Upma Recipe - Rava, Gothumai Rava & Semiya

Upma - Roasted grains/flours like rava (semolina) or gothuma rava (cracked wheat) or semiya (vermicelli) are mildly seasoned with mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Sometimes, mixed with veggies to form a wholesome breakfast. It is simple, tasty and nutritious.

Upma is a portmanteau of  uppu (salt) and mavu (flour). The dish was born when someone decided to mix flour and salt together with some simple seasonings. Now, it has become one of the most popularIndian breakfast. Its kind of a poor man's meal. Upma can be made with just salt and rava literally. You don't need any fancy ingredient or equipment.

The upma recipe mentioned in this post are the basic ones. But we have so many varieties like aval upma or poha, bread upma, idli upma (from the leftover idlis), Javaarisi upma or sago. Then there are few other south Indian regional traditionals like arisi upma (made with coarsely grained rice and lentils), pidi kozhukattai (another rice flour upma) etc.. The list goes on and we have million ways to prepare it!

The basic upma recipe (3 types)

• Rava upma | Semolina upma

The mother of upma varieties, it is the most basic version of upma and is a common breakfast dish in South Indian homes. Rava, sooji or more commonly known as Bombay rava in the south, is a type of semolina flour. It is a byproduct formed when milling durum wheat flour. These coarse grains are then ground to a fine flour. There are usually two types of rava available - fine and coarse variety. Depending on the type of the recipe, either variety is used. For making rava upma, use the coarse variety.

Rava or sometimes written as rawa is a common ingredient in the South Indian cooking.  There are various recipes that uses rava.  - rava idli, rava dosa, rava kichdi, rava pongal, rava kesari, rava ladoo and the list goes on.

• Gothumai rava upma | Broken wheat upma (Dalia)

This is a crushed or cut variety of wheat. This looks like bulgur wheat but it is not. As this is a cracked wheat, it is much more filling than the normal rava (sooji).As it is more coarse than semolina, it absorbs and needs more water to cook. This can also be used to make pulav as well. Pair it with raita and this makes an awesome lunch.

• Semiya upma

Semiya is a type of vermicelli pasta made with wheat. It is commonly known as vermicelli in the Indian culinary language. Vermicelli is also used to make kheer - semiya payasam.

The above three varieties are the basic recipes and it frequents South Indian homes often. Their method of preparation is exactly the same. You can substitute these three grains in the same upma recipe. They are simple, quick to make and quite nutritious, filling and tasty!

Did you know that you can also use quinoa or couscous or bulgur wheat to make upma ? Follow the same procedure and adjust the cooking time as needed!

I have listed below the tricks to to get the right texture and taste for this simple dish.  Following these steps will ensure you get a perfect upma every time you make.

Tips for making a fluffy upma

1. Roasting the main ingredients, even though this step is optional, roasting the grains - rava, gothumai rava or semiya, give the final dish a nice and unique taste. It also helps in getting a fluffy upma rather than a mashed porridge.
2.  Hot water: Add the grains only after the water is boiled. Else they form lumps which are hard to dissolve or mash. This in turn will not cook them properly and we will have a raw taste. Always, add the roasted grains to boiling water. We usually boil water separately and add. This fastens the cooking process and reduces cooking time.
3. Cover and cook to ensure that the grains cook evenly. If not, some particles might be partially cooked and it will give an unpleasant bite.
4. Once it is cooked, remove the pan from the flame and let it rest for a couple of minutes before you open the lid. Then, gently fluff it up with a ladle or fork which gives a soft and fluffy upma.

Print

Upma recipe - Rava (Semolina), Gothumai rava (Broken wheat), Semiya (Vermicelli)

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Rava is roasted and then made to almost like a thick porridge and seasoned mildly with mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 4

Calories per serving: 250 kcal

Author: Nisha

Ingredients

Rava upma

• 1 tablespoon ghee (to roast the rava) substitute normal oil if vegan
• 1 cup semolina (also known as Bombay rava) or broken wheat or vermicelli
• 2 to 2.5 cups hot water (refer notes)

Gothumai rava upma

• 1 tablespoon ghee (to roast the broken wheat) substitute normal oil if vegan
• 1 cup gothumai rava | broken wheat
• 2.5 to 3 cups water or hot water

Semiya upma

• 1 tablespoon ghee (to roast the semiya) substitute normal oil if vegan
• 1.5 cups semiya | vermicelli

Other general ingredients

• 2 tablespoon oil (use ghee for special occasions)
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ tablespoon channa dal
• ½ teaspoon urad dal (optional)
• 2 green chillies (indian or thai variety), slit lengthwise you can also use jalapeno if they are not available
• 3-4 curry leaves, torn into pieces
• ½ cup finely chopped onions
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
• 1 medium-sized tomato, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon roasted cashews
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnishing
• ⅛ cup peanuts, roasted
• 5 whole cashews
• 1 cup finely chopped veggies (a mix of carrots, peas, potato & beans) refer notes

Instructions

1. Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a Kadai | Pan. Roast the rava / broken wheat / semiya until it becomes aromatic and slightly starts changing colour; about 3 minutes on medium high flame. Transfer it to a bowl and keep it aside. 

2. Now, add the oil into the same pan and once it becomes hot, add the mustard seeds and as it splutters, add the green chillies, curry leaves and ginger; give a quick stir.

3. Then add the onions and fry until it turns translucent, about 2 minutes. 

   Then add the tomatoes, fry them for another 30 seconds. 

   Now add the finely chopped veggies of your choice, stir them for a minute. 
   

4. Add the required amount of hot water (See the ingredients list) and salt. If you are adding room temperature water, make sure to bring it to a full boil before adding the grains. 

   Turn the heat down and then add the rava gradually. Keep on stirring while adding the rava to avoid forming lumps. Be careful as it might splatter. 

5. Keep stirring until the rava, semiya or gothumai rava absorbs the water completely. Careful it might bubble and splatter around you. 
   

6. Then, lower the flame, cover and cook until the rava becomes soft for about 4 to 5 minutes.  

   Turn off the flame and keep it covered for another couple of minutes. 

   Then fluff it up with a spatula, garnish it with coriander leaves and cashews.

Serving

1. Serve rava upma with coconut chutney. Some relish this with sugar or indian type pickles. 

   Serve gothumai rava ( broken wheat upma) with onion raita. Mostly it can had without any side dish. 

   Serve semiya upma with coconut chutney. Some relish this with sugar or indian type pickles.

Recipe Notes

1. The traditional variety is plain and simple. But adding veggies to this upma makes it wholesome and a filling breakfast.
2. Peanuts and cashews are also optional. You can make with or without them. 
3. When making upma, always add salt to the water (step 4) and check immediately. When you add salt in the end, it will not get mixed properly. The water should be slightly spicy and salty when you taste. Then when you add the rava/semiya and veggies, the amount of salt absorbed will be right. 
4. As soon as the grains absorb the entire amount of water and it thickens, cover and cook on low flame. This step is essential to get a nice and fluffy upma. 
5. If you are adding vegetables, dice them evenly and in smaller sizes. This ensures that they are fully cooked in a small amount of time. 

Rava Upma:

1. For making rava upma, using the coarse variety is better. The fine version form lumps easily. The coarse variety gives a nice fluffy texture. 
2. The amount of water depends on what type of rava you use. Usually 2 to 2 .5 cups water is more than sufficient. If you are unsure of how much to add, add little excess amounts. The fine variety, may need less amount of water, so start with 1.5 or 1.75 cups water. 
3. If the water content is not enough, then adding some more water in the later stage will make it form big hard lumps which is bad. But if it is little more, you can keep it for some more time in the flame until it absorbs most of the water and the consistency will be like a kichdi or a porridge, which is better than a lumped up uncooked upma. 

Gothumai Rava Upma:

1. You can skip the roasting part for this upma but as I mentioned it gives a nice flavour when you do. 
2. This absorbs more water than the regular bombay rava, hence add 2.5 to 3 cups water. The grains will be more fluffy and separate than the rava upma. 

Semiya Upma:

1. In grocers we get two types of Semiya, roasted and non-roasted. You can either of these and if you have non roasted, roast it in a pan until it turns slightly golden brown and then add in the water. I have roasted semiya which is golden brown in colour. 

For Quinoa : Rinse the quinoa grains first and then add it in step 4. It will need about 2 to 2.5 cups water and simmer it for about 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. 

For Couscous : In step 4, add about 1.5 to 2 cups water; simmer and cover for about 8 - 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. 

For Bulgur wheat : Add 1.5 cups hot water to bulgur wheat and let it rest for 15 minutes. Add this after step 3 (no additional water is needed). Keep it on the medium flame for about 3-4 minutes, so that it absorbs the salt and other flavours. Turn off and serve. 

Tips for making a fluffy upma

1. Roasting the main ingredients, even though this step is optional, roasting the grains - rava, gothumai rava or semiya give the final dish a nice and unique taste. It also helps in getting a fluffy upma rather than a mashed porridge.
2.  Hot water: Add the grains only after the water is boiled. Else they form lumps which are hard to dissolve or mash. This in turn will not cook them properly and we will have a raw taste. Always, add the roasted grains to boiling water. We usually boil water separately and add. This fastens the cooking process and reduces cooking time.
3. Cover and cook to ensure that the grains cook evenly. If not, some particles might be partially cooked and it will give an unpleasant bite.
4. Once it is cooked, remove the pan from the flame and let it rest for a couple of minutes before you open the lid. Then, gently fluff it up with a ladle or fork which gives a soft and fluffy upma.

This is an updated post with new pictures and information.