UPMA
Sooji/ Rava/ Semolina Upma
Upma is a basic Indian breakfast recipe made with semolina, some basic spices, herbs & veggies. It’s common in Southern parts of India, but has gained popularity in the rest of the country as well.
The ease and simplicity of this recipe is it’s cause of popularity. I personally love upma.
For making a particular recipe you need to plan and prep the ingredients but for making upma, not many efforts are needed.
Upma tops the list of easiest & quickest instant breakfasts that can be made in a jiffy.
The basic recipe is made by simply dry roasting semolina (rava) and then adding it to water which is tempered with spices & herbs. Addition of peanuts, cashews and onions gives it a nice crunch and enhances the taste. You can add vegetables also like- peas, carrots, beans etc.
Not only is it simple, easy to make and filling, but it is also affordable for a larger population, hence its popularity.
Sending this post to 85 HWCG’s #TimeForSemolinaAtHW theme to my Facebook gourmet group, Healthy Wealthy Cuisine wherein participating bloggers share recipes every fortnight on a pre-decided themes.
This time the theme was suggested by Swaty Malik who blogs at Food Trails. Swaty has a wonderful blog with delicious recipes.
Do check some amazing semolina recipes shared by my fellow blogger friends-
The amount of water used in the recipe depends on the texture you want for the upma.
Normally people use Ratio of Sooji:Water= 1:2 but I prefer it to be 1:3, as that ratio makes it soft and melt-in-your-mouth. You can add water according to your choice.
The word upma brings very fond memories to me. Being a north Indian, these south Indian delicacies were a rare thing at our place. My first experiment of making it was at one of my friend’s place when we were in college. The idea of making upma was like going for Masterchef auditions. We chopped everything and made it. It came out super delicious. In the wintery afternoon, sunbathing and eating hot delicious upma was a bliss. I still remember the taste of that upma. Ahhh! Golden memories!
INGREDIENTS:
Sooji/ Semolina- 1 cup
Oil- 2 tablespoon
Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
Urad dal (split skinned black gram)- 1 tablespoon
Chana dal (split and skinned bengal gram)- 1 tablespoon
Raw Peanuts- 1 tablespoon
Cashews- 8-10
Green chilies- 2, chopped
Curry leaves- 10-12
Onion- 1, big, finely chopped
Water- 2.5-3 cups
Coriander leaves- 1 tablespoon, chopped
Lemon juice- 1 tablespoon
Salt- as per taste
DIRECTIONS:
We will begin by dry roasting the rava in a pan on low to medium heat.
Stir often while roasting it.
Do not brown the rava. Tha rava grains should become crisp, fragrant and dry.
Once done swith off the heat.
Take out the roasted rava. Cool it.
Chop onions and green chilies.
In a pan, heat oil.
Add in mustard seeds and let them crackle.
Next add cumin seeds, dry whole red chilies, urad dal and chana dal. Roast them for few seconds. Fry till they begin to brown a bit.
After that add in peanuts and cashews.
By the time, the cashews and peanuts get golden the dals would also get golden.
After that add curry leaves, chopped green chillies and chopped onions.
Sauté till onions become translucent.
Then add water and salt to this mix.
When the water comes to a rolling boil, lower the flame to its lowest.
Add in the lemon juice (if you are using it). Mix well.
Then add in the rava slowly while stirring it continuously.
Stir everything well and check for any lumps. Break up if any.
The rava grains absorb water and thus swell and get cooked.
Cover and cook on a low flame for 2 minutes until the water evaporates.
After that switch off the flame.
Your upma is ready.
Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
Serve hot upma with coconut chutney, pickle or with mint coriander chutney.
Enjoy!!
Recipe Card
UPMA
Upma is a basic Indian breakfast recipe made with semolina, some basic spices, herbs & veggies.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
serves:2
INGREDIENTS:
Sooji/ Semolina- 1 cup
Oil- 2 tablespoon
Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
Urad dal (split skinned black gram)- 1 tablespoon
Chana dal (split and skinned bengal gram)- 1 tablespoon
Raw Peanuts- 1 tablespoon
Cashews- 8-10
Green chilies- 2, chopped
Curry leaves- 10-12
Onion- 1, big, finely chopped
Water- 2.5-3 cups
Coriander leaves- 1 tablespoon, chopped
Lemon juice- 1 tablespoon
Salt- as per taste
DIRECTIONS:
We will begin by dry roasting the rava in a pan on low to medium heat.
Stir often while roasting it.
Do not brown the rava. Tha rava grains should become crisp, fragrant and dry.
Once done swith off the heat.
Take out the roasted rava. Cool it.
Chop onions and green chilies.
In a pan, heat oil.
Add in mustard seeds and let them crackle.
Next add cumin seeds, dry whole red chilies, urad dal and chana dal. Roast them for few seconds. Fry till they begin to brown a bit.
After that add in peanuts and cashews.
By the time, the cashews and peanuts get golden the dals would also get golden.
After that add chopped onions, chopped green chillies and curry leaves.
Sauté till onions become translucent.
Then add water and salt to this mix.
When the water comes to a rolling boil, lower the flame to its lowest.
Add in the lemon juice (if you are using it). Mix well.
Then add in the rava slowly while stirring it continuously.
Stir everything well and check for any lumps. Break up if any.
The rava grains absorb water and thus swell and get cooked.
Cover and cook on a low flame for 2 minutes until the water evaporates.
After that switch off the flame.
Your upma is ready.
Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
Serve hot upma with coconut chutney, pickle or with mint coriander chutney.
Enjoy!!