the veggies become a little soft , add the roasted suji. Mix well and stir fry again for a minute or so.

   5.  Add salt and sugar. Mix well , now add 2 cups of boiling water to the suji and mix well with a wooden spatula. The suji will soak up all the water very fast and become dry. Add ghee at this stage. This gives a nice glaze to the upma and also prevents it from becoming sticky.

  6. Cover cook on low flame for 1 -2 minutes. Put off the flame. Add the lemon juice and mix. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

  7. Serve it hot . You can top the upma with sev or fresh scrapped coconut . Enjoy the nutritious and tasty Upma with your loved ones.

  For more similar recipes, do check my posts on

• Instant Suji Uttapam
• Medu Vada
• Instant Sweet Corn Uttapam
• Semolina Pudding
• Suji Halwa
• Pineapple Halwa