Upma with wheat rava

Dear foodies,

I might have mentioned it before, but I always disliked upma made from the semolina rava, the normal rava upma. I don't know why. My mom would make maggi for me whenever she was making this for tiffin or dinner. But I would eat upma made from broken/cracked wheat aka , wheat rava and I also loved bambino and poha upma, the semolina rava was the only one detested.

But even that changed after I came to the US. My roomie Pari, loves upma and she made it quite a few times for us. The first time she made it, I was kinda uncomfortable to say I did not like it and make something else for myself, well, who wants to cook when its not your cooking turn :P. But after I tasted it, things changed. It tasted great and I even learnt her method for cooking it ( I did not take the recipe from my mother before coming here thinking I would never ever make it :D). Since then I have had bowlfuls of her upma and even started making some for myself after we moved out.

But hey, we were talking about the wheat rava upma here, lets not steal its thunder. Wheat rava, or broken wheat is rich in carbohydrates and fiber and less refined when compared to semolina rava. The way its sold in the market, the grains are a little coarse and when cooked they fluff up quite a bit. It could easily be served for a light dinner as opposed to being just a tiffin item. I posted a recipe that my mom sent to me earlier...err 2yrs back, that was in August too! Its been a loooong time since I started this blog then!!


I made this upma a few weeks back. I totally miscalculated the amount though. I used 2-21/2 cups of rava, and ended up with 1/2 a huge cooker full of it. I had it for countless meals before having to throw away a tiny portion cos I could not take it any longer!

Here is the recipe to make the upma, my additions to this were

• 1/2 cup - Edamame, shelled soybean or substitute with peas/lima beans/tuvar lilva/chickpeas
• 1 ea - golden beetroot and kohlrabi (only because I had them, you can use other vegetables like carrots, potatoes, tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup - thawed, frozen spinach
• 1 tsp - chopped ginger

I used lesser oil (1 Tbsp) and used the cooker just like my mother shows in her recipe. After turning off the heat, fluff up the upma with a fork or spoon and serve warm. I had mine with fresh cut-mango pickle and curds, sprinkled some idli podi. This upma is really flavorful and hearty, with the rava having a nice texture. If you haven't tried this yet I recommend that you do. The options are endless and you can spice it up anyway you like with the vegetables in your pantry. You could also add peanuts or cashews to it.

A couple of days after Suganya posted her fiercely red tomato soup, I bought a few vine ripe tomatoes and made it at home. My intention was to have it last for a couple of dinners, but I found myself having two cups of it for dinner that night and the rest for lunch the next day! It was super delicious and damn easy to make. Its the most perfect tomato soup I've had. If you don't believe me, give it a try and you will know :D I topped it with some grated beets and it was really yummy.

Hope this Monday is treating you right? and hey, did you guys watch the Olympics opening ceremony on the 8th, wasn't it just fabulous ?