UPMA RECIPE – RAVA, GOTHUMAI RAVA &
SEMIYA
Upma is a portmanteau of salt (uppu) and flour. The dish was born when someone decided to
mix flour and salt together with some simple seasonings. Now, it has become one
of the most popular Indian breakfast. Upma can be
made with just salt and rava literally. You don’t need any fancy ingredient or
equipment.
The upma recipe mentioned in this post are the basic ones.
But we have so many varieties like aval upma or poha, bread upma, idli upma
(from the leftover idlis), Javaarisi upma or sago. Then there are few other
south Indian regional traditionals like arisi upma (made with coarsely grained
rice and lentils), pidi kozhukattai (another rice flour upma) etc.. The list
goes on and we have million ways to prepare it!
The Basic Upma Recipe(3 Types)
Rava Upma | Semolina Upma:
The mother of upma varieties, it is the most basic version
of upma and is a common breakfast dish in South Indian homes. Rava, sooji or
more commonly known as Bombay rava in the south, is a type of semolina flour.
It is a byproduct formed when milling durum wheat flour. These coarse grains
are then ground to a fine flour. There are usually two types of rava available
– fine and coarse variety. Depending on the type of the recipe, either variety
is used. For making rava upma, use the coarse variety.
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Rava Upma
Rava or sometimes written as rawa is a common ingredient in
the South Indian cooking. There are
various recipes that uses rava. – rava
idli, rava dosa, rava kichdi, rava pongal, rava kesari, rava ladoo and the list
goes on.
GOTHUMA RAVA UPMA BROKEN WHEATUPMA (DALIA)
This is a crushed or cut variety of wheat. This looks like
bulgur wheat but it is not. As this is a cracked wheat, it is much more filling
than the normal rava (sooji).As it is more coarse than semolina, it absorbs and
needs more water to cook. This can also be used to make pulav as well. Pair it
with raita and this makes an awesome lunch.
 Goduma Upma SEMIYA UPMAcommonly known as vermicelli in the Indian culinary language. 
Semiya Upma
The above three varieties are the basic recipes and it
frequents South Indian homes often. Their method of preparation is exactly the
same. You can substitute these three grains in the same upma recipe. They are
simple, quick to make and quite nutritious, filling and tasty!
I have listed below the tricks to to get the right texture
and taste for this simple dish.
Following these steps will ensure you get a perfect upma every time you
make.
TIPS FOR MAKING A FLUFFY UPMA:
Roasting the main ingredients, even though this step is
optional, roasting the grains – rava, gothumai rava or semiya, give the final
dish a nice and unique taste. It also helps in getting a fluffy upma rather
than a mashed porridge.
Hot water: Add the
grains only after the water is boiled. Else they form lumps which are hard to
dissolve or mash. This in turn will not cook them properly and we will have a
raw taste. Always, add the roasted grains to boiling water. We usually boil
water separately and add. This fastens the cooking process and reduces cooking
time.
Cover and cook to ensure that the grains cook evenly. If
not, some particles might be partially cooked and it will give an unpleasant
bite.
Once it is cooked, remove the pan from the flame and let it
rest for a couple of minutes before you open the lid. Then, gently fluff it up
with a ladle or fork which gives a soft and fluffy upma.
Rava is roasted and then made to almost like a thick
porridge and seasoned mildly with mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ghee (to roast the rava) substitute normal oil
if vegan
1 cup semolina (also known as Bombay rava) or broken wheat
or vermicelli
2 to 2.5 cups hot water (refer notes)
Goduma rava upma:
1 tablespoon ghee (to roast the broken wheat) substitute
normal oil if vegan
1 cup gothumai rava | broken wheat
2.5 to 3 cups water or hot water
Semiya upma:
1 tablespoon ghee (to roast the semiya) substitute normal
oil if vegan
1.5 cups semiya | vermicelli
Other general ingredients
2 tablespoon oil (use ghee for special occasions)
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 tablespoon channa dal
1/2 teaspoon urad dal (optional)
2 green chillies (indian or thai variety), slit lengthwise
you can also use jalapeno if they are not available
3-4 curry leaves, torn into pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 medium-sized tomato, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon roasted cashews
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing
1/8 cup peanuts, roasted
5 whole cashews
1 cup finely chopped veggies (a mix of carrots, peas, potato
& beans) refer notes.
Instructions:
Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a Kadai | Pan. Roast the rava /
broken wheat / semiya until it becomes aromatic and slightly starts changing
colour; about 3 minutes on medium high flame. Transfer it to a bowl and keep it
aside.
Now, add the oil into the same pan and once it becomes hot,
add the mustard seeds and as it splutters, add the green chillies, curry leaves
and ginger; give a quick stir.
Then add the onions and fry until it turns translucent,
about 2 minutes.
Then add the tomatoes, fry them for another 30 seconds.
Now add the finely chopped veggies of your choice, stir them
for a minute.
Add the required amount of hot water (See the ingredients
list) and salt. If you are adding room temperature water, make sure to bring it
to a full boil before adding the grains.
Turn the heat down and then add the rava gradually. Keep on
stirring while adding the rava to avoid forming lumps. Be careful as it might
splatter.
Keep stirring until the rava, semiya or gothumai rava
absorbs the water completely. Careful it might bubble and splatter around you.
Then, lower the flame, cover and cook until the rava becomes
soft for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Turn off the flame and keep it covered for another couple of
minutes.
Then fluff it up with a spatula, garnish it with coriander
leaves and cashews.
Serving
Serve rava upma with coconut chutney. Some relish this with
sugar or indian type pickles.
Serve gothumai rava ( broken wheat upma) with onion raita.
Mostly it can had without any side dish.
Serve semiya upma with coconut chutney. Some relish this
with sugar or indian type pickles.
Recipe Notes:
The traditional variety is plain and simple. But adding
veggies to this upma makes it wholesome and a filling breakfast.
Peanuts and cashews are also optional. You can make with or
without them.
When making upma, always add salt to the water (step 4) and
check immediately. When you add salt in the end, it will not get mixed
properly. The water should be slightly spicy and salty when you taste. Then
when you add the rava/semiya and veggies, the amount of salt absorbed will be
right.
As soon as the grains absorb the entire amount of water and
it thickens, cover and cook on low flame. This step is essential to get a nice
and fluffy upma.
If you are adding vegetables, dice them evenly and in
smaller sizes. This ensures that they are fully cooked in a small amount of
time.
Rava Upma:
The amount of water depends on what type of rava you use.
Usually 2 to 2 .5 cups water is more than sufficient. If you are unsure of how
much to add, add little excess amounts. The fine variety, may need less amount
of water, so start with 1.5 or 1.75 cups water.
If the water content is not enough, then adding some more
water in the later stage will make it form big hard lumps which is bad. But if
it is little more, you can keep it for some more time in the flame until it
absorbs most of the water and the consistency will be like a kichdi or a
porridge, which is better than a lumped up uncooked upma.
Gothumai Rava Upma:
You can skip the roasting part for this upma but as I
mentioned it gives a nice flavour when you do.
This absorbs more water than the regular bombay rava, hence
add 2.5 to 3 cups water. The grains will be more fluffy and separate than the
rava upma.
Semiya Upma:
In grocers we get two types of Semiya, roasted and
non-roasted. You can either of these and if you have non roasted, roast it in a
pan until it turns slightly golden brown and then add in the water. I have
roasted semiya which is golden brown in colour.
For Quinoa : Rinse the quinoa grains first and then add it
in step 4. It will need about 2 to 2.5 cups water and simmer it for about 10
minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
For Couscous : In step 4, add about 1.5 to 2 cups water;
simmer and cover for about 8 - 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
For Bulgur wheat : Add 1.5 cups hot water to bulgur wheat
and let it rest for 15 minutes. Add this after step 3 (no additional water is
needed). Keep it on the medium flame for about 3-4 minutes, so that it absorbs
the salt and other flavours. Turn off and serve.
Tips for making a fluffy upma:
Roasting the main ingredients, even though this step is
optional, roasting the grains - rava, gothumai rava or semiya give the final
dish a nice and unique taste. It also helps in getting a fluffy upma rather
than a mashed porridge.
Hot water: Add the
grains only after the water is boiled. Else they form lumps which are hard to
dissolve or mash. This in turn will not cook them properly and we will have a
raw taste. Always, add the roasted grains to boiling water. We usually boil
water separately and add. This fastens the cooking process and reduces cooking
time.
Cover and cook to ensure that the grains cook evenly. If
not, some particles might be partially cooked and it will give an unpleasant
bite.
Once it is cooked, remove the pan from the flame and let it
rest for a couple of minutes before you open the lid. Then, gently fluff it up
with a ladle or fork which gives a soft and fluffy upma.
|
UPMA RECIPE | HOW TO MAKE USING UPMA USING RAVA | GODUMA | SEMIYA
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