Uttapam

Uttapam is a very healthy and extremely tasty South Indian dish made by cooking ingredients in a batter. The batter is made of a (1:3) urad dal and rice that is fermented. Instead of making it like a crispy dosa, uttapam is like a pancake, with ingredients cooked right into the batter. Uttapam is traditionally made with tomatoes or an onion-chili mix; other common ingredient choices are coconut or mixed vegetables. Uttapam is sometimes called an Indian pizza or pancake.

Preparation time: 8+8 hrs     Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rice
• 1 cup urad dal 
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• salt to taste
• Finely chopped green chilies
• Sliced onions,
• Grated carrot (optional)
• Finely chopped tomatoes
• Chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Method: 

• Soak rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds in water overnight and grind into a fine paste.
• Put it in a big vessel/and place it in a warm place to ferment about 8-10 hours. You will notice that the batter has risen and bubbles appear on the top. Add salt and mix well. 
• Pre-heat a non-stick tawa or griddle and spread a tsp of oil over it. Pour a ladle full of batter and spread it, thicker than a dosa (about 1/2″- 3/4″ thickness).
• Drizzle a tsp of oil around the uttapam and top it with finely sliced onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, grated carrot and green chilies.
• Cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Then turn over and cook the other side and let it cook for another 2 minutes. 
• Serve hot with coconut/coriander chutney and sambhar.