Tomato Upma is a flavorful South Indian breakfast made with semolina, spices, curry leaves, and ripe tomatoes. This Andhra-style variation of the classic Rava Upma is a popular staple breakfast in South India. It’s delicious on its own, so you won’t need any side dishes. However, a serving of Coconut Chutney on the side goes well.
If you're tired of your usual upma, give this tomato upma a try. It’s flavorful, spicy, and has a slight tanginess from the tomatoes. I haven’t used any other vegetables in this recipe, but mixed veggies like carrots, peas, and green beans (French beans) pair wonderfully with it.
I’ve prepared this dish using fine semolina, also known as suji (sooji) or Bombay rava. Occasionally, I also make it with wheat rava (dalia) or quinoa. While Bombay rava is lower in fiber and is often considered a more refined option, I prefer to use wheat rava, millets, or quinoa to make the dish a bit healthier.
This recipe works well with all three - wheat rava, millets, or quinoa. However, you’ll need to adjust the quantity of water for each.
This recipe is prepared in a similar way to regular upma. The semolina is roasted on low heat until it becomes aromatic and slightly crunchy. This step helps prevent the tomato upma from becoming sticky and ensures there are no lumps when the rava is added to the boiling water.
Next, we temper spices like mustard, cumin, ginger, and green chilies in oil or ghee. We also fry cashew nuts and lentils until golden. Onions are sautéed briefly, followed by cooking the tomatoes until they soften. This step is important to eliminate the raw flavor of the tomatoes.
Finally, we add the water and bring it to a rolling boil. Then, we gradually stir in the semolina, by stirring continuously until all the water is absorbed and the semolina is fully cooked.
For more upma variations, you can check out:
How to Make Tomato Upma
Step 1: Roast The Rava
Heat a kadai or a pan. Add teaspoon of ghee. Add ½ cup of rava and roast it on medium heat until it becomes crunchy and slightly aromatic. Do not brown the rava. Remove it to a plate or a bowl and set it aside.
Prepare The Tempering:
Heat a tablespoon of oil or ghee. Ghee adds a wonderful aroma to the tomato upma. Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, dry red chili, 1 teaspoon chana dal, 1 teaspoon urad dal, pinch of asafetida, and split cashews. Fry until the dal turns golden.
Add a sprig of curry leaves, 1 to 2 green chilies, grated ginger, and 1 small chopped onion,. Sauté until the onions turns translucent, which should take about 1 to 2 minutes.
Next, add chopped tomatoes (or tomato puree), ⅛ teaspoon turmeric, ⅛ teaspoon red chili powder (optional) and salt to taste. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
Cover and cook until the tomatoes become mushy and soft. Sauté for a few minutes on high heat to enhance the tomato flavor and eliminate any raw taste. Don’t skip this step.
Make Tomato Upma
Add 1 ½ cups of water, chopped cilantro stems (optional), stir, and check the salt. The water should be slightly salty. Bring it to a rolling boil.
Reduce the heat to medium. Gradually add the roasted rava into the boiling water, stirring continuously to incorporate it. This helps prevent the formation of lumps of rava. Stir quickly to ensure no lumps form.
Cover and cook until the moisture is absorbed. Add a teaspoon of ghee (optional) and stir well, then switch off the heat. Cover, and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and squeeze of lemon juice (optional).
Grease a bowl with ghee and add the upma into it. Press it down evenly with a spoon. Now, invert the bowl onto a plate and gently shake to release. Garnish the tomato upma with cashews and coriander leaves. Serve hot or warm.
More South Indian Recipes:
- Mixed Lentil Dosa (no rice recipe)
- Aloo Masala for dosa
- Coconut Chutney for dosa, idli
- Tiffin Sambar
Tomato Upma
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup semolina rava/sooji
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 ripe tomato chopped or puree
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro stems optional
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 green chili chopped as per taste
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon chana dal Bengal gram
- 1 teaspoon urad dal skinned black gram
- pinch of asafetida Hing
- 1 dried red chili
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder as per taste
- 8-10 cashews halved
- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
- Salt to taste
- 1.5 cups water
For Garnish (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ghee
- Fresh cilantro leaves chopped
- Lemon wedges
- Coconut Chutney
Instructions
Step 1: Roast The Rava
- Heat a kadai or a pan. Add teaspoon of ghee. Add ½ cup of rava and roast it on medium heat until it becomes crunchy and slightly aromatic. Do not brown the rava. Remove it to a plate or a bowl and set it aside.
Prepare The Tempering:
- Heat a tablespoon of oil or ghee. Ghee adds a wonderful aroma to the tomato upma. Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon chana dal, 1 teaspoon urad dal, pinch of asafetida, and split cashews. Fry until the dal turns golden.
- Add a sprig of curry leaves, 1 to 2 green chilies, grated ginger, and 1 small chopped onion. Sauté until the onions turns translucent, which should take about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Next, add chopped tomatoes (or tomato puree), ⅛ teaspoon turmeric, ⅛ teaspoon red chili powder (optional) and salt to taste. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Cover and cook until the tomatoes become mushy and soft. Sauté for a few minutes on high heat to enhance the tomato flavor and eliminate any raw taste. Don’t skip this step.
Make Tomato Upma
- Add 1 ½ cups of water, chopped cilantro stems (optional), stir, and check the salt. The water should be slightly salty. Bring it to a rolling boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Gradually add the roasted rava into the boiling water, stirring continuously to incorporate it. This helps prevent the formation of lumps of rava. Stir quickly to ensure no lumps form.
- Cover and cook until the moisture is absorbed. Add a teaspoon of ghee (optional) and stir well, then switch off the heat. Cover, and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and squeeze of lemon juice (optional).
- Grease a bowl with ghee and add the upma into it. Press it down evenly with a spoon. Now, invert the bowl onto a plate and gently shake to release. Garnish the tomato upma with cashews and coriander leaves. Serve hot or warm.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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