#15 best seller · Grains & Specialty · Aara

Sooji / Rava (Semolina), Coarse

Upma before work, halwa after dinner, dosa on Sunday. One bag.

Sooji is a fifteen-minute breakfast, a temple prasad, and a crispy Sunday dosa depending on which recipe you open. Very few pantry items stretch that far.

The coarse grind is what most Indian recipes assume, and it is the one American grocery stores almost never carry.

Coarse vs fine — actually matters

Coarse (bombay rava) for upma and rava dosa: it holds separate grains and stays fluffy.

Fine sooji for sheera, halwa, and rava laddoo, where you want a smooth, melting body.

Upma that isn't lumpy

Dry roast the rava first until it smells nutty. This step alone solves ninety percent of bad upma.

Add boiling water in a stream while stirring constantly, never cold water dumped in at once.

Rest covered for two minutes off the heat. Finish with lemon and coriander.

Rava dosa on a lazy morning

No fermentation, no grinding. Rava, rice flour, a little maida, buttermilk, green chilli, jeera, curry leaves, and enough water to make it watery-thin. Pour from a height onto a hot tawa.

Ravi's quick tips

•Roast the entire bag once when you open it, cool it, and store — future you will be grateful.
•1:2.5 rava to water for soft upma, 1:2 for firmer.
•Ghee, not oil, if you're making halwa. It's not the same otherwise.