Rice Rava & How to Make it

Rice Rava also known as biyyam rava (or biyyapu rava, uppuddu rava) is coarse ground rice used in many traditional Andhra recipes like Kudumulu, Undrallu, Upma and Dibba rotti. This is different from the idli rava, which is used to make traditional Idli in Andhra & Karnataka. In this post I share how to make rice rava the traditional way that will give you soft kudumulu, undrallu and dibba rotti.

You can also use this rice rava to make upma, after roasting it very well.

Rice Rava

Since Ganesh Chaturthi is around the corner, thought of sharing this as a separate post so you don’t go wrong. I am not aware if this is available in the grocery stores but we always make this at home since it is for Naivedyam.

We want the undrallu and kudumulu to be non-sticky and fluffy so always use aged rice. Avoid rice that has been harvested recently as this kind of rava turns sticky and hard after cooking.

Sona masuri is the gold standard for this and I am not aware if it can be made with any other kind of rice. On occasions I have used aged basmati rice and ponni which also turned out good.

To make the rice rava, rice is soaked for at least 1 to 2 hours and then dried on a cloth till completely dry. It is pulsed or ground in a blender coarsely.

If you do not have enough time, you can wash the rice instantly and dry pat dry. Soaking gives your undrallu a soft texture and they won’t turn hard even upon cooling.

In case you do not know if the rice you have is aged or not, simply go for the Aged Basmati Rice as it is clearly labelled on the pack. This kind of rice is easily available in most parts of the world.

I usually make this rice rava one to two days ahead of the festival.

How coarse to blend the rava depends on your taste. You can even make it like semolina or even like coarse rice flour. All work well to make kudumulu and undrallu.

You can use this rice rava to make the following dishes
Kudumulu/ undrallu
Bellam undrallu
Kobbari kudumulu, uppu kudumulu
Chalimidi undrallu

How to Make Rice Rava (Stepwise Photos)

1. Wash the rice thoroughly and soak for at least 2 hours. If you do not have time, you can just wash and drain off in a colander.

2. After the water is drained completely, transfer the rice to a dry clean cloth.

3. Spread it evenly and fan dry for about 2 hrs or sun dry till they dry completely

4. Powder the rice to rava or flour in a mixer jar

5. Sieve to remove large grains. This is optional, if you don’t have large grains

6. If using new harvest rice, sieve and separate the flour.  Use only the rava for undrallu and store aside the flour for making chalimidi or for dosas. This must be done to avoid undrallu from becoming sticky. * this step is not required if using aged rice

7. Make sure the rava is dry fully before you move it to a jar.

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Rice rava recipe first published in September 2012. Updated & republished in July 2022.