Plain Utthapam

Savoury Eggless Pancakes

Vegetarian●●●Origin Tamil NaduPrep 15 minutes, plus fermenting timeCook 10 minutes

These thick, savoury South Indian pancakes feature a crisp, golden exterior with a soft, porous centre, cooked from fermented rice and lentil batter.

Ingredients

527 g500 ml

other

to taste

oil/fat

to taste

other

to taste

other

Warm a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat and grease lightly with vegetable oil.
Ladle a portion of the 500 g fermented batter into the pan, gently spreading it out into a thick, even pancake round.
Fry undisturbed for 2 minutes, or until the bottom turns deep golden brown.
Turn the pancake over with a spatula and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown throughout.
Transfer to a plate, then repeat the frying process with fresh vegetable oil and the remaining batter to make four utthapams.
Serve immediately while hot, accompanied by coconut chutney and sambhar.

Dosa batter

Rice flour
For 250 g batter, blend 150 g rice flour with 50 g soaked, ground urad dal and water; ferment. Texture and sourness will differ.
Fine semolina
Make an instant batter with equal weight fine semolina, yogurt and water; rest 20 minutes. Denser and not fermented.
Black gram
Soak and grind with cooked rice to make a quick batter; it still needs fermentation for proper flavour.

Vegetable oil

Peanut oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.
Ghee
Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.
Mustard oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Coconut chutney

Green chutney
Use the same weight; it is sharper and herby, so loosen with a little water and adjust salt.
Mint chutney
Use the same weight; mintier and less creamy, so add a spoon of yogurt if the dish needs body.
Chutney
Use the same weight and taste; generic chutney may be sweeter or more sour, so adjust lime and salt.

Sambhar

South Indian lentil soup
Use the same volume. Rasam is thinner and more peppery; simmer 5 minutes to thicken slightly and adjust salt.
Cooked pigeon peas
Use the same weight, loosened with tamarind extract and 1 tsp sambhar masala. Simmer 10 minutes; it will be thicker and less sour.
Lentil
Use the same weight of cooked lentil, add tamarind and sambhar masala, and simmer 10 minutes. Texture will be plainer.

Same: Paper Dosa uses the same fermented rice and urad dal base and is served with sambhar and coconut-tomato chutney.
Different: Paper Dosa is spread into an ultra-thin crepe cooked with ghee or vegetable oil and includes fenugreek seeds, whereas this dish is cooked as a thick pancake in vegetable oil.

Same: Undrally also relies on a core South Indian base of rice and lentils served alongside a savoury condiment.
Different: Undrally is steamed from broken rice and chana dal without oil, whereas this dish is pan-fried in vegetable oil using fermented batter.

Same: Both dishes rely on a fermented batter featuring urad dal and are served alongside sambhar.
Different: Idli is steamed oil-free and served with karpodi spice powder, whereas this dish is pan-fried in vegetable oil and served with nariyal tamatar ki chutney.

Same: Utthapam is also a thick, savoury pancake griddled in vegetable oil until golden and crisp on the outside with a soft interior.
Different: Utthapam uses a quick semolina and yoghurt batter studded with green chillies and vegetables instead of this dish's plain, fermented rice-and-lentil batter.