Monday, August 11, 2008

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 ?

17 thoughts:

bee said...

i don't like upma either - for the same reasons. when it's made with wholegrain couscous, i like it. now, i only use cracked wheat or bulgur or wholegrain cornmeal. in the u.s., if it is called cracked wheat, it must be whole wheat. lovely soup.

Priya said...


Bee, I am waiting to get done with my cracked wheat packet to buy bulgur. Are there very similar in taste and texture ? and where do you get your corn meal. I bought a coarse corn meal to make Anita's makki ki roti and it was all bitter. TBC mentioned she got it from the Indian store.

Priya said...


bee, I made idli batter from scratch y'day and it fermented too!! I checked on it half heartedly in the morning today and was shcoked to see it doubled in volume. You were first person I wanted to tell it too..

anudivya said...

The upma looks yum, but I must admit that I like the regular semolina upma as well. Nothing like a warm ladle of it with mango pickle on a cool plantain leaf! Traditional... never get that opportunity these days! :(
Oh so miss it!

Just sneaked into the scrap about the idli batter, though I shud give my two cents... :)
I mix 2 cups of idli rava with just enough water, and add 1 cup of urad dhal (soaked and ground) with a 1/4 tsp sugar & salt to taste. Ferments beautifully and comes out perfect except on very cold/humid days.

Unknown said...

Wheat rava upma looks delicious! I love the color of the soup!

Vidhya said...

wow, I like your version of upma

Suganya said...

This was a nice feast for the eyes. Looks so good. YUM!

Suganya said...

The soup looks fabulous. You have captured very well, Priya :)

SMN said...

I love Upma especially with all the mixed veggies. Wheat upma sounds really interesting. Soup also looks yum

Srivalli said...

girl..thats seriously lovely pictures..they want me crave to eat them..though i hardly like upma much!..not to say abt the soup...

amna said...

i am upma hater too and haven't tried any other version. have that soup bookmarked from Sug's blog though :)

Shreya said...

I love wheat rava and semolina upma with vegetables!:-) Pics are awesome. Love the soup colour and looks so appetizing. I have something waiting for you at my blog.

Sangeeth said...

u have a surprise in my blog :) and ur recipe is yummy...i luv upma..

sunita said...

The upma looks lovely, and so does the soup...I love upma made with bulgur.

Padma said...

I dont like rava upma when its made with cracked wheat! I love with Bombay rava though, that photo is stealing the show and the soup looks awesome! pls. drop by my blog and pick up your award. :)

Priya said...


Thank you all for your comments, Sorry for not responding to each one this time. Got tied up with other things. Its surprising how everyone are on my side when it comes to rava upma :)
Shreya, Sangeeth and Padma thank you soo much for the awards. I am soo happy to receive them from you. I will post about them soon :)

Anonymous said...

Hi.. certainly i have never come something similar to what I see on ur site.. you got amazing amazing pictures.. so color ful and attractive.. great work friend!!

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