Indian Upma among '50 Best Porridges in the World': Report

The Indian upma is a breakfast staple in many Indian homes. Image for representational purpose only. Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

The diversity of India's food makes it one of the most fascinating cultures in the world because every region has its own unique cuisine. So, it is no wonder then that India's Upma features in '50 Best Porridges in the World' list, released by TasteAtlas earlier this week for August 2025.

Ranked at 43 in a list that includes Shrimp and Grits at 7, and Harissa at 12, it also has the delicious yet lesser-known Bubur Ayam that has been ranked the best porridge in the world, followed by Arroz Caldo and Elarji, as Kayu, Papeda and Dakjuk close the top 50. It is the only Indian dish on the list, as other countries like Italy boast of many different kinds of specials including their different varieties of Polenta.

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The Indian upma is a breakfast staple in many Indian homes. While it has roots in South India, the dish that is now eaten across the country, is a thick semi-solid porridge, traditionally made from suji or rawa (dry-roasted semolina). The beauty of the dish is that it can be made with any available vegetables but also easy to make because it includes chillies, mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves, as well as lentils, and can be tweaked according to your taste buds.

In some parts of India, it is called rawa upma and made in the sweet variation with sugar while the semolina is dry roasted with ghee. Some of the other names for the porridge are also uppumavu, upeet, and uppittu.

This is not the first time that an Indian dish has featured in TasteAtlas's rankings. In July, Mumbai's Vada Pav featured in '50 Best Sandwiches in the World' list, and the city' K Rustom's Mango Sandwich features on ‘100 Most Iconic Ice Creams' list, along with Apsara's Guava Ice Cream, and the Tender Coconut Ice cream at Naturals.

This was shortly after Mumbai was crowned top Indian city in ‘100 Best Food Cities in the World'. Sitting at number five after the four Italian cities Naples, Milan, Bologna and Florence, it is the only Indian city in the top 10 with the others being Rome, Paris, Vienna, Turin and Osaka

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