Upma, Kerala Style Rava Upma

This Fluffy Kerala Style Rava Upma or Upumavu is a flavourful and delicious breakfast dish made from roasted semolina or sooji. Rava upma recipe is a common breakfast recipe in many south Indian households. The best part of this recipe is that it’s so simple and you can make it in less than 20 minutes.

It can be prepared with several variations and known by different names such as upma recipe | Rava upma recipe|Semolina upma

Upma Recipe Kerala Style

Upumavu or Rava Upma is one of the easiest breakfast dishes that can be prepared within a short time. It is made from roasted semolina or Rava cooked in boiling water, curry leaves, onion, ginger, green chili. This recipe consistently resulted fluffy, crumbly delicious texture..

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

  

For Tempering

• 1 tbsp Oil (Note 1) (Coconut, Penut oil or Ghee taste better)
• 1 tsp Urad dal (Note 2)
• 1 Red chili
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seed
• 6 Cashews (Note 3)
• Curry leaves

For Upma

• 1/4 cup Onion finely chopped 1/2 of medium onion
• 1 green chili (finely chopped)
• 1/2 tbsp ginger (finely grated)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup Rava (Note 4)
• 1 1/4 cup Boiled water
• 1/2 cup coconut fresh or deccicated

Instructions

 

• Heat oil in a non stick pan
• Add mustard seed and wait until splutter, then add split black gram (urad dal), whole red chili, cashew nuts and curry leaves. Saute for 2-3 minutes till urad dal is light brown.
• Add chopped onion, ginger and green chilli and sautee for few minutes until the onion is light brown.
• Add 1 cup Rava and fry for 6-7 mins (if the Rava is already roasted then doesn't need to fry again, just mix). Stirring continuously. Rava will change the color slightly but not a big change.
• Add boiled water a little at a time and keep stirring until all water is absorbed and it becomes crumbly over medium-low heat. For 1 cup Rava, you will need about 1 1/4 cup more water as a baseline. You can adjust the water based on your taste.
• Stir in shredded coconut at the end. This add a delicious touch to upma.
• Cook Rava for about 5 minutes
• Check salt and adjust to taste. Turn off heat and cover it with a lid for few minutes.
• Fluffy Upma is ready to serve

Video

Notes

1. Oil – Coconut, Canola, Peanut, Ghee, or other neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point. It tastes even better if you mix 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter.
2. For tempering, you can use just mustard seed or mustard seed + urad dal or mustard seed + urad dal + chana dal. The flavor that comes from these is great for upma.
3. The nuts like cashews and peanuts add extra crunch to upma, you can add any type of nuts. Roast them first before tempering and set aside. If you are using roasted peanuts then just add along with tempering. If cashews are not roasted then saute them until light brown to get that roasted flavor.
4. Semolina is also known as Cream of Wheat, Rava, or Sooji. It comes also as roasted or non-roasted. You can save time if you get the roasted semolina which is readily available in supermarkets. But some people prefer to buy Rava in bulk and roast it themselves. You can keep it longer in airtight containers.
5. To make perfect upma, the proportion of water is the key step that can make or break your upma recipe. If you add too much water it will be sticky and mushy. If you add too little water then upma will be dry or undercooked. The most important tip is that sprinkle a little water at a time and keep stirring.
6. Upma can get lumpy if it is not cooked and stirred properly. 

Keyword breakfast, Rava, semolina, upma, upumavu