Breakfast special: Tomato - Capsicum Uthappam

After dining out this week and splurging on North Indian food, it was back to typical but extremely addictive South Indian Cooking. And my mom made the popular Dosa variant, Uthappam (also pronounced Oothappam). Usually it’s made of boiled rice (a plain Uthappam Recipe is here), but we were given with toppings of Onion, Tomato and Capsicum.

If you don’t know what is Uthappam, here’s what wikipedia has to say

Uthappam is a Dosa-like dish that is made by cooking ingredients in a batter. The batter is made of a 1:3 ratio of urad dal and rice (1:1 ratio of boiled to non-boiled rice) that has been fermented. They are usually made with tomatoes or an onion-chilli mix; other common ingredient choices are coconut or mixed vegetables. Uttapam is also sometimes called an Indian pizza or pancake.

Ok, let’s talk no further; it’s time for some action:

Image: Uthappam on its way (Copyright - Indian food Kitchen Blog)

Recipe 1 - Onion, Tomato and Capsicum Uthappam

You need:

• Raw Rice - 2 cups
• Par Boiled Rice - 2 cups
• De-husked Black Gram - 1/2 cup
• Red Gram Dhal - 1/4 cup
• Salt - 4 teaspoons
• Oil, for frying

For the topping:

• Tomatoes - 1/2 Kg (around 8 medium sized)
• Onions - 1/2 Kg
• Green Capsicum - 1/2 Kg
• Coriander Leaves - A big bunch

Serves - 4 to 6 people

How to:

Soak all the ingredients together in water (water should be just enough to cover all the contents in a pan a bit more), except salt for 4 hours.

After that, grind it into a smooth paste.Add salt at the end of the grinding process.

Allow this batter to ferment for 8-12 hours. You would want to prepare the batter the previous evening for making the uthappams the next morning.

The next morning - Heat a tava (a flat frying pan). Spread a ladle or a big spoon full of batter into thick concentric circles.

Sprinkle finely cut Onions, Tomatoes, Capsicum and Coriander leaves. Pour a little oil on top of and around the circle.

Fry on both sides till it becomes crisp.

Serve with Coconut or Mint Chutney.

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You could also try Carrot scrapings as toppings if you want a simpler variety. All other ingredients remain the same.

Image: Uthappam with Carrot toppings(Copyright - Indian food Kitchen Blog)

Uthappams make a simple but tasty alternatives over the weekend for your pizzas and Rotis. You could also use the same batter to make Dosas or Paniyaram. The next recipe is going to be just that.

Liked this? then Try a collection of Dosa Recipes we have on our site.

Tags: Uthappam, Dosa