← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 300 g idli or dosa rice
• 75 g Urad dal (split, skinned)
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp Salt
• water, for soaking and grinding
• 2 Red onion, finely chopped
• 1 Tomato, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 Green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Ginger, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 1 sprig Curry leaves, chopped
• ½ tsp Salt
• 4 tbsp oil, for cooking

Method

1. Soak the rice, and the urad dal with the fenugreek, separately for 6 hours. Grind the dal to a fluffy batter and the rice slightly coarse, mix with the salt and leave in a warm place for 8–12 hours to ferment until bubbly and risen. (Skip this with ready-made batter.)
2. Mix all the topping ingredients in a bowl. Stir the batter; it should be thick, like a heavy pancake batter.
3. Heat a cast-iron pan or tawa over medium heat and wipe with a little oil. Pour a ladle of batter in the centre and spread it gently into a round about 1 cm thick and 13 cm wide.
4. Scatter a handful of the topping over the top and press it in lightly. Drizzle 1 tsp oil around the edge, cover and cook for 3–4 min, until the top looks set and the base is golden and crisp.
5. Flip and cook for 2 min more, pressing lightly, until the onions are browned in spots. Repeat with the rest and serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.

Tips

• Slightly sour, day-old batter makes the best uttapam.
• Keep the heat at medium: too hot and the outside burns before the thick middle cooks.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hebbar's Kitchen Swasthi's Recipes