Uttapamઉત્તપમ
Thicker than a dosa and topped with vegetables, uttapam is the quickest thing to make when there is dosa batter in the fridge. Children eat it happily too.
Ingredients
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- 2 cups fermented dosa batter
- 1 onion, 1 tomato, 1 capsicum, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies and coriander
- ½ tsp pepper or red chilli powder
- Salt
- Oil or ghee for the tawa
Method
- Keep the batter thicker than for dosa; if it is thin, stir in a spoon of semolina.
- Heat the tawa, oil it lightly and pour a thick round of batter without spreading it.
- Scatter the vegetables, chillies and coriander on top and press them in gently.
- Drizzle oil at the edges, cover and cook on low for 3-4 minutes.
- Flip, cook 2 minutes more and serve hot with sambar and chutney.
Tips
- Covering the pan is what cooks the topping through.
- Slightly sour batter gives a softer uttapam.
Storing and reheating
Uttapam are best hot off the tawa and go soft within an hour. For a lunch box, wrap them in a cotton cloth rather than sealing them in a box. The batter keeps three or four days in the fridge and sours a little more each day; if it gets very sour, stir in a pinch of baking soda. Reheat leftovers on a tawa, not in the microwave.
What you can swap
- No dosa batter? Thin idli batter slightly and use that; the uttapam come out softer.
- With no fermented batter at all, make an instant semolina version: one cup rava, half a cup yoghurt and water, rested twenty minutes, with a pinch of Eno stirred in just before cooking.
- Instead of onion and tomato, try grated carrot, beetroot, cabbage or boiled sweetcorn. A dusting of milagai podi on top changes the dish completely.
- No time for sambar? Coconut chutney, or even just curd and pickle, makes uttapam a complete meal.
What to serve with it
A breakfast dish with sambar and coconut chutney, though plenty of homes make it as a light dinner too. It is also what day-three dosa batter is for: once the batter has gone properly sour, uttapam is where that tang actually works in your favour.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not spread the batter like a dosa. Pour it and leave it thick, or the base burns before the vegetables on top are cooked.
- Do not let the tawa get too hot. If the edges shrink the moment the batter lands, the pan is overheated; splash water on it, wipe it and start again.
- Do not flip too early. Wait until the edges lift and the top has set, otherwise the vegetables stay stuck to the pan.
- Do not mix salt and chopped vegetables into the whole jar of batter. The vegetables leach water and spoil what is left; scatter them over each uttapam instead.
Questions people ask
Can I make uttapam with idli batter?
Yes, and they come out well. Idli batter is thicker, so loosen it with two or three spoons of water. The uttapam will be softer and puffier than ones made with dosa batter.
My uttapam sticks to the tawa. What helps?
The pan is either not seasoned or not hot enough. Heat a cast iron tawa, dip half an onion in oil and rub it over the surface; the old trick still works best. A nonstick pan avoids the problem entirely.
The batter will not ferment in winter. What can I do?
Leave the bowl in an oven with just the light on, or wrap it in a blanket somewhere warm. A pinch of ground fenugreek seeds in the batter speeds fermentation up. Twelve to fourteen hours instead of eight is normal in cold weather.
