I have made this with fine semolina known as suji or Bombay rava. On occasions I also make this with wheat rava (dalia) and even with bansi rava. Bombay rava has lesser fiber and is somewhat considered a refined food. So to make it a bit healthier I use wheat rava and bansi rava. This recipe works good with all 3 kinds of rava. However you need to add more water for the last 2 kinds. If you are bored with your regular upma, try out this tomato upma. It tastes delicious, spicy and slightly tangy from the tomatoes. I have not used any other vegetables here. But mixed veggies like carrots, peas and green beans (French beans) go well. This recipe is made much the same way as the regular upma. We roast the semolina on a low heat, until aromatic and crunchy. This step prevents the tomato upma from turning sticky and prevents formation of lumps when you incorporate the rava into the boiling water. Later we temper the spices like mustard, cumin, ginger and green chilies in oil or ghee. Next we also fry the cashew nuts and lentils until golden. Onions are stir fried for a brief time and then tomatoes are cooked until soft. This step is very essential to remove the raw flavor of tomatoes. Lastly, we pour the water and bring it to a rolling boil. Incorporate the semolina into the boiling water by stirring continuously until all of the water is absorbed and the semolina is cooked through. For more upma varieties, you can check Rava upmaBread upmaSemiya upmaOats upmaPoha/ aval upma

How to Make Tomato Upma (Stepwise Photos)

Roast rava

  1. Add ½  cup rava to a kadai or pan. Roast on a medium flame until crunchy & slightly aromatic, making sure not to brown it. While roasting the rava, slice onions and chop tomatoes and green chilies. Set the rava aside preferably to a bowl for easy pouring.

Temper the Spices

  1. Heat 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon oil or ghee. Ghee imparts a great aroma to your tomato upma. Add ½  mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon chana dal, 1 teaspoon urad dal and 10 split cashews all at one time. Fry until the dal turn golden.
  2. Add 1 sprig curry leaves, 1 to 2 green chilies and 1 small chopped or sliced onion. Saute until the onions turn slightly pink. This takes about 1 to 2 mins.
  3. Next add ¾ cup tomatoes (deseeded), 1/8 teaspoon turmeric and ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute for 1 to 2 mins.
  4. Cover and cook until they turn mushy & completely soft. Saute for a few minutes on a high flame to enhance the flavor of tomatoes. This step also removes the raw flavor of tomatoes. Don’t skip this.

Make Tomato Upma

  1. Add 1 ¼ cup water, stir and check the salt. The water must be slightly salty. Bring it to a rolling boil.
  2. Reduce the flame to medium. Slowly pour rava in a stream to the boiling water. While you pour stir the water to incorporate the rava into the water. This also prevent lumps of rava.
  3. Quickly stir once to make sure no lumps have formed.
  4. Cover and cook until the moisture is absorbed. Stir well. Switch off and add coriander leaves. Cover and leave aside for 5 mins. Grease a bowl with ghee and scoop the upma to it. Press down evenly with a spoon. Invert it on a plate and shake off gently. Garnish tomato upma with cashews and coriander leaves. Serve hot or warm. Related Recipes

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Tomato Upma first published in August 2016. Updated and republished in July 2022.