Masala Upma Recipe – Easy Healthy Masala Upma Recipe

Make Masala Upma Healthy & Easy – Masala Rava Upma Recipe – Spicy Masala Sooji/Rava Upma Recipe

Masala upma recipe is easy to follow and you can make masala upma following this easy recipe which will help you make delicious and simple masala upma. Sooji upma is a South Indian breakfast dish (you can enjoy this for dinner or lunch as well) which is made using semolina flour or sooji flour also known as rava flour in South India.

It is made of durum wheat flour and can be used in a variety of dishes to make easy and quick recipes, especially many breakfast items and snacks including desserts are made using this sooji semolina flour, which is slightly course in texture.

See easy semolina porridge recipe for breakfast here

See easy semolina pancakes recipe for breakfast (Moroccan recipe)

See delicious Indian dessert recipe – rava laddoo recipe using semolina flour

See another popular Indian breakfast recipe using semolina flour – sooji rava idli recipe

See all my Indian recipes here

See all Kerala vegetarian recipes here

There are many ways you can prepare upma, even using other grains. But this masala upma recipe is quite unique and special, as we also add garam masala powder to this upma. You can make this more spicy if you wish by adding chopped green or red chilies, but otherwise you can keep the spice level medium or mild by skipping the chilies or even reducing the amount of red chili powder.

The masala upma recipe is very flexible and you can easily tweak it according to your preferences. You can make masala upma following this easy masala upma recipe for savory breakfast, simple and easy lunch or dinner. I have used only onions and potatoes in this savory masala upma recipe, but you can add more cooked vegetables if you wish.

Some recipes call for more water to cook the upma, but I prefer less water to cook sooji upma The difference is, if you use more water, the dish will be more sticky in texture, so it is actually a matter of preference what kind of texture you want for the upma.

So here is the easy and delicious masala upma recipe.

Masala Upma Recipe

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients to make masala upma – Ingredients for masala upma recipe

• Sooji/semolina flour 1 Cup
• Water 1 Cup (for cooking sooji semolina flour)
• Water 1/2 cup (for cooking potatoes)
• Onion 1 medium
• Potatoes 2 medium
• Cashew nuts a handful (or peanuts)
• garam masala powder 1 teaspoon
• turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
• red chili powder 1/2 teaspoon
• salt as required
• oil 2 to 3 tablespoons
• cumin seeds (or mustard seeds) 1 teaspoon
• curry leaves a few (optional)

Instructions to make masala upma at home from scratch – Instructions for masala upma recipe

• Peel the skin and chop the onion finely, keep aside.
• Peel the potatoes and chop in small pieces, keep separately from onions.
• Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.
• When the cumin seeds are lightly fried, add the curry leaves and fry for few seconds.
• Add the sliced onion and start sauteing.
• Add salt and you can saute the onion till the slices are transparent and begins to brown ( no need to caramelize). You ca use medium heat but make sure you stir occasionally and keep watching so the onions won’t get burnt at the bottom of the pan.
• Once the onions are done, add the sliced potatoes and saute for another 1 minute.
• Add the 1/2 cup of water just enough to cook the potatoes and add enough salt, keep in high heat and wait for the mixture to boil.
• As the mixture starts boiling, mix everything well and close the pan and cook in low heat for about 8 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and soft. (If needed you may add little more water to cook).
• After 8 to 10 minutes, check if the potatoes are cooked and if all water is absorbed.
• Add the spices – turmeric powder, red chili powder and garam masala powder to the cooked onion potato mixture and heat in low heat for another 1 minute so everything will blend nicely. It looks like as in the below picture.

• Now add the sooji semolina flour to another pan and dry roast the flour in low heat for about 3 minutes. Make sure you keep stirring to avoid burning of the semolina flour. Keep the dry roasted sooji flour aside. If you are using roasted semolina flour, you don’t have to roast it again.

semolina flour to make the upma

• Now add the 2 cups of water to the pan with onion potato masala mixture and bring it to a boil.
• As the mixture starts boiling, immediately transfer the roasted sooji flour to the same pan with onion potato mixture, mix well and close the pan. Reduce the heat to low heat and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes (don’t cook more as the water will be absorbed and the dish will get burnt, also it is important to keep the heat in low to avoid burning).
• After 2 minutes of cooking, switch off the stove and immediately transfer the pan from the stove and keep away from heat.
• Now open the pan, gently mix everything well and your masala upma is ready to serve!

Enjoy the masala upma as it is as this is very delicious and really don’t need any side dishes. But you can always enjoy upma with chutneys or any vegetable curry as you wish!

Notes: As we are only using just enough water to cook the upma, you really need to be fast enough to stop cooking by 2 minutes and make sure you are cooking in low heat, or else there is a chance of burning the dish at the bottom. Also you need to transfer the dish immediately from the hot stove to avoid burning.