The upma recipe I share here is adapted from my mom’s recipe and continues to be a favorite in my home. The ingredients used to flavor the rava give it a deliciously satisfying taste that will make this dish one of your new favorite go-to breakfasts.

What is Rava Upma

Upma is a flavorful South Indian breakfast dish made from rava or cream of wheat.

This traditional dish involves cooking roasted rava in water that has been flavored by ghee (or oil), cashews, urad dal (lentils), chana dal (husked chickpeas), onion, ginger and additional herbs and spices. Sugar can be added for a mildly sweet and savory dish.

This steaming hot breakfast dish can be made vegan by using oil instead of ghee. Full of warmth, flavor and deliciousness, this upma tastes so good. So why not take a break from that boring oatmeal and try something new? You can’t lose!

The main ingredient in any upma recipe is rava. Also called ‘suji‘ in Hindi and ‘cream of wheat’ or ‘semolina’ in English, it is simply granulated wheat.

What really makes an upma breakfast dish special are all the fried ingredients that are used for tempering. These ingredients can vary depending on the recipe, but usually include some sweet, savory and nutty flavors.

Upma is a traditional breakfast served in restaurants throughout South India, including Maharashtra. It is also a common breakfast prepared in South Indian homes. In fact, upma was a regular breakfast or evening snack in my house while growing up.

Ingredients

For Roasting Rava

• 1 cup rava – finer variety (sooji or cream of wheat or semolina)

Other Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter) or oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon chana dal (split and husked bengal gram)
• 1 teaspoon urad dal (split and husked black gram)
• 10 to 12 cashews – optional
• ⅓ cup finely chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chilli or 1 green chilli
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger or 1 inch ginger
• 1 sprig curry leaves or 10 to 12 curry leaves
• 2.5 cups water
• salt as required
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar or add as required – optional
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)