Jul 4, 2011 Mar 16, 2025 by [Archana Potdar] · This post may contain affiliate links · 30 Comments

Vegetable Rava Upma Recipe

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Vegetable Rava Upma is a delicious, filling, and satisfying breakfast or evening snack in most South Indian and Maharashtra homes. In Karnataka, Uppittu, as it is called, is served as a Fasting food without onions.

Perfectly cooked Vegetable Upma – light, flavourful, and packed with veggies, served in a steel plate for a cozy breakfast.

This flavourful, tasty, and savoury dish is a no-onion option today. It is made with cream of wheat or semolina (called rava or suji), lentils, nuts, vegetables, herbs, and spices. However, you can vary the ingredients, taste, and texture. You can also make it sweeter or spicy to suit your needs.

This Upma, Uppittu, or Suji ka Upma recipe is the same as my mother's. I need breakfast early in the morning and have some quick-fix dishes ready. idlis, dosas, uttapam are a constant! However, I occasionally make Quinoa Upma, Shevgi Upit, or shira.

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What is Upma?
Ingredients for Vegetable Rava Upma
Instructions for Vegetable Rava Upma
Protips for Vegetable Rava Upma
FAQ's for Vegetable Rava Upma
Related Recipes to Rava
Vegetable Rava Upma Recipe

What is Upma?

Upma or Uppittu is made with rava, suji, or semolina that must be roasted. The roasting of rava is crucial to the flavour of upma. Over-roasting rava will give a burnt taste. While under-cooking, rava can have a grainy, uncooked-tasting upma.
You can choose to dry roast, ghee or oil for the rava. Using oil will give you a Vegan Upma.
I tend to use cashew nuts and urad dal (white lentils). The veggies and herbs I use vary depending on my mood and what my pantry yields.
You can serve the Upma topped with grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves.
I avoid chana dal (split Bengal gram), ginger, and sugar, but feel free to use them.
Rava or Suji (as it is called in North India) comes in various thicknesses. My hometown uses coarse rava or Bansi Rava to make the Upma. The aroma and flavour of ghee shines when using Bansi Rava. Here, you will need three times the water, and the Upma is nonsticky or "khila khila."
Since Upma is customizable, it is popular in various parts of India.

If you are wondering what rava is and how to use it, check my Air-Fried Semolina Pops, where I have said more about it.

Ingredients for Vegetable Rava Upma

Rava: Suji or Semolina. I use the fine rava called Bombay Rava. You can use the coarse one, too. It is all about your preference.
Ghee: Clarified Butter gives the Upma a delicious flavour and aroma.

For the Tempering:

Oil: I prefer either sunflower or rice bran oil.
You will also need mustard seeds, asafoetida, urid dal or split black gram, and curry leaves.

The veggies and spices:

Today, I used cabbage, green chillies, cauliflower, green peas, tomato and carrots.

Salt to taste
Water: Plain tap water

Optional Ingredients

Lemon juice
Coriander leaves
Freshly grated coconut

Instructions for Vegetable Rava Upma

Roast the rava in clarified butter till golden. Transfer and set aside.
Make a tempering with oil, mustard seeds, asafoetida, urid dal or split black gram, and curry leaves in the same wok.
Add and stir-fry the vegetables.
Once done, add the cabbage and mix.
Add water to the wok, add salt, and bring to a boil. Add the rava, mix, and cook covered.
Garnish with coriander and coconut, and serve with the lemon on the side.

Substitutions for Vegetable Rava Upma

Rava: Use regular rava or semolina made from millets like jowar rava.
Clarified butter or ghee: For a vegan upma, replace ghee with any neutral, odourless oil, like sunflower oil.
Vegetables: You can make this upit without vegetables, but adding them makes the dish colourful and filling.

Variations for Vegetable Rava Upma

Whole grains: In place of rava, use whole grains, quinoa, corn and millet.
Leftover bread Upma is one delicious way to use leftover old bread.
Protein-rich: While I add chickpeas and green peas, you can add edamame or avare. In the GSB community, I have enjoyed Upma with shrimp.
Also, Upma can be kept simple to suit the tastes of your in-laws and fancied as Floyd Cardoz did for Top Chef Masters Season 3 Upma from Sooji and Mushrooms to the theme Food Memories.

Equipment for Rava Upma

Wok with a lid
Spoons and ladles
Plates to keep the roasted rava and fried cashew nuts
Plates to serve

Storage for Rava Upma

The cooked Upma in the fridge can stay good for 2-3 days.

I freeze the roasted rava and the veggies(I call it Upma premix) in a Ziploc bag. When we need Upma, we warm the mix a little so that the lumps break, then add boiling water (the proportion is 1:1) to the premix. Within 5 minutes, your delicious garam garam upma is ready.

Protips for Vegetable Rava Upma

Roast the rava on low flame till it smells good.
I prefer to roast rava with ghee. You can roast it with oil or just plain.
Roast the rava in the microwave in 1-minute increments three times, stirring in between.

FAQ's for Vegetable Rava Upma

What is Upma?

Upma originated on the Indian subcontinent and is a thick porridge made from semolina/suji or coarse rice flour. Its roots are Uppa, which means salt, and mavva, which means flour.

What is Upit made from?

The only Upit popular in my place is the rava/sooji/semolina one. Still, you can make Upma from Dalia, Rice Rava or coarse rice flour, vermicelli, and corn.

Can we make Upma with onion?

Yes you can stir-fry the onions to translucent before adding the veggies.

Some recipes that you can make with Rava or Sooji

This recipe I had posted on 04/07/2011 now updating the old post with new hopefully a better write-up and deleting my cringe-worth pictures with better ones.

Summary

Vegetable Rava Upma is a flavorful, tasty, and savoury dish that is a no-onion option. It is made with cream of wheat or semolina (called rava or suji), lentils, nuts, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Try this one-pot recipe for a delicious, wholesome breakfast and snack that will impress your family and friends!

Ready to try this Vegetable Rava Upma recipe? Try out this delicious dish today! Tell me about your family’s reactions in the comments below. Happy cooking!