Upma

Also known as uppittu, this dish is a staple in the South Indian homes and restaurants. It is usually eaten on its own with a squeeze of lemon juice, or with pickle, podi or coconut chutney. Elsewhere on the streets, it is also served with a garnish of sev or farsan. For young kids, a lot of people sprinkle some sugar to tone-down the heat.

Did you ever wonder how the Upma served in some restaurants and wedding places is so delicious with plenty of flavors? My easy recipe, with plenty of tips and tricks will help you make it. You can also easily customize this dish to your palate.

About Upma Recipe

The traditional and authentic process to make upma starts by roasting semolina which is also known as suji or Bombay rava. This is the key step in making the dish fluffy without getting sticky. While this cools down, a tempering is made with oil/ghee, mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves and hing.

The ingredients are roasted until they turn aromatic and nutty, before pouring the water. You will smell the beautiful flavors as this comes to a boil. We slowly incorporate the roasted rava into the boiling water, making sure no lumps are formed.

Upma recipes vary by region and preference but the method remains the same. While you will find ingredients like cumin seeds, ginger and chana dal in an Andhra & Telangana style upma, you will see the dish being cooked in milk & some recipes use nothing other than mustard, chili and curry leaves for the tempering.

Feel free to omit the ingredients you don’t prefer in your upma. Example: cumin seeds, ginger or lentils. You can cook this Upma to a moist porridge-like dish or to a fluffy and non-sticky kind, just by adjusting the water levels.

Ingredients

• Semolina: You need fine semolina which is marketed as suji, upma rava or Bombay rava. It is different from semolina flour, bansi rava and dalia (broken wheat). It is available in 3 varieties – regular unroasted, roasted and double roasted. While the first kind needs roasting very well before making upma, the second kind requires a short roast and the last one (double roasted) is good to use directly, without roasting.
• Oil/ghee: You can use any cooking oil, ghee or a mix of both. Ghee gives a better flavor to the dish. Fats are essential to make a delicious upma, so do not cut down the oil/ghee.
• Whole spices: A lot of people use only mustard seeds and do not prefer cumin. However my mom always added cumin seeds for a earthy flavor so I do use them. They also help with digestion. You may omit them if you don’t prefer.
• Fresh ginger imparts a delicious and pungent flavor. Make sure you chop or grate it very fine. You don’t want to bite into the ginger while enjoying your upma.
• Onion and green chilies impart sweet and spicy flavors. A lot of people also use dried red chili (Karnataka style).
• Lentils: You will use split skinned black lentils (split white urad dal) and chana dal (Bengal dal). They add a nutty aroma and crunch to your upma. However if you roast them too long on a low heat, they will remain hard. So make sure you fry them just until golden and aromatic.
• Hing also known as asafoetida is a tree resin and smells funny but once it gets tempered it adds a beautiful flavor to your dish. You may omit it if you don’t like.

Time Saving Expert Tip

I usually roast the whole pack of semolina when I cut it open. Cool it completely and store in a clean air tight jar. This cuts down your roasting time whenever you want to make upma. Plus this step keeps your semolina fresh for longer.