Upma recipe - How to make Upma

 Upma recipe - How to make Upma

Rava is also called as suji in Hindi and cream of wheat in English. Upma is usually served with coconut chutney, lemon slices or lemon pickle. 

One easily gets upma in all the restaurants in south India including Maharashtra. In fact upma would be a regular breakfast or evening snack in my growing up days. Upma is not only delicious but also a healthy breakfast option. this version of South Indian upma is how I make it at home and adapted from my mom’s recipe.

Making upma does not take much time and can be done in 15-20 minutes, if you have the roasted semolina ready.

I always roast semolina and then keep in an air-tight container. This way the semolina stays good for a longer time and does not become mouldy or spoilt. Also the time spent is less when you make upma or Rava cheela or Rava Pongal. you can make variety of recipes with rava.

We just loved the steaming hot upma served with some hot cuppa of chai or filter coffee. Our comfort breakfast any day.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fine rava (sooji or cream of wheat or semolina)
• 1 medium sized onion -chopped finely
• 1 green chilli - chopped
• 1 teaspoon chana dal (split and skinned bengal gram)
• 1 teaspoon urad dal (split and skinned black gram)
• ½ inch ginger grated or chopped finely
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves or 10 to 12 curry leaves
• 10 to 12 cashews
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar or add as required, optional
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves)
• 2 tablespoons oil or ghee (clarified butter)
• salt as required

Instructions

Prep Up The Ingredients

• Finely chop 1 medium sized onion, 1 to 2 green chillies and 1/2 inch ginger and some coriander leaves. 
• Also take 8 to 10 curry leaves, 10 to 12 cashews, 1 tsp chana dal and 1 tsp urad dal.

Roasting Rava

• Heat a pan or kadai first. Add 1 cup rava or cream of wheat.
• Begin to roast the rava. Stir often while roasting the rava.
• The rava or sooji grains should become fragrant and start to look dry, separate and crisp. Don't brown the rava.
• Switch off the flame and then add the roasted rava in a plate and keep aside.

Making Upma

• In a pan, heat 2 tbsp ghee or oil. add 1 tsp mustard seeds.
• When you hear the crackling sound of mustard seeds, it means they are getting fried.
• Now add the 1/2 tsp cumin seeds along with 1 tsp chana dal and 1 tsp urad dal.
• Fry till they begin to brown a bit
• Immediately then add cashews and begin to fry. By the time, the cashews get golden the dals would also get golden.
• Now add the finely chopped onions. Saute the onions till they become translucent.
• Then add the chopped green chilly, ginger, curry leaves. Saute for a minute.
• Then add 2.5 cups water to this mixture. Add salt as required.
• Then add sugar. Sugar is optional and you can skip it. We prefer a slight sweet taste in the upma and hence we add it. Stir well.
• On a medium to high flame, heat the water and let it come to a to a rolling boiling.

Adding Rava For Upma

• When the water comes to a rolling boil, lower the flame to its lowest. Then add the rava in 4 to 5 batches with a spoon.
• Once you add the rava, stir immediately. Then add the next batch of rava. Stir again.
• This way keep on adding and stirring the rava up to the last batch.
• Quickly stir and mix well. The rava grains absorb water and thus swell and get cooked.
• Cover and allow the rava upma to steam for 2 minutes on the low flame.
• Then switch off the flame. Here the rava is cooked and the upma is ready.
• Lastly add about 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves. Stir well.
• Serve upma with coconut chutney or lime slices or lime pickle.

How to make upma

1. Prep up the ingredients for the upma – take 1 cup rava (fine variety), finely chop 1 medium sized onion, 1 to 2 green chillies and ½ inch ginger and some coriander leaves. Also take 8 to 10 curry leaves, 10 to 12 cashews, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp urad dal.

2. Heat a pan or kadai first. Add the 1 cup rava or cream of wheat (fine variety).

3. Begin to roast the rava. Stir often while roasting the rava.

4. The rava or sooji grains should become fragrant and start to look dry, separate and crisp. Don’t brown the rava.

5. Once the rava becomes fragrant and starts to look dry and crisp, then switch off the flame and add the roasted rava in a plate and keep aside.

Making upma

6. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp ghee or oil.

7. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds. When you hear the crackling sound of mustard seeds, it means they are getting fried.

8. now add the ½ tsp cumin seeds along with 1 tsp chana dal (husked and split bengal gram) and 1 tsp urad dal (husked and split black gram).

9. Fry till the chana dal and urad dal begins to brown a bit.

10. Immediately then add cashews and begin to fry.

11. by the time, the cashews get golden the dals would also get golden.

12. Now add the finely chopped onions.

13. Saute the onions till they become translucent.

14. Then add the chopped green chilly, ginger and curry leaves.

15. Stir & saute for a minute.

16. Then add 2.5 cups water to this mixture.

17. Add salt as required.

18. Then add sugar. Sugar is optional and you can skip it. We prefer a slight sweet taste in the upma and hence we add it.

19. Stir well. on a medium to high flame, heat the water and let it come to a rolling boiling.

Adding rava for upma

20. when the water comes to a rolling boil, lower the flame to its lowest. Then add the rava in 4 to 5 batches with a spoon.

21. Once you add the rava, stir immediately.

22. Then add the next batch of rava. Stir again.

23. This way keep on adding and stirring the rava up to the last batch.

24. Quickly stir and mix very well. The rava grains absorb water and thus swell and get cooked.

25. Cover and allow the rava upma to steam for 2 minutes on the low flame.

26. Then switch off the flame. Here the rava is cooked and the upma is ready.

27. Lastly add about 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves. You can add more coriander leaves if you like.

28. stir well.

30. Serve rava upma hot with slices of lemon. I also sprinkle some sev (fried gram flour vermicelli) on upma while serving. Though not the way upma is traditionally served. But folks at home prefer this Mumbai style. You can also serve it with coconut chutney or a lemon pickle.