Upma Recipe | How to Make Sooji Upma – Canteen Style with detailed photo and video recipe. A classic South Indian breakfast recipe made with Bombay rava or sooji, accompanied by assorted spices and herbs. It is perhaps one of the simplest and easiest breakfast recipes, made within minutes, and can be served to all age groups. The traditional way is to make it with sooji and fresh herbs, but it can be enhanced by adding spice mixes and choice vegetables to make it more flavorful.
Upma Recipe | How to Make Sooji Upma – Canteen Style with step-by-step photo and video recipe. South Indian breakfast recipes are renowned for their exceptional taste and simplicity. Most of the time, they are made with some basic ingredients available at home, which not only fill you up but also make them healthy and tasty. One such easy breakfast variety is the upma recipe.
I am not a huge fan of basic or classic upma recipes, and I only make it whenever there is a demand for it from family or friends. Our favourite is tomato bath or vegetable upma, which has extra spice and flavour. I trust that every family have their own story about the upma variants and the toppings added to it. For the classic Rava Upma, I have followed the traditional method, but the other two variants I inherited from my family. The first one is the tomato upma, also known as tomato bath, which is topped with a generous amount of vangi bath masala, featuring the goodness of chunky tomatoes. The other variant is the vegetable upma, and it is a sooji or rava variant of pulao. You essentially add a variety of vegetables, along with fresh herbs and spices, to make it more filling.
Furthermore, some additional tips, suggestions, and variants for the Sooji Rava Upma recipe are provided in three ways. Firstly, the recipe must be prepared with Bombay rava; do not attempt this with any other rava variants. In fact, you can try this same recipe with other ingredients, such as oats, millets, and even broken wheat. Secondly, once you prepare this, I would strongly recommend serving it with some savoury side. Poha or a mixture of chiwda would be a good option. This would balance the flavour and also enhance the taste of the upma. Lastly, once the upma is rested, it may lose its moisture; therefore, it is better to reheat or microwave it before serving. Additionally, when reheating, you can add a spoonful of ghee to make it greasy and flavorful.
Finally, I request that you check my other related Breakfast Recipes Collection alongside this post on the three ways to make Upma Recipe. It mainly includes other related recipes, such as bread dosa, vegetable pancake, besan dosa, rice paddu, idiyappam, aloo puri, goli idli, leftover rice idli, palak patra, and bun dosa. Further to these, I would also like to mention my other related recipe categories like
About Rava Upma – Sooji Upma
Rava upma, also known as sooji upma, is one of the simplest and most humble breakfast dishes in South Indian cuisine. Made using basic pantry ingredients like semolina (rava), mustard seeds, curry leaves, onions, and green chillies, it transforms into a warm, soft, and filling meal within minutes. It’s both easy to prepare and light on the stomach, making it a nutritious and wholesome way to start the day. Despite its simplicity, upma is protein-rich when vegetables like peas, carrots, or beans are added, and it provides sustained energy throughout the morning.
Over the years, upma has seen countless variations—from tomato upma to masala upma and even oats upma—but the traditional white version with minimal vegetables continues to dominate in canteens, darshinis, and roadside hotels. It pairs best with a spicy coconut chutney and a hot cup of filter coffee or masala chai. Often moulded into a dome shape and served on a small steel plate. It looks visually inviting and has a nostalgic appeal. Its soft texture combined with subtle flavours makes it both comforting and satisfying, especially when eaten hot on a cool morning.
Fun Fact
While many teenagers groan at the sight of upma due to its frequent appearance on home breakfast menus, it still holds a top spot as one of the most popular and quietly loved dishes across Indian homes and eateries.
Chef Pro Tips for Rava Upma
Rava upma is simple to make, yet it leaves plenty of room for creativity and variation with just a few clever tricks. Here are five quick tips to elevate your everyday upma:
- Roast the rava well – Always dry roast the semolina until it turns aromatic and lightly golden, resulting in a non-sticky, fluffy texture.
- Use hot water – Add boiling water instead of cold to avoid lumps and ensure quicker cooking.
- Sauté veggies – Cook onions, carrots, and peas well before adding rava to enhance flavour and bite.
- Ghee Topping – A spoonful of ghee stirred in at the end adds richness and a subtle shine to the upma.
- Toppings – Garnish with grated coconut, roasted peanuts, or fresh coriander for added taste and texture.
Video Recipe
Recipe Card for Rava Upma
Upma Recipe | How to Make Sooji Upma - Canteen Style
Ingredients
- 1 cup rava / suji, coarse
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chana dal
- ½ tsp urad dal
- pinch hing
- 2 chilli, finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
- few curry leaves
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2½ cup water
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp ghee
- 2 tbsp coriander, chopped
- ½ lemon
Instructions
- Firstly, dry roast 1 cup rava on a low flame till the rava turns aromatic. Keep aside.
- In a large kadai, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add 1 tsp mustard, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp chana dal, ½ tsp urad dal, pinch hing, 2 chilli, 1 inch ginger and few curry leaves. Splutter the tempering.
- Also, add 1 onion and saute till the onions soften.
- Now add 2½ cup water, ½ cup milk and mix well. Get to a boil.
- Once the water comes to a boil, add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and mix well.
- Add in roasted rava, stirring continuously to ensure there are no lumps.
- Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 tsp of ghee, 2 tbsp of coriander, and ½ lemon, and mix well.
- Finally, enjoy Rava Upma Recipe with chutney.
Nutrition
How to Make Rava Upma with Step-by-Step Photos
- Firstly, dry roast 1 cup rava on a low flame till the rava turns aromatic. Keep aside.
- In a large kadai, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add 1 tsp mustard, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp chana dal, ½ tsp urad dal, pinch hing, 2 chilli, 1 inch ginger and few curry leaves. Splutter the tempering.
- Also, add 1 onion and saute till the onions soften.
- Now add 2½ cup water, ½ cup milk and mix well. Get to a boil.
- Once the water comes to a boil, add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and mix well. Make sure to add salt after milk starts to boil, this prevents milk from curdling.
- Add in roasted rava, stirring continuously to ensure there are no lumps.
- Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 tsp of ghee, 2 tbsp of coriander, and ½ lemon, and mix well.
- Finally, enjoy Rava Upma Recipe with chutney.
Notes
- Firstly, roasting rava prevents it from forming lumps.
- Also, adding milk is optional. Milk helps to give a bright white colour to upma and also enhances the flavour of upma.
- Additionally, follow 1:3 ratio of rava and water to keep the upma moist.
- Finally, Rava Upma Recipe tastes great when flavours are balanced.
Seriously flawed recipes. Rava is always roasted, else it gets sticky. That’s missing in all the three recipes.
I have roasted rava before then i prepared to start upma recipe.
Are you not roasting the rava??
I have roasted rava before then i started to prepare upma
Comments are closed.