Upma, uppumavu, or uppittu is a dish of thick

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...

from dry-roasted

semolina Semolina is the name given to roughly milled durum wheat mainly used in making pasta and sweet puddings. The term ''semolina'' is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or ma ...

or coarse rice flour. Upma originated from

Southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, is most common in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. Often, depending on preference, it has various seasonings and/or vegetables added during cooking. Like many South Indian dishes, Upma has also become part of Sri Lankan culinary habits (particularly those of

Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, form the pluralit ...

) since the 20th century.

Etymology

The different names for the dish derive from the combinations of the word ''uppu'', meaning salt in Tamil and ''mavu'' meaning ground grain meal in Tamil. In

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

, the dish is called ''upma''. In

, the dish traditionally had the name ''saanja'' in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

Ingredients and preparation

Upma is typically made by first lightly dry roasting

(called '' rava'' or ''sooji'' in India). The semolina is then taken off the fire and kept aside while spices, lentils, onion, ginger, etc are sautéed in oil or

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by ...

. The semolina is then added back to the pan and mixed thoroughly. Boiling water is added, and the mixture is stirred until the semolina absorbs the liquid and becomes fluffy in texture. There are several ways in which upma is made, and the variations are obtained by either adding or removing spices and vegetables. The texture can vary significantly as well, depending on how much water is added to it, and how long the mixture is allowed to remain on the flame thereafter.

Major variations

Semolina upma

The most popular version with wide variations of upma is made with whole or refined ground

made out of

durum wheat Durum wheat (), also called pasta wheat or macaroni wheat (''Triticum durum'' or ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''durum''), is a tetraploid species of wheat. It is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat, although it repres ...

. Sometimes a wide range of vegetables may be added, and may be garnished with a variety of beans (raw or sprouted), cashews and peanuts. For a variation called ''masala upma'' (known as ''kharabath'' in Karnataka), sambar masala or

garam masala Garam masala (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ''garam masālā'', ) is a Spice mix, blend of ground spices originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is common in Indian cuisine, Indian, Pakistani cuisine, Pakistani, Nepalese cuisine, Nepale ...

is added along with red chilli powder, instead of green chillies. This variety is more popular in Karnataka, Maharastra, Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh and is usually served in South Indian restaurants. Uppumavu paired with hand-mashed banana is a common breakfast item in

homes.

Whole wheat upma

Whole wheat or wheat dalia (cracked wheat) is a common variation of upma in Tamil Nadu, where it is eaten for breakfast or dinner. Sometimes it is cooked with vegetables like peas, carrots, and beans.

Upma pesarattu

Upma pesarattu is the most popular version in

, Yanam and

. The dish contains upma and pesarattu combined. The upma is eaten by wrapping it in the pesarattu.

Rice upma

Rice upma, which is mainly popular in Tamil Nadu and southern parts of Karnataka, is referred to as ''akki tari uppittu'' (rice coarse flour uppittu). Another variant of upma is prepared with grated coconut instead of onions, especially on holy days, when onion is avoided. This type of upma is generally smeared with

at the end of preparation. Dishes similar to upma can be made by substituting small crumbs of leftover bread or

idli Idli, iddena, iddali or idly (; plural: idlis) is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India, popular as a breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented de-h ...

instead of flour. Upma made from coarser rava known as ''sajjige'' is a dish of Udupi cuisine. It is sometimes served along with snacks such as sautéed and spiced poha or chevdo.

Corn upma

Another variation, particularly as a breakfast dish, is corn upma, eaten with milk and nuts.

Kesari bhath

, upma is also served with another common sweet dish of Karnataka,

kesari bhath Kesari bat or kesari baat () is a South Indian dessert. The classic ingredients used for its preparation are semolina, sugar, ghee (usually), water, and milk. The sweet is more commonly known as Jonnadula Halwa in certain parts of northern India. ...

(ಕೇಸರಿ ಬಾತ್), with a scoop of each on one plate, in a presentation commonly called "chow chow bath".

Aval upma/Atukula upma

and

, upma is made with

flattened rice Poha, chivda, chiwda or flattened rice is a preparation of rice made from raw, toasted, or parboiled rice grains pounded into flat flakes. It is traditional to many rice-cultivating cultures in Southeast Asia and South Asia. It is also known as r ...

as a substitute for semolina. This dish is popularly called as Aval upmavu in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

(അവൽ ഉപ്പുമാവ്) and Atukulu upma (అటుకులు ఉప్మా) in Telugu. This variant is also known as aval upma in the Chennai region when made with rice flakes similar to poha.

Vermicelli upma

A popular light evening snack is upma made with

vermicelli Vermicelli (, ; , literally "little worms"), is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti. In Anglosphere, English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is thicker. It is typically made ...

and tomato, peas and carrot.

Upma with ghugni

In most parts of

, a popular breakfast consists of sooji upma served with ghugni.

References

{{Wheat South Indian cuisine Karnataka cuisine Telangana cuisine Tamil cuisine Andhra cuisine Porridges Kerala cuisine Sri Lankan porridges