Tiffin · serves 3

Jeedipappu Upma (Cashew Rava Upma)

జీడిపప్పు ఉప్మా · काजू उपमा · काजूतक-रवा-उप्मा · Jeedipappu Upma · Kaju Upma

Upma is the everyday Andhra tiffin: semolina cooked soft in a seasoned water with onion, green chillies and curry leaves. Jeedipappu upma is the dressed-up version, with a good handful of cashews fried golden in ghee, the way it is made for guests, for festival mornings and at weddings, often served next to pesarattu or with a spoon of sugar.

Our Jeedipappu cashews are whole and plain, so they fry evenly and stay crunchy against the soft rava. It is on the table in about 25 minutes. This recipe serves 3.

Prep10 min
Cook15 min
Total25 min
Serves3

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In short

Roast rava, fry cashews in ghee, then temper and soften onion and chillies. Boil water with salt, stir in the rava, cover and finish with the cashews.

రవ్వను దోరగా వేయించి, నెయ్యిలో జీడిపప్పు వేయించి తీయండి. పోపు, ఉల్లిపాయ, పచ్చిమిర్చి వేసి, నీళ్లు ఉప్పు మరిగించి, రవ్వ పోస్తూ కలిపి, మూత పెట్టి ఉడికించండి. ఒక కప్పు రవ్వకు రెండున్నర కప్పుల నీళ్లు పోస్తే ఉప్మా మెత్తగా వస్తుంది; పొడిపొడిగా కావాలంటే రెండు కప్పులు చాలు.

सूजी को हल्का भून लें और घी में काजू तलकर निकाल लें। तड़का, प्याज़ और हरी मिर्च डालें, पानी-नमक उबालें, सूजी डालते हुए चलाएँ और ढककर पकाएँ। एक कप सूजी के लिए ढाई कप पानी से उपमा नरम बनता है; खिला-खिला चाहिए तो दो कप पानी काफ़ी है।

Ingredients serves 3

For the upma

1 cup bombay rava medium semolina (sooji), about 170 g
2½ cups water use 2 cups for a firmer upma
1 tsp salt or to taste

For the cashews and tempering

¼ cup cashews whole or halved, about 35 g
3 tbsp ghee or 2 tbsp oil plus 1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
1 sprig curry leaves
1 onion medium, finely chopped
2 green chillies slit; use 3 for a hotter upma
1 inch ginger finely chopped

To finish

1 tbsp ghee optional
2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped, optional

Method

Chop the onion, ginger and coriander leaves, slit the green chillies, and measure out the water.
Roast the rava in a dry pan till it smells toasty, about 5 minutes. Keep it pale. Stir all the time on medium-low heat, then tip it onto a plate.
Heat the ghee in a wide, heavy pan on medium-low heat.
Fry the cashews in the ghee till golden; lift them out. This takes about 1–2 minutes; keep the ghee in the pan.
Temper mustard, dals and curry leaves. Soften the onion and chillies, add water and salt, and boil. Let the mustard seeds splutter and the dals turn light golden before the curry leaves go in, then add the ginger with the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes till the onion is soft.
Taste the water once it boils; it should taste a little salty, as the rava will take up the salt.
Turn the heat to low. Pour in the rava in a thin stream, stirring. Cover on low for 3 minutes; top with the cashews.
Before adding the cashews, check the upma: the rava should be soft with no hard grains, and the upma should leave the sides of the pan. If it is still grainy, sprinkle in 2 tbsp hot water, cover and cook 1 minute more.
Stir in the extra spoon of ghee and the coriander leaves, if using, along with most of the cashews.
Serve hot, with the rest of the cashews on top.

Tips

Pour the rava in a thin stream while stirring so no lumps form.
Roasting the rava first keeps each grain separate; skip it and the upma turns sticky.
Fry the cashews on medium-low heat and lift them out as soon as they turn golden; they keep darkening in the hot ghee.
Upma firms up as it stands, so take it off the heat when it is a little softer than you want.

Variations

Vegetable upma: add ½ cup chopped carrot, beans and green peas with the onion and cook them for 3–4 minutes before the water goes in.
Tomato upma: add 1 chopped tomato after the onion and cook till soft before adding the water.
Godhuma rava upma: use the same amount of wheat rava with 3 cups water and cook it covered for 5–6 minutes.