Rava Kichadi How To Make Rava Kichadi

Rava Kichadi

Whenever we go to our favorite vegetarian restaurant, my usual order will be rava kichadi. Steaming rava kichadi comes with coconut chutney made with roasted dal and sambar. I will never forget to order crispy medu vada. Most of our weekends is fulfilled with this combo. Upma takes place in our breakfast menu at least once a week, but I enjoy rava kichadi more than upma. In this detailed blog post, learn how to make rava kichadi with stepwise pictures and video.

About Rava Kichadi

One of the popular South Indian breakfast dish rava kichadi made using lots of vegetables, roasted sooji and ghee. Even though upma is also made with the same ingredients, the texture and taste of rava kichadi varies. Rava kichadi preparation can be described in few steps. It all starts with tempering whole spices, sauteing fresh vegetables, roasting sooji, adding water and cooking. Thats it. The process & ingredients of upma preparation and kichadi preparation is same. The only thing that varies is the technique and measurements of the ingredients. You can serve rava kichadi with coconut chutney, tomato chutney, sambar and medu vada to make this a complete South-Indian Mini Tiffin.

Watch Rava Kichadi Recipe Video

Why you will love this recipe

Rava kichadi is more like kichadi, instead of rice it uses sooji. The texture is warm, soft and melt in mouth which is similar to kichadi. I can easily quote rava kichadi as a breakfast comfort dish.

Everyone will love this melt in mouth soft recipe for rava kichadi, comforting meal. Minimum ingredients used, 30 minute breakfast option, one pot breakfast so less washing up. This recipe yields higher servings which is filling & nutritious for breakfast.

Rava Kichadi Ingredients

Rava | Sooji | Semolina

I used store bought sooji or rava in making this dish. Even though I usually buy roasted sooji, you have to roast it with the fresh spices and ghee at least for 5 minutes for better taste.

Tempering Spices

Whole spices like mustard seeds, urad dal, split chana dal, cashews, asafoetida, curry leaves, ginger is used in tempering which adds flavor to the kichadi.

Fresh Vegetables

Onions, tomatoes, green chillies is added for taste. carrots, green beans and green peas is the common vegetables used in rava kichadi. Make sure you finely chop the vegetables for even blending.

Oil | Ghee

Rava kichadi has an iconic melt in mouth texture which is achieved by the addition of healthy amount of oil and ghee. I cook my vegetables in oil and use ghee when roasting sooji and in the end for preserving the flavor.

Optional

If you prefer your rava kichadi to be white in colour you can skip the addition of turmeric powder.

Rava Upma Vs Rava Kichadi

Even though upma and rava kichadi used the same ingredients. The texture of the dish differentiate both entirely. Rava kichadi should have soft, melt-in-mouth texture. Rava kichadi used 4 cups of water for every 1 cup of roasted sooji. So it is 4:1 ratio water to sooji. The texture of the rava kichadi should remain soft even after it cools down, it is achieved by the measurement of water you add while making kichadi. Also this dish used extra ghee and oil for the soft texture. Rava kichadi can be eaten only with a spoon because of its soft texture. Upma is more crumbly and has added peanuts, cashews, coconut. It uses 2 cups water for 1 cup sooji which results in fluffy and crumbly texture. Make sure you check my other comforting dish like ven pongal, rava dosa and masala dosa.

Expert Tips

These are the tips and tricks which I have learned over the years for making the best rava kichadi recipe.

Roasting rava

roast sooji for at least 5 minutes with your vegetables. I like to add one tablespoon of ghee when I add sooji. Roasting the sooji enhances the flavor of the dish and removes the raw taste of the sooji.

Using Ghee

Rava kichadi uses extra ghee and oil. Start your dish with oil and reserve the ghee in the end for extra taste.

Water ratio

Rava kichadi should have soft, melt-in-mouth texture. Rava kichadi used 4 cups of water for every 1 cup of roasted sooji. So it is 4:1 ratio water to sooji. The texture of the rava kichadi should remain soft even after it cools down, it is achieved by the measurement of water you add while making kichadi.

Serving hot

Always serve piping hot with coconut chutney. This recipe gives you soft end product even when it cools. You can reheat in microwave or stove top for few seconds till it warms up and serve.

How to Serve Rava Kichadi

You will get the best texture when you serve kichadi piping hot. I like to drizzle extra ghee on the serving bowl when scooping the kichadi to give a glossy shine over it. Rava kichadi should fall right out of the bowl and holds it shape just right. It stays so soft which makes it difficult to eat with your hands, so you can opt for a spoon to enjoy soft texture kichadi. My personal combination with rava kichadi is coconut chutney which is made with roasted gram dal also known as kadala chutney. You can Serve rava kichadi with coconut chutney, sambar, tomato gojju or crispy masala vada.

How to Make Rava kichadi (Stepwise Pictures)

1)Heat oil in a kadai. Add in chana dal and cashews first in oil and fry till it gets light golden 2)Add in mustard seeds and urad dal and saute till light golden. 3)Add in asafoetida and mix well. 4)Now add in fresh curry leaves into the hot oil. Make sure you step back when adding curry leaves because it may splatter on you. 5)Cook your spices in oil till golden. Make sure you cook this in a low flame. 6)Add in finely chopped ginger. If you don’t prefer chopped ginger, you can grate it using a fine grater. Sauce for 30 seconds in oil. 7)Add in chopped onions, green chillies and saute for 30 seconds till raw smell leaves from it. 8)Add in finely chopped tomatoes and stir fry for 1 minute. The tomatoes will get just soft. 9)Don’t over cook your tomatoes because it will cook more when you add sooji and water. 10)Add in vegetables carrot, beans and green peas. 11)Add salt to taste. You can add more salt once you add water. 12)Add turmeric powder and stir fry for 30 seconds to remove the raw smell. 13)In goes sooji or rava. I used store bought roasted rava. 14)Add in one tablespoon of ghee over the sooji. 15)Roast sooji with the ghee and vegetables for at least 5 minutes to enhance the flavour. 15)Pour in 4 cups of hot water. Pour the hot water slowly because it can splatter on you. 16)Once you add hot water mix well. The sooji will start to thicken. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee over the thickened sooji mixture. Cover this with a lid and cook on low medium heat for 10 minutes. 17)After 10 minutes the rava khichadi is cooked. Mix gently. 18)Add extra ghee for flavour. Mix gently. The kichadi will look soft in texture which is what you want. 19)Soft rava kichadi is ready to serve. Look at the soft texture. 20)Serve hot with coconut chutney.

What is Rava Kichadi food?

how to make rava kichadi hotel style?

Rava kichadi preparation can be described in few steps. It all starts with tempering whole spices, sauteing fresh vegetables, roasting sooji, adding water and cooking. Thats it.

Is rava kichadi and upma same?

The process & ingredients of upma preparation and kichadi preparation is same. The only thing that varies is the technique and measurements of the ingredients.

What is the water ratio for rava kichadi?

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