Roasted upma rava combines especially well with buttermilk and tadka seasoning in this sensational upma breakfast of summer months. Almost any type or combination of upma ravas -like suji, semolina, broken wheat and rice rava can be used for this recipe, but the roasted varieties like this special upma rava from India provides the best texture for the dish. Silky, tangy and tasty – buttermilk upma is an acquired delight.
Roasted upma rava, Homemade Buttermilk, Urad Dal, Chana Dal and Curry Leaves
Recipe:
Take in a cup and mix:
Roasted Upma Rava – one cup
Buttermilk – one and half cups (homemade from Indian yogurt suits this recipe)
Water – one and half cups
Roasted cashews or peanuts – quarter cup
Salt – quarter teaspoon or to taste
In a wide skillet, heat and toast:
One tablespoon of ghee or oil
Add a teaspoon each – chana dal, urad dal, , broken red chilli pieces and curry leaves, in the order mentioned. Toast to golden color. Dals add crunchy bite and curry leaves bring an unforgettable aroma to the upma. I usually add one finely chopped green chilli along with curry leaves etc. Adds more flavor.
Add and cook:
Reduce the heat to medium low and add the upma rava-buttermilk-water mixture to the skillet, continuously stirring. Cover and cook until the water is absorbed and the rava becomes fluffy. Serve warm with chutney/spicy powders, or with a teaspoon of honey/sugar sprinkled on the top for that delightful sweet, tangy taste.
Buttermilk Upma with Cashews and Pappula Podi
Roasted Upma Rava: Purchased from Indian grocery Shops
If you are going to prepare this buttermilk upma with other varieties of rice/wheat ravas – first roast them to golden color – for easy mixing, cooking and for great taste.
Hey Indira, Nice to see you back. Hope you had a great weekend. I was browsing through your site to find an upma dish as I need to make something for myself after breaking a fast. Great to see this. Wl definitely try this and keep you posted on how it comes out.
Comment by Deepika Saripalli — March 26, 2007 @ 9:52 pm
i have never made or had or heard of buttermilk upma.. How do u manage to come up with such new & tasty recipes so often ? U really need to publish all this into a book bcos i don’t think there are any cookbooks with photos of all the recipes in it.
Comment by Ranjani — March 26, 2007 @ 10:14 pm
I had a quite time at home for few days and thanks for the warm welcome, Deepika. This upma taste little bit sour and tangy, different flavor from regular upma. Completely an acquired taste, just cautioning you.
If you try, let me know how you like it. Thanks.
Hi Ranjani: This is perugu upma, we usually prepare it in our homes during hot summer months. Instead of yogurt, I prepared it with thick buttermilk for easy cooking.
Comment by Indira — March 26, 2007 @ 10:20 pm
I always have yogurt as a side to upma. I think your idea to cook it in yogurt is superb. I always have buttermilk on hand and will have to try it.
Comment by mika — March 26, 2007 @ 10:24 pm
Indira what I do for any type of upma is even if the rava is roasted. After the tadka mix the rava in to give an even coat of oil and then sprinkle the liquids over it. This gives nice fluffy upma without soaking the rava too much. It also gets rid of the raw taste due to soaking in liquids if done first.
Comment by Anjali — March 26, 2007 @ 11:30 pm
Indira, you are also an Upma fan-glad to know.
I sometimes make upma (actually kara-baath) with buttermilk or yogurt instead of adding some lemon juice. and i use Anjali’s procedure, that is, add rave to fried vegetables plus tadka and then add hot water. Kara-baath gets the color from turmeric and has vegetable like beans, tomatoes, onions, bell pepper
Comment by musical — March 27, 2007 @ 12:22 am
Indira,
I make different kinds of upma, but mixing the rava with wet ingredients and then letting it simmer & dry off is very new to me…Will try it out to see if there is a difference in taste this way…
Comment by nandita — March 27, 2007 @ 3:44 am
Well, of course, this upma tasted so good at the temple,there is a difference in how a gujju like me makes it,adding that dreaded “pinch of sugar” to just about anything…. and the authentic stuff(haha)…plus it was part of the prasad…it just had to be good.
I’ll try this with buttermilk, and your recipe is simple…I just HAVE to get it right.
🙂
trupti
Comment by Trupti — March 27, 2007 @ 6:15 am
Interesting upma recipe with buttermilk.Thanks for sharing.I tried your Indian Broad Beans curry.It was great.Thanks. Durga
Comment by Durga — March 27, 2007 @ 6:40 am
Indira-
The recipe sounds yum-o!We make something called along the same tangy lines called “mor kali” with buttermilk and rice flour and mor molagai(I think you call it majige mirapa)…confort food…tastes like “home”!
Comment by Anjali — March 27, 2007 @ 6:44 am
some malayalee families make buttermilk upma. i prefer it to the one with just water. thanks for the introduction to the new kind of upma rava.
bee
Comment by bee — March 27, 2007 @ 9:01 am
Hi Indira,
I love all types of upma, rice, wheat etc. But my husband doesn’t like upma. Not only him, but most men(my dad, my brother-in law) doesn’t like upma. Not sure why, may be its because its an easy to make dish which most women prefer to do.
Comment by AV — March 27, 2007 @ 9:31 am
upma with buttermilk is new to me Indira. I usually make upma by adding water to the rava.sounds interesting.
Comment by prema — March 27, 2007 @ 11:47 am
Hi Indira,
Nice picture. I like all types of upma. What is the difference between Godhuma Rava and Roasted Upma Rava? Is it same or different .My native place also Nandyala side only so I like your all recipes.
Comment by swathi — March 27, 2007 @ 11:49 am
Hi Indira,
Please educate me. What is upma?
Comment by Cynthia — March 27, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Hi Indira — I’m sitting here thinking it wouldn’t take me but a moment to *acquire* a taste for this buttermilk upma :):)
Comment by Linda — March 27, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
Hi Indira,
Happy belated Ugadi to you. Hope you had a good festival. I did try to post on your Ugadi post and saw that it was closed for comments.
Kept checking your blog everyday to see for updates! And was dissapointed (until now) to see that there were none.
Hope none of the dampened spirits persist and hoep you are back in action. Glad to see u’re lovely recipes and the homely pictures!
I love upma especially with bansi rava. I like the ‘vidi’ texture!
Cheers,
Latha
Comment by Latha — March 27, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
Indira
This looks delicious. My mother makes upma with a lot of ghee and it tastes super but I am a little calorie conscious (for good reasons nowadays!) and this recipe sounds healthy and unique. I am a huge yogurt fan so I might have to head to the indian stores to find this rava and make it.
Oh, thanks for the link on your site. I am humbled.
Comment by archana — March 27, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
HI Indira,
Nice upma picture!!
26th is your blog 2nd aniversery.Your kid is now 2 year old. U didn’t celebrate this year aniversery, Why like that?
Bye
Laxmi.
Comment by Laxmi — March 27, 2007 @ 10:54 pm
Indira, Butter milk upma was a sure hit. It was loved by my husband who is an upma freak and never likes any upma other than that is made by him.Thankyou for the recipe. I made it with Semolina though
Comment by Deepika Saripalli — March 28, 2007 @ 8:30 am
Mika: I think you are going to like this recipe, give it a try.
Hi Anjali: We usually add water first to tadka and vegetables, boil and then add rava. First time I prepared in this way and I liked the results.
Hi Musical: I am a big fan of all types of upma and I often prepare them for meals, sort of like mini meals.:)
Nandita, I know, this is my first time also. But this method works for fluffy upma, give it a try.
Trupti: 🙂 I must be from your state in my previous janam. I like to add a pinch of sugar to everything I prepare.:)
Hi Durga: Glad to hear that you tried and liked the broadbeans curry. That is one of my favorite curry recipes. Thanks for letting me know.
Anjali: Mor milagai addition sounds great. For my next try, I’ll add mor milagai. Thanks for this tasty tip.
Hi Bee, we usually make perugu (yogurt, curd) upma in our homes. On a whim I tried this version.:) Nice to know that you like it too.
Hi AV: I know, I observed the same thing.:)
It is a different taste, Prema. Worth trying.
Hi Swathi: Happy to see a fellow Nandyala vaasi. Eee upma ravva mana inti daggara dorike daani lage untundi. Upma muddga kaakunda podi podi ga vastundi roasted upma rava to cheste.
Hi Cynthia: Upma is a breakfast dish (India) prepared with rice and wheat products like suji, semolina, bulgar and cracked wheat etc. Little bit spicy and usually served with coconut chutney etc – tastes quite good and also preparing it is very easy. So quite popular.
Linda: :), for a minute, I thought you are visiting Seattle.:)
Hi Latha: Thanks for the wishes and Ugadi subhakankshalu!
Hi Archana: I love your website and reading about your two little darlings. Pleasure is all mine, thanks Archana.
Laxmi, I didn’t notice. I guess I make a very bad mother.:)
Thanks for the reminder and I can’t believe I’ve been blogging for 2 years. My God, I feel quite old.
I was little bit worried when you mentioned that you are going to prepare this recipe to break your fast. I am relieved to hear that your tried and liked it. Thanks for letting me know Deepika.
Comment by Indira — March 28, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
Hi Indira,
I tried this recipe with oatmeal for my dinner. I followed the exact same procedure except that I roasted the oatmeal with a tsp of ghee. And it was delicious. Thanks for the wonderfull recipe. Happy Birthday to Mahanandi and may you celebrate many more. Keep up the Good work.
Greeshma
Oatmeal version sounds great Greeshma. Glad to hear that you tried and liked the recipe.
Thanks for the wishes.
-Indira
Comment by Greeshma — March 29, 2007 @ 10:39 am
This sounds really yummy, Indira. We have a dish called ‘tikhat sanjha’ where we do what Anjali suggested, except that I use cream of wheat or farina. That is our upma. I’ve always smothered mine with dahi and had it with mango or lemon pickle. We make a meal of it at least once a week. I add a whole bunch of veggies – whatever I have at the moment. My grandmother used to make this with cracked wheat. I hated it when I was a child but it’s a different story now!
I think it’s a great idea to use buttermilk instead of just water. I will still need to serve yogurt with it, though. 😀
Happy Anniversary to Mahanandi! Looking forward to many more unique as well as traditional recipes from you!
Vijay is also the same way Manisha. He likes to have upma smoothered with yogurt. Usually we add yogurt at the end or just before serving. But I tried this on a whim and it turned out good. Upma has that tangy homemade buttermilk undertone to it. It is a special taste and not everyone’s cup of tea, that’s for sure.
Thanks for the warm wishes!
– Indira
Comment by Manisha — March 29, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Dear Indira, Buttermilk upma with cashewnuts – We had Punjabi neighbours when we were kids – and we used to love eating this dish at their place. Such a wholesome recipe…the dish is very appetizing on the plate.
Comment by pritya — April 20, 2007 @ 7:39 pm