First, a word on this dish
Ask a South Indian cook what is for breakfast and upma is often the answer, though it is trickier than it looks. The base is rava (semolina), toasted in a dry pan and then cooked briefly in hot, seasoned water so that it swells into soft grains that stay separate. Two things matter above all. The ratio of water to semolina must be exact, and the semolina has to be roasted dry first and then poured into boiling water that is already in the pan. Reverse this, or use cold water, and you will fight lumps for the rest of the cook.
Today upma is a morning dish everywhere in India: a daily staple in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, and a quick tiffin item well beyond the South. The method and the goal of light, non-gummy grains still come from southern kitchens, where upma is treated as seriously as idli or dosa.
The story behind the dish
Upma began in South Indian home kitchens and appears, in different forms, in all four main southern states. Rava upma is the one known across the country. In Karnataka it goes by uppittu, and Andhra versions sometimes vary the tempering, for example in how chana dal and urad dal are used. Writers on South Indian food note that semolina became easy to buy as a by-product of industrial flour mills in colonial times, which helped rava dishes such as upma and rava dosa settle into standard forms through the 19th and 20th centuries, even though cooking with semolina is older than that. By now upma is among the most common breakfasts in India, served in homes, canteens and restaurants far outside the South.
The method, in order
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Prep
Toast the semolina in a dry pan
Set a wide, heavy pan on medium-low heat, with no oil, and pour in the semolina. Stir the whole time for 5 to 7 minutes. You are watching for a slightly paler colour, a toasty smell, and grains that feel dry and loose as the spoon passes through them. Pour it out onto a plate. Skipping this toasting is what makes upma gluey.
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Prep
Get the water ready
While you work on the tempering, bring the water close to boiling in another small pan or in a kettle. Having hot water ready at the exact moment you need it counts as much as the roasting, since cold water on hot tempering makes the semolina stick together before it can swell evenly.
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Cook
Make the tempering
Use the same pan, now with the oil or ghee warming in it. When the mustard seeds pop, add the urad dal, chana dal and cashews and fry for about a minute, until the dals turn light golden and the cashews are toasted. Then the curry leaves, the dried or green chillies and the asafoetida go in.
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Cook
Soften the onion and vegetables
Onion and ginger come next, and they need about 3 minutes, until the onion is soft and clear. When you are using carrot and peas, add them now for roughly 2 minutes, just long enough to begin softening, as the steam at the end will finish them.
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Cook
Pour in the water and salt
Pour in the hot water with the salt and let it reach a full, rolling boil. Boiling hard, and not merely hot, is what lets the grains swell evenly once the semolina arrives.
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Cook
Pour the semolina in slowly
Turn the heat down a little. With one hand, pour the toasted semolina in a thin, slow stream. With the other, stir fast and without stopping. Lumps come from rushing this step, so stay calm even though the pan is bubbling. When it is all in, you will see a thick, slightly lumpy porridge.
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Cook
Close the lid and steam
Cover the pan with a lid and keep the heat low for 3 to 4 minutes, until every bit of water has been absorbed and the grains have swollen and turned fluffy. Take the lid off, fluff the upma with a fork to pull the grains apart, and leave it uncovered for one last minute so any dampness on top dries off. If the upma still looks wet in the middle after that, cover it again for another minute or two.
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Serve
Add the finish and serve
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and coriander. Serve while it is hot and light. As upma cools, it tightens and loses its fluffiness, so eat it from the pan instead of keeping it for later.
Ingredient stand-ins
Swap in vermicelli (semiya) for the semolina and you get vermicelli upma, made with the same tempering and about the same water, though roasted vermicelli takes slightly less time once the water is in. For vegetables, anything firm works at the tempering stage, with beans, capsicum and tomato the usual regional choices. Ghee in place of oil gives a richer and more traditional taste, mainly in the final tempering.
Making it milder or fiercer
Upma is soothing and mild, and the chillies in the tempering decide how hot it gets. For less heat, use one dried red chilli and fish it out before serving, or skip chillies and let the ginger give a little warmth. For more, slit two or three green chillies down the middle, or stir a pinch of chilli powder in with the salt.
The slip most cooks make
Cutting the dry-roasting short is the mistake that matters most, because it decides whether you get fluffy upma or gluey upma. Pouring the semolina in quickly, or without stirring, is next. It forms hard lumps that no extra cooking will break down. Water is the third trap. Too little leaves the middle dry and underdone, while too much gives a soft porridge instead of separate light grains. Start with 2 1/2 cups of water for 1 cup of semolina, and adjust slightly for your brand.
Storing what is left
Fridge or counter: Put leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, knowing the texture tightens and loses some fluffiness as it sits. Most South Indian cooks make it fresh each time, since upma that has been reheated is clearly denser.
Bringing it back to life: Put it in a covered pan over low heat and stir in a splash of water or milk, then wait until it is hot and the grains have loosened. The microwave works as well. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and heat in short bursts, accepting that the result will be denser than the first serving.
Handle with care
Upma is a dry, thoroughly cooked dish without raw egg or dairy, so the risk is low. With peas or carrot in it, cool leftovers within about two hours and refrigerate them soon after, just as you would any cooked grain dish with vegetables.
Sources worth opening
- Colleen Taylor Sen, "Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India" (Reaktion Books) — on the spread of semolina-based dishes following the growth of industrial wheat milling in colonial India.