Uttapam is a flat rice bread from southern India.

Votes: 1

How to Make - Uttapam - Flat Rice Bread from South India

Photo of the dish: Meena Pathak

Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Complexity: average
Servings: 8

This is an adapted recipe from Tamil cuisine, and although I call these rice cakes bread, they're actually more like thick, round, topped pancakes eaten as a snack. Fresh chili peppers, tomatoes, and cilantro add color and a fresh flavor. If you prefer a milder flavor, remove the seeds.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

1 cup (heaping) basmati rice
Salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup white lentils, peeled and finely chopped (Indian style, urad dal)
1 cup peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes
1 chopped green chili pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Ghee butter or any other ghee
Sambhar (see recipe below)

Sambhar (South Indian Lentil Curry):

3/4 cup yellow lentils (Indian style, toor dal)
1/2 cup onion, sliced into half rings
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup diced eggplant
20 g tamarind pulp (Indian dates)
5 tablespoons of vegetable oil
3 dried red chili peppers
5 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
4 tbsp. grated fresh coconut
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground asafoetida
Salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
8 curry leaves
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: pancakes, lentils, basmati rice, coriander, turmeric, mustard seed, chili pepper, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, eggplants, coconut, curry, tamarind, fenugreek, curry leaves, ghee

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Rinse the rice and lentils separately in several changes of water. Soak each grain in a large pot of clean water for a couple of hours.

Strain the rice and lentils, place them in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add a little water to form a thick paste.

Add salt, sugar, and baking soda to the dough and whisk well. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 4 hours or up to 15 hours to complete the fermentation process.
In separate bowls, place chopped onion, diced tomatoes, chopped green chili and chopped cilantro.

Heat a regular or nonstick frying pan. Grease it with a little ghee and pour in 2-3 tablespoons of batter. Using the back of a spoon, spread it evenly into a thick circle 10 cm in diameter.

Spread some onion, tomatoes, green chili, and chopped cilantro on the surface and spread them evenly. Drizzle a little oil over and around the flatbread. Cook over low heat until small bubbles appear on the surface, about 5 minutes.

Flip the flatbread over and fry the other side until crispy and golden. Alternatively, you can arrange the vegetables on the flatbread after baking and place it under a preheated broiler for 1-2 minutes. Serve hot with South Indian lentil curry (sambhar).

Sambhar

Heat half the oil in a frying pan and add the red chili pepper, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, and grated coconut. Fry, stirring, for 5-10 minutes. Let cool.

Rinse the yellow lentils in several changes of water and place them in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil, add ground turmeric, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Place the toasted spice mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth. When the lentils are soft and mushy, add the chopped onion, asafoetida, diced tomatoes, eggplant, and cooled coconut paste. Continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add the tamarind pulp, salt to taste, and sugar, and cook for another 2 minutes.

Heat the remaining oil in a separate pan, add the curry leaves and mustard seeds. When they begin to sizzle, pour this mixture over the lentils and serve immediately with steamed rice. Serves: 4.