Simple Vegetable Upma / Rava Kichadi

This is yet another life-saver for students, just like Maggi noodles. Rawa/Sooji is a form of durum wheat, commonly known as semolina. Rava upma or Kichadi is a very common breakfast/ tiffin item in South India. This is one of the first dishes I mastered as a teenager :D The dish is quite nutritious as it has a lot of veggies  plus carbohydrates from sooji and makes a one-pot meal!

Total Time - 25 minutes

What You Need -


Rawa / Sooji - 1 cup
Onions - 2 (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
Vegetables - Potato, Carrots, French beans, Green peas, Cauliflower ( whatever is available) - finely chopped -  adding up to 2 cups
Salt - 1 tsp (adjust to taste)

Roasted Rava/Sooji and Chopped Vegetables

To Temper -

Oil- 2 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Green chillies or Red chillies - 4 nos.
Curry leaves - a few
Hing/ Asafoetida -  1/4 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp

To garnish -

Cashewnuts roasted in ghee

Ghee-roasted Cashewnuts - 10 nos. (optional)
Coriander leaves / Cilantro - a few  (optional)



How To - 

• Heat oil in a kadai and do the tempering with ingredients listed, in that order.
• Add onion and fry for 2 mins.

• Then, add tomatoes and then the veggies. Fry for 2 mins then close with a lid for 5 mins.
• Add 2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp of salt and allow the veggies to get cooked well.

• Meanwhile, roast rawa without oil in another kadai. This step is very important. This is similar to Semiya Upma (Vermicelli Upma).  We get ready-roasted semiya from stores but sadly, not ready-roasted rawa :( 

• Now, add roasted rawa to veggie kadai and keep stirring to avoid lumps getting formed. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Add 1/2 cup of boiling water if required.

• Stir rawa and veggies together making sure they are mixed well.

• Finally, garnish with ghee-roasted cashewnuts and some cilantro :)

Serve with Tomato Thokku or Sweet Onion Chutney or sambar or raitha . I like to eat it with plain sugar :)