Tomato upma is a very healthy and tasty traditional Indian breakfast. For those who do not know, it is a savoury veggie semolina porridge. Sooji rava or semolina is an ingredient which helps you make an easy breezy recipe for breakfast and for sweets. Sooji halwa and gur ka halwa are always easy for a sweet fix. Be it upma or rava laddu, both are easy dishes. This popular dish is a traditional breakfast which is served everywhere nowadays. From office canteens to weddings, train menus to temples.
You will see many versions of it. This typical south Indian dish is stress-free option for a weekday breakfast if you are bored of chia pudding.Some like it vegan, else like the sourness of yogurt and minimal veggies. You can add many vegetables to it like green peas, green beans. Others like it served with moong dal dosa. Also known as MLA pesarattu. Some even make it with sewiya,called as the semiya upma. You can make uppittu (As Kannadigas call it) even without the sourness of tomatoes. However, I love this tangier version more.
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Why is upma popular?
While vada, dosa and idli, need an overnight or 4-6 hours soaking and grinding, you can make uppumavu anytime you are hungry.Play with the veggies in the kitchen and make your own vegan recipes. Serve it with coconut chutney or just have it with some sugar on top. This is a perfect combo with a hot cup of filter coffee. You can also make a coconut peanut chutney with extra chillies if you like a spicy chutney to go with it. Kids and toddlers can have it with yogurt or a teaspoon sugar occassionally.
Tip: Roast sooji/semolina well to have the perfect plate of breakfast.You can roast sooji and keep it in a jar. This saves time on a weekday. You may optionally add a small tea spoon of butter/ghee/coconut oil in the end, just before you serve.
Equipment
- saucepan
- grinder
- chopper / food processor
Ingredients
- roasted sooji / dry roasted semolina
- carrots
- tomatoes
- onions
- ginger- green chillies - curry leaves
- mustard seeds
- lentils (urad dal/chana dal)
- oil
- water
- salt as per taste
refer to recipe card for details
Tomato upma in instant pot
Heat Oil in a pan,add mustard seeds with lentils
Add curry leave,ginger and chilies,Add onion & salt,cook for a few minutes.
Now, add tomatoes and any veggies you like.
Cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
Add water
Add roasted semolina/sooji
Cover with instant pot lid and cook on high for 2 minutes on the seal position.
Once done, you may remove the excess steam and garnish with lemon juice.
Garnish with grated coconut(optional).
Top tip: You can heat oil & add teaspoon mustard seeds and curry leaves. Expedite cooking time by adding 2 tbsp. curry paste followed by sooji rawa and frozen veggies.Meanwhile heat water and add it to rawa upma. This will help reduce your cook time.
Tomato Upma in a pan
- Heat Oil in a pan,add curry leaves,mustard seeds,ginger and chilies.
- Add onion & salt,cook for a few minutes.
- Now, add carrot and tomato,cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
- Add roasted semolina or upma rava,cook for a few minutes.
- Add 2.5 cups of water, cook until all water has evaporated.
- Cover and let it stand for a few minutes.
Garnish with coconut(optional).
Related links
tomato upma recipe
Equipment
- pan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil or any other vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon lentils mix of urad dal/chana dal
- ½ cup onion chopped
- Curry leaves Sprig
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. green chillies
- 1 cup tomato chopped
- ½ cup carrot chopped,optional
- 1 cup semolina/sooji dry roasted
- Salt as per taste
- 3 cup water for cooking upma
Instructions
- Heat Oil in a pan,add mustard seeds with lentils
- Add curry leave,ginger and chilies,Add onion & salt,cook for a few minutes.
- Now, add tomatoes and any veggies you like,cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
- Add water,Add roasted semolina/sooji
For cooking in instant pot
- Cover with instant pot lid and cook on high for 2 minutes on the seal position.Once done, you may remove the excess steam and garnish with lemon juice.Garnish with grated coconut(optional).
For cooking in pan
- Cover and let it come to boil, lower the heat and cook until water evaporates
- Garnish with coconut(optional).
Notes
Pair this warm breakfast recipe with some tangy chutneys. Instant tomato pickle/tomato pachdi is my favorite.Peanut chutney or coconut chutney also works any day. You can make it vegan or vegetarian by using ghee instead of oil.
Looking for more breakfast options? South Indian breakfast is light and easy.Most people want to start the day with a healthy nutritious meal. These options come very handy.
Read more similar recipes below
- Dosa
- Uttapam
- Kanjivaram idli/ Rava idli
- Pesarattu
- Indian breakfast recipes
- South Indian breakfast recipes
- Air fryer masala idli
FAQ
Use hot water and ensure your ratio is correct.
it becomes lumpy when sooji lava doesn't mix well with water.
Storage
Store it in refrigerator 2-4 days. Reheat before you consume.
Substitution
You can also make a millet upma and dalia upma using broken wheat. Other variations are masala upma, bread upma, railway upma and vegetable rava upma. These days even instant upma mix is very popular where you just add boiling water to sooji rava mix just like cup-o-noodles. It is ready in matter of minutes as all tempering is already in the mix. People also like to add steel cut oats or rolled oats to this above recipe or make it solely as oats upma. Other variations are quinoa upma. You can also use dalia to make broken wheat to make broken wheat upma.
Variations
You can add cumin seeds along with teaspoon mustard seeds to tempering. You can make it without onions & carrots too. Add a teaspoon turmeric powder to increase anti-inflammatory ingredients in your diet. Just add some frozen peas if you do not have other fresh or frozen veggies at home. Add chopped green chilies or a teaspoon red chili powder to make it spicy. I avoid it as it is spicy for the little one. Some people do not add lentils to the recipe. However, I find it convenient to sneak in some iron rich ingredients in food this way. Coconut chutney served with this dish gives you fiber. Lemon juice on top will give you vitamin C to absorb the iron content and even increase the taste.
Food safety
Never leave cooking food unattended.
Always reheat your food leftovers, before consumption
Conclusion: You can never go wrong with this classic morning breakfast dish, even if you cook sooji upma as an evening snack or light supper. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Begin it with a tasty and light recipe.
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