Rava upma | suji ka upma | rulav

Upma or rulav is a delicious breakfast option from Southern India made with semolina. Very healthy, low fat and goes great with a nice cup of tea or coffee! You also serve it with chutneys like coconut chutney, coriander chutney but I like it plain. I love to cook upma with lots of ghee - this gives the most amazing flavour, but if you are vegan, just use vegetable oil instead.

There are many variations to this recipe, you can also add vegetables if you like - I sometimes add peas! Even vegetables like finely chopped carrots or potatoes work really well. 

Getting the consistency of upma right does take some practice, I have found through trial and error that a ratio of 175g (1 cup) of semolina to 600ml (2.5 cups) of water the best ratio for 3-4 people. However, this does depend on the quality of the semolina - if you semolina is old then you may need to add some more water. When making it just for me and Yogesh I used 1/2 cup of semolina and 1 1/2 cups of water.

It is also important to roast the semolina beforehand - otherwise the final upma will taste raw. When I buy semolina I often roast it straightaway. I then store it in an airtight container and it makes recipes which require roasted semolina a breeze!

Do also check out some of my other breakfast recipes like kanda poha and sabudana khichdi!

Ingredients
Serves 3-4
175g (1 cup) fine semolina 

600ml (2.5 cups) water 

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped 

Thumb size piece ginger, finely chopped 

1 green chilli, slitted 

Handful cashews 
Handful frozen peas (optional)

10 curry leaves 

1 tsp chana dal (spilt Bengal gram)

1 tsp skinned urad dal (white)

Handful coriander (leaves roughly chopped, stems finely chopped)

Salt to taste 

Ghee or vegetable oil as required

You'll need these spices

1 tsp mustard seeds 

1 tsp cumin seeds 

Method
Cook time - 25-30 minutes

1. In a dry frying pan on low heat, roast the semolina until fragrant and golden. Keep stirring and moving it in the pan to ensure it roasts evenly. Set aside in a bowl or plate.
   
   
2. In the same frying pan, on medium-low heat, add around 1 tbsp of ghee.
   
   
3. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and let them sizzle & crackle.
   
   
4. Next, add chana dal and urad dal and fry until golden.
   
   
5. Add the cashews and curry leaves. Saute until the cashews turn golden.
   
   
6. Add the onions and coriander stems. Fry until translucent.
   
   
7. Now add the slit green chilli, ginger and frozen peas (if using). Saute for another minute or two.
   
   
8. Pour in the 2.5 cups of water and add salt to taste. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer.
   
   
9. Add the roasted semolina in batches, mixing well all the time to ensure no big lumps form. Once the semolina has been fully incorporated, cover the pan with a lid and steam for around 3 minutes. Finally, mix through the coriander leaves and serve! 

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