Uppuma, very much a South Indian breakfast dish, is called Uppumavu in Malayalam and Uppittu in Kannada. In Tamil, “uppu” means salt while “ma” could mean flour, dough or batter. This doesn’t quite explain the dish though other than it is savoury and and perhaps somewhere between dough and batter in consistency. Though a breakfast dish, it can be eaten as a snack or brunch. It makes for a wholesome meal in itself.
I’ve noticed people either like Uppuma or they don’t like it at all. I personally love it, especially when it is made with vegetables and served hot. Though not an Uppuma snob, I can get a bit picky about how I eat it. I dislike sticky, lumpy or greasy Uppuma and prefer mine somewhat crumbly and fluffy in texture the way my mother always made it. Uppuma can get lumpy if not cooked and stirred properly and tends to clump. Some people try to over this by adding a little oil or ghee to it just before they take it off the stove. This tends to make it greasy some of the time.
Uppuma is traditionally made with coconut oil and no vegetables or onions. Freshly grated coconut is sometimes added to it. Today’s, the recipe I share with you is my mother’s No Lump Vegetable Uppuma. It is not the traditional version and truly a lump proof method. What makes it lump free is two things. One is the roasting of the semolina/ rawa. The other is the addition of boiling water to the semolina and vegetables and not the usual other way around. This recipe uses onions and vegetables but no coconut. Though I use a little ghee, you can substitute it with oil to make it vegan. If you use rice grits, it becomes gluten-free as well.
Uppuma is usually served with coconut chutney, though it can be eaten with Indian pickles (mango or lime pickles are the best). Other popular accompaniments are sugar, banana or even plain yogurt! I like it best plain, or sometimes sprinkled with a little sugar on top. without any accompaniment and occasionally with the small sweet variety of bananas.
Please note this recipe was originally published in 2008. It has since been updated with images and text.
No Lump Vegetable Uppuma
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rawa (coarse semolina)
- 1 1/2 tsps ghee or oil
- 3 cups water
- to taste salt
- 1 cup finely chopped assorted vegetables (carrot, French beans, green peas, potato)
- 1 big onion finely chopped
- 2 one inch long pieces of ginger minced
- 1 - 2 green chillies chopped
- 2 tsps coconut oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsps urad dal (black gram dal)
- 2 tsps chana dal (Bengal gram dal)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- If pre-roasted rawa is available, then that's best for this uppuma. Otherwise, heat the ghee/ oil and add the rawa. Roast the rawa over low to medium heat till golden in colour and an aroma emanates from the rawa. Ghee gives the uppuma a very nice flavour and taste. If you prefer, you can avoid the ghee and oil here and dry roast the rawa. Keep aside to cool.
- Add a little salt to the 3 cups of water and keep to boil. Steam cook the chopped vegetables, except the onions, till done but firm. Otherwise cook in the microwave. the chopped vegetables (not onions) in the microwave till just done.
- In a wok, heat the 2 tsp oil and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the urad dals and saute till golden brown. Now add the ginger, onions and green chillies. Saute till the onions are soft. Add the curry leaves and vegetables (if microwaved), stir and add the rawa. Stir everything so that the rawa uniformly coats the vegetables.
- Turn down the heat to low. Slowly add the boiling water (with or without the vegetables) because at this point the mixture tends to spit. Stir everything so it is well mixed. Keep mixing occasionally till the rawa absorbs all the water and the uppuma is fluffy. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot. This recipe serves 3 to 4 people.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
Congrats on your 101 post and the award. I like the info on Upma, and I can totally relate to what you say about lumpy, sticky upma, and the oily version. My mother makes the upma exactly as you have posted in your recipe, and my father has this with the small sweet banana you mention. I wish I had the patience to chop all veggies in the morning. I add grated carrots to the boiling water and pour it in..The picture makes me want to make this asap:-) Thanks so much for this post…
I never realised upma was made using coconut oil, too. And grated coconut as garnish is also new to me. I am one of the few souls who likes upma as well.
lump proof upma! yay!!
I have also been an upma lover, and the more the veggies the better! When I posted this recipe I too started off on that note – about ppl. not liking upma and am I glad that it is wrong:)
congrats on your award n also on 101th post .. upma looks yummy .. its one of my fave, esp when it is piping hot
I love upma, and this one looks delicious with all those colorful veggies! and lump-proof! awesome:)btw, this would be a nice entry for the healthy cooking event on my blog!:)
Congrats on the 101! How cool.I am really excited for the Think Spice, Think Nutmeg round-up. I also plan on entering the Small Breads contest.
Hey priyaall the best for the entry…vegetable rawa upma will also be very good for health, isnt it !
What a great way of using semolina. Thank you for the inspiration! I’ve only used semolina in two ways before: boiled in milk and added in cookie recipes or crumble toppings for an extra gritty texture.
Lol, I love that name lump proof 🙂 Great looking upma Aparna… Also, congrats on the century…. 🙂
Congrst on the 101th post!!Am not a fond of upma..neither the plain nor with the vegs….although the bowl of upma looks good 🙂
For a person whose Upma was always soggy this post of yours was quite helpful. thanks to you I finally was able to dish it out properly. I have shared it at http://kootucurri.blogspot.com…thanks once againchitra
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So there are quite a few of us who like uppuma. Makes me happy.:DYour version should be good too, Shreya. Sra, in Kerala almost everything is cooked in coconut oil. Even papads are fried in it!Mansi, have sent it across to you.Looking forward to your entries, Katie.Lore, This is just one recipe using semolina. There are quite a few Indian recipes which use semolina.Happy to know this recipe worked well for you. Here’s to uppuma more often in your home.:)