Upma
Classic South Indian rava upma: roasted semolina cooked soft and fluffy with mustard seeds, curry leaves, onion, ginger and green chilli, finished with ghee and a squeeze of lemon.
Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min · Total 25 min · Serves 3
Ingredients
Upma
- 1 cup Fine rava (Bombay sooji / semolina)
- 2 ½ cups Water
- 2 tbsp Oil
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Urad dal
- 1 tsp Chana dal
- 8 Cashews, halved
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Green chillies, slit
- 1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
Method
- Roast the rava. Dry roast the rava in a heavy pan over medium-low heat, stirring all the time, until it smells toasty and the grains feel loose and sandy but haven't browned. Tip onto a plate.
- Temper. Heat the oil in the same pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them pop, then the urad dal, chana dal and cashews and fry until golden. Add the curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and hing, then the onion, and cook until the onion is soft.
- Boil the water. Pour in the water, add the salt and sugar and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add the rava. Turn the heat to low. Pour in the rava in a thin stream with one hand while stirring constantly with the other, so no lumps form. Keep stirring until it thickens and pulls together.
- Steam and finish. Cover and cook on the lowest heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the ghee, lemon juice and coriander and fluff gently with a fork.
Tips
Roasting the rava well and adding it to fast-boiling water are what keep upma fluffy rather than gluey. Use 2 1/2 cups water for soft, hotel-style upma and 2 cups for a firmer one. Serve with coconut chutney, peanut chutney or a spoon of mango pickle.