Uttapam | Uthappam - My Food Story

uttapams served with chutneys on a banana leaf platter

5 from 1 vote

Uttapam | Uthappam

Uttapam (savory South Indian pancakes) is like the comforting cousin of dosa – it’s thick, soft, and loaded with heaps of veggies. Crispy edges, fluffy center, it’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a light dinner.

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Breakfast, Snacks & Appetisers

Cuisine: Indian, South Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: uttapams

Author: Richa

Ingredients

For idli dosa batter

1 ½ cups idli rice or parboiled rice
½ cup skinned urad dal
¼ cup poha or flattened rice
¼ cup cooked rice
1 teaspoon methi seeds fenugreek seeds
1 ½ cups water
4-5 ice cubes

For uttappam

1 cup idli dosa batter
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon sugar
1 onion cut into half horizontally
3 tablespoons finely chopped onions divided
3 tablespoons finely chopped tomatoes divided
3 tablespoons finely chopped green capsicum divided
3 tablespoons grated carrots divided
¾ teaspoon finely chopped green chillies divided
¾ teaspoon finely chopped ginger divided
1 ½ teaspoons idli podi divided
2 teaspoons cooking oil or ghee
1 ½ teaspoons butter divided

Instructions

Day 1 - morning

Wash and soak idli rice, urad dal, poha and methi seeds in enough water in a way that there is at least an inch of extra water over the rice and dal.
1 ½ cups idli rice or parboiled rice, ½ cup skinned urad dal, ¼ cup poha, 1 teaspoon methi seeds

Day 1 - evening

Once the grains have soaked for about 8 hours, drain the excess water from the bowl.
Grind the idli rice-urad dal mix with cooked rice until almost smooth with approx. 1 ½ cups water and 4-5 ice cubes in a mixer grinder. Add additional water if required. The consistency should be such that it can leave a thick coat on the back of a spoon and falls in a ribbon like consistency when poured with a ladle. The ground batter should feel very slightly gritty between your fingers.
¼ cup cooked rice, 1 ½ cups water, 4-5 ice cubes
Pour the batter into a bowl that’s large enough so that there is room for the batter to rise. Mix the batter with clean hands as shown in the video - this is an important step as it helps in the fermentation so please don’t skip it.
Cover the bowl and set aside to ferment. Leave it in a warm, dry place away from direct sunlight to ferment. Fermentation takes anywhere between 12-24 hours depending on the humidity and temperature at your place. The warmer it is, the faster it’ll ferment.

Day 2 - morning or afternoon

Once fermented, the batter should have become almost 1.5 times its size with a slight dome shape and a wrinkle, bubbly layer on top. You should be able to smell a little sourness in the batter. This smell means it has fermented. If it is too sour, it has fermented too much! You can use a spoon to check the batter – the texture should be frothy with air bubbles. This will yield approx. 1.75 litres (6-7 cups) of batter.

Prepping batter

take 1 cup of batter in a bowl, add salt, sugar and mix well.
1 cup idli dosa batter, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon sugar

Prepping tawa or pan

Heat a non-stick pan or a seasoned cast iron dosa tawa over medium heat. Once hot, pierce the onion half with a fork, dip in oil & rub on the tawa (like shown in the video). This prevents the uttappam from sticking to the tawa.
1 onion

Making Uttappam

Reduce the heat to low & pour one ladle of dosa batter in the center of the tawa and make a thick dosa without spreading much.
Add 1 tablespoon each of the toppings - onions, tomatoes, capsicum, carrots, ¼ teaspoon green chilli & ginger and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of idli podi.
3 tablespoons finely chopped onions, 3 tablespoons finely chopped tomatoes, 3 tablespoons finely chopped green capsicum, 3 tablespoons grated carrots, ¾ teaspoon finely chopped green chillies, ¾ teaspoon finely chopped ginger, 1 ½ teaspoons idli podi

Roasting Uttappam

Drizzle 1 teaspoon of ghee around the edges and ½-1 teaspoon of butter on top of the uttappam. let this roast for 1-2 minutes on low heat till the base gets roasted well & turns golden brown.
2 teaspoons cooking oil or ghee, 1 ½ teaspoons butter
Flip it over and roast for 1-2 minutes on low while gently pressing on the uttappam so that the veggies get roasted well. Roast the uttappam well on both sides and serve.
Follow the same steps for making the rest of the uttappams.

Video

Notes

To check if the pan is hot enough to make uttappam, sprinkle a few drops of water over the tawa & if it is ready, it should sizzle.
Rubbing the tawa with onion dipped in oil prevents the uttappam from sticking to the tawa, so try not to skip it.
For best results, uttappam should be cooked on low heat.
Uttapams taste best when they are served hot
Salt should be added ONLY to the quantity of batter you are using to avoid the batter from getting too sour.
If you are not using all the batter, store the remaining unsalted batter in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze the batter for up to a month. Bring the batter to room temperature before making uttappams.

Nutrition