Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, Restaurant Style Upma Recipe (Rava Upma) is a vegetarian Indian, Karnataka, South Indian breakfast, snack made with sooji/semolina/rava, jeera (cumin) seeds, and oil in about 20 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Breakfast, Snack
  • Cuisine: Indian, Karnataka, South Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sooji/semolina/rava
  • 1 teaspoon jeera (cumin) seeds
  • 2 tablespoons oil (or ghee)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons split urad dal
  • 2 teaspoons split chana dal
  • 8-10 cashew-nuts
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
  • 3 green chilies (finely chopped)
  • 2 stalks curry leaves
  • a big pinch asafetida (hing)
  • 2.5 cups water
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • salt (to taste)
  • juice of half lemon
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro)
  • 2 tablespoons ghee

Method

Stovetop Pot Method:

  1. Start by roasting the sooji along with one teaspoon of cumin (jeera) until it's fragrant on a medium-low flame in a pan. Do not burn or brown the sooji from the bottom, so be careful. Remove it into a clean, dry bowl or plate. ** Note: You can do this step of roasting sooji in advance and save time for busy mornings.
  2. Add oil to a heavy bottom pan, add mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, and cashew nuts, and saute for 1 minute until they change color.
  3. Next, add chopped ginger, green chilies, asafetida, and curry leaves. Saute another 20 seconds.
  4. Next add water, milk and let the water come to a boil. Do not add salt directly at this stage; milk will curdle.
  5. Once the water & milk comes to a boil, add salt, and start adding the (roasted sooji + jeera) a little at a time. Stir continuously after each addition in one direction with a spatula to avoid lumps.
  6. Then cover the pan with the lid and set the heat to low. Let it remain like that for 2-3 mins until the moisture gets absorbed. Turn off the heat.
  7. Remove lid, add lemon juice, coriander leaves, and two tablespoons of ghee. Ghee is optional but recommended. Mix well.
  8. Serve hot with coconut chutney, pickle, and sambar.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.