Jowar Upma or Jonna Rava Upma is a savoury pudding or Upma with Sorghum or Jowar / Millet grits. Gluten Free, served as a filling breakfast or snack in South Indian Cuisine.
Upma is usually a hit or miss in (South) Indian households, although many North Indian friends I know of enjoy upma. At home, although mom and me love it anytime, with the husband and kids they will eat this if I don’t present any other alternative (and I don’t present any other alternative too).
Upma for most folks I know is mockingly called concrete. I remember my grandmom saying that if you can make upma delish and welcome, most foods are a winner at home, and I cannot absolutely fault her words when tasty upma triumphs a lot of dishes at home (personally for me :-)) Operative word being tasty 🙂
Varieties of Upma you could make at home
We make variants of upma based on the grain / form of the grain – like usual Rava / Semolina Upma, add seasonal veggies like avarekallu (hyacinth bean) during the brief winters. Or make millet based like today’s Jowar Upma , Varagu (Barnyard millet) Upma or the semiya / Vermicelli Upma or with Rice Rava (broken Rice grits) .
Sometimes, I add a tomato puree to this and make Godhuma Rava Tomato Upma (durum wheat tomato upma) or add whole spices and make a veggie loaded Kharabhath with a flavourful spice powder (a mainstay of Karnataka cuisine). The husband man for all his not-a -fan-of-upma club stance loves the Bread Upma and Kharabhath made at home regularly.
Coming to this dish, it was very well receieved. I have been experimenting with Sorghum Rava / Broken Sorghum / Jolada Rave with Jowar Idli, so I was very confident that this Upma would turn out delish too. And it did.
If you are a fan of Upma and / or looking for more healthy breakfasts with millets , click on the following links:
Let’s get to making this quick breakfast with millet. The process is almost the same as making Rava Upma, but with a few twists and tips as listed below.
Prep time – 10 mins, Cook time – 15. mins, Serves – 2
Cuisine – South Indian ; Course – Breakfast / Snack / Light Dinner / evening Tiffins
Tips to make tasty and delish Jowar upma:
- wipe the store bough grits / rava once with a clean and soft white cloth before using. Sometimes, it can contain dust / small stones which can come with milling
- Add the boiling water to the pan and than add the jowar rava. Else the upma could turn lumpy
- Unlike Sooji / Semolina upma, this rava needn’t be roasted before using.
- Any combo of veggies can be used. I haven’t used tomato here, but you can saute that with other veggies if you prefer.
- Store Jowar rava in an airtight container in a cool place. Use the pack quickly as it turns rancid quickly.
What you need for Jowar Upma
- 1 cup Jowar Rava (you can get this online / major supermarkets / local groceries depending on your location)
- 2 TBSP Oil
- 1 tsp bengal gram (Channa dal)
- 1 tsp split black gram (Urad dal)
- 1 tsp Ghee (sub with 1 tsp oil for vegan version)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (I used carrots ,peas, french beans)
- 1 Onion (medium, minced, optional)
- 1 tbsp cashews (halved, optional)
- 1 tsp chillies (minced)
- 1 tsp ginger (minced)
- 1 sprig curryleaves
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Coriander leaves (minced)
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
How to make Jowar Upma
- Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan, and fry the halved cashews till they are golden brown.
- In the same pan, add the rest of the oil.
- Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and channa dal
- Once dals are golden brown, add the curry leaves, onions and minced ginger
- Let the onions turn translucent
- Then add the veggies and salt. saute for 3-4 mins
- Add 1/4 cup of water and let the veggies cook through
- You can skip above step if veggies are already steamed.
- Now add 3 cups boiling water to the veggies.
- Slowly pour in the jowar rava / sorgum semolina and whisk well till no lumps are formed.
- Cover and cook on medium heat for 8-9 mins till done
- FInish with sauteed cashews, minced coriander leaves and lemon juice
- If using ghee, add at the end to give it a wonderful finish. Else skip.
- Serve hot for breakfast or a snack
- The upma is spicy and flavourful on its own. If can however be enjoyed with some lemon or mango pickle too.
PIN FOR LATER
Jowar Upma | Jonna Rava Upma | Sorghum Upma | Jolada Uppittu
Ingredients
- 1 cup Jowar Rava you can get this online / major supermarkets / local groceries depending on your location
- 2 TBSP Oil
- 1 tsp bengal gram Channa dal
- 1 tsp split black gram Urad dal
- 1 tsp Ghee sub with 1 tsp oil for vegan version
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mixed vegetables I used carrots ,peas, french beans
- 1 Onion medium, minced, optional
- 1 tbsp cashews halved, optional
- 1 tsp chillies minced
- 1 tsp ginger minced
- 1 sprig Curry Leaves
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Coriander leaves minced
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan, and fry the halved cashews till they are golden brown.
- In the same pan, add the rest of the oil.
- Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and channa dal
- Once dals are golden brown, add the curry leaves, onions and minced ginger
- Let the onions turn translucent
- Then add the veggies and salt. saute for 3-4 mins
- Add 1/4 cup of water and let the veggies cook through
- You can skip above step if veggies are already steamed.
- Now add 3 cups boiling water to the veggies.
- Slowly pour in the jowar rava / sorgum semolina and whisk well till no lumps are formed.
- Cover and cook on medium heat for 8-9 mins till done
- FInish with sauteed cashews, minced coriander leaves and lemon juice
- If using ghee, add at the end to give it a wonderful finish. Else skip.
- Serve hot for breakfast or a snack
- The upma is spicy and flavourful on its own. If can however be enjoyed with some lemon or mango pickle too.
Video
Notes
Tips to make tasty and delish Jowar upma:
- wipe the store bough grits / rava once with a clean and soft white cloth before using. Sometimes, it can contain dust / small stones which can come with milling
- Add the boiling water to the pan and than add the jowar rava. Else the upma could turn lumpy
- Unlike Sooji / Semolina upma, this rava needn’t be roasted before using.
- Any combo of veggies can be used. I haven’t used tomato here, but you can saute that with other veggies if you prefer.
- Store Jowar rava in an airtight container in a cool place. Use the pack quickly as it turns rancid quickly.
Upma with jowar rava sounds interesting and very nutritious. Need to check if I can source them here.
THanks Vidhya. Am sure you can source it online for sure.
This is such a nutritious and delicious upma recipe. What a great way to incorporate millets in daily diet.
It sure is, Pavani. Thank you!
I was thinking about jonna rava and wondering if such a thing is even available in the market! Now that I know it does, I will look for jonna rava. I had idli on mind but upma looks very delicious and tempting. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Jonna Rava is definitely available online, Usha and esp in Hyd/Telangana. I had my first brush with Jonna Rava on my last trip to Hyderabad only a few years ago 🙂
Thanks for the delicious recipe Kalyani, it was so good and we enjoyed it with Mango pickle…Such a healthy option to use jowar in our everyday meals!
so glad you tried this, Valli. Yes it’s a super good option to introduce millets in our everyday meals
Millets are something that I definitely plan on using more this year. Thanks for letting me know that we get Jowar rava in the stores. This is so easy to make and perfect for weeknight dinner as well.
absolutely, Sandhya ! works great for both dinner or brunch
My husband and I have started enjoying upma mornings on Sundays.i am sure this will give me opportunity to make jowar upma too.
Upma mornings on Sundays sounds good 🙂 do try this jowar version when possible
Jonna Rava Upma with vegetables sounds so delicious. I would love to try this version .I have become a great fan of Upma only since last few years . Can’t wait to make it at home soon.
awesome Preethi ! do try it soon