Indian

brown rice & oats utappam

Some foods fit right into any mealtime and all times in between. Like the idli–dosa–utappam–upma quartet. For me and most people who grew up in India, it was very natural to be having any or all of the above starting at breakfast and all the way to midnight munchies; either at home or one of the ubiquitous Udipi hotels.

In most south Indian homes, batter for making these is always on hand and soaking the rice and dals, grinding and fermenting forms part of a daily routine. Every family had its own magic formula for the proportions of rice to dal and is something not to be messed with! I used to make them fairly often until I started using white rice very sparingly and for a while, was making them just 3-4 times a year…….shocking, considering my south Indian roots 🙂 In fact, if you were to hear my husband tell it, the only time he ate home-made idlis and dosas during that time was when friends invited us over. Not completely true but it did get him an extra serving with a bit of sympathy on the side 🙂

Things have been much better of late. Ever since I embraced brown rice as a perfectly acceptable substitute. Also threw in some oats for added nutrition. And even the most discerning of foodies have been fooled with these dosas and utappams; not realizing they were eating the whole-grain version. The addition of oats in particular gives a beautifully fermented batter every single time – even in the peak of winter, with bubbles large enough to make any sourdough maker choke back tears of joy:)

You do need a blender to grind the rice and dals but the rest of the process is fairly simple. Unlike the dosa, which requires a certain amount of skill to make – at least in the beginning, the utappams are super easy. Just scoop and pour. You can go to town with the toppings. I like to keep it fairly simple with a few veggies, some onion and green chillies but you can get pretty creative with your ideas!

I had made these last week when my friend K. ( who loves Indian food) was over for lunch. She grew up in San Francisco eating the very best of sourdough bread until she had to go gluten-free. When she tasted the utappam, the slightly sour, fermented taste reminded her of the bread and she was ecstatic. I promised her a recipe and have also included some pictures below to get a general idea of the process.

Often referred to as an Indian pizza, to me it is reminiscent of a pancake. Soft, airy and perfect for a savory breakfast or brunch:)

Brown Rice & Oats Utappam

Printable Recipe

2 1/2 cups brown rice (I used brown basmati but any variety will work)
1/2 cup Urad dal (black lentils)
3 tbsp Tuvar dal (Piegon Peas)
1 1/2 tsp Methi (Fenugreek) seeds
1/2 cup oats (quick-cook or rolled)
3 tbsp cooked brown rice (optional)
canola, vegetable or peanut oil
toppings: I used thiny sliced red onions, chopped green chilies, chopped fresh spinach, grated carrot
salt to taste

Rinse the rice and dals separately. Add the fenugreek seeds to the rice and soak them overnight or for 6-8 hours.

About 1/2 hour before grinding the rice and dals, soak the oats in a small bowl with about a cup of water.

I grind the rice and dals in the following sequence (makes clean-up easier). Grind the oats along with the soaking water to a fine paste and transfer to a large bowl. The bowl size should be large enough to hold twice the volume of the final batter.

Add the dals and cooked rice to the blender with some water and grind to a smooth paste. Transfer to the bowl containing the oats.

Finally grind the rice with enough water to give a sandy texture. This should not be smooth.

Add this to the oats-dals mixture along with salt to taste. The consistency of the batter should be like a thick cake batter. It will thin down some after fermenting.

Leave it for fermenting overnight in a warm place. When the batter has fermented and is bubbly, stir well.

Heat a skillet on a medium-high flame. Rub some oil all over ( I use a cut onion with fork stuck in as a spreader).

Pour 1/2 cup of the batter onto the skillet and spread lightly into a 6-inch circle. I just shake the pan lightly to spread the batter. It spreads into a round circle.

Reduce the flame to medium and you will start seeing bubbles start to form from the outer edge, making their way in.

Pour about 1/4 tsp of oil around the edges. Once the whole utappam has become bubbly, put some of the toppings. Add a few more drops of oil on top, press the toppings with the turner and cover with a lid for a minute or two.

Flip it so that the topping side is facing down and cook until the bottom turns a light, golden brown.

Serve hot with some coconut chutney and sambar.

Enjoy!

* Make sure the batter is not too thin. The batter should start off as a thick cake batter-like.

* I use the same batter, just thinned down slightly for wonderfully crispy and golden dosas too. Most importantly, the batter freezes well and after a thaw at room temperature, you have dosas and utappams tasting like the batter was freshly made.

* To help with fermentation during winter, I preheat the oven at it’s lowest setting (170 degrees F on my oven) along with a few pans and even my baking stone. Once it is done preheating, I turn it off and leave the batter in there overnight.

Yum