Vegetable Rava Uttapam – easy and quick uttapams made with rava or sooji or semolina.
When I was in college in Delhi and staying in the AFWWA hostel, every Tuesday for breakfast we would get Uttapam. I generally never had time to eat breakfast; I was always running late. I would get the Uttapams packed and take it to college to eat later in the day, grabbing my fruit and eating that as breakfast. Even on days when I did have time to eat breakfast, I would make it a point to pack 2 or 3 since my friends had gotten used to them and looked forward to Tuesday Uttapams. I miss college days!
I don’t cook much south indian fare at home, even though I love dosa, idli, sambhar. I am more comfortable with cooking north indian cuisine and stick to that. My idlis are generally made from a packet or are the quick rava idlis I have posted before. The only time I have cooked dosas from a scratch batter is when my friend was kind enough to loan me some of hers. Once I did try fermenting my own batter but it was a huge fail. This was when I had just started cooking about 6 years back, and ever since I have just stuck to eating dosas outside or counting on my south indian friends to make them for me.
Uttapam is a thick pancake like savory breakfast dish. Unlike dosa, which is more crepe like, Uttapams are thicker and have the toppings cooked right into the batter. Uttapam batter generally consists of ground fermented rice and urad dal. But I generally make the quicker and easier version of uttapam with rava/sooji/semolina flour, which requires no fermentation, grinding and only a 30 minute soaking of the semolina flour in yogurt. And that is why it is my go-to recipe when I want to make something quick, but delicious and filling.
The best part of this recipe is that even if you make ahead they remain soft, making them ideal to make and pack them for your or your child’s tiffin to have later in the day. This recipe is adapted from the utthapam recipe in India: Cookbook and if there is one cookbook on Indian cuisine you would like to own this should be it!
I generally top the uttapams with a mixture of tomatoes, onions, green chillies and coriander but you could add other grated vegetables as well- grated carrot would be nice. You could make these plain but I don’t know why you would want to.
I love serving them with a little homemade coconut chutney (I just realized I haven’t shared my recipe on the blog yet- I will change that soon) and few tablespoons of sambhar, even though they are just as good served as is. My sambhar recipe might make a south indian granny cringe, but I just use V’s crockpot recipe (adding some veggies, preferably drumsticks while cooking) and make a few variations in the tempering- add sambhar masala, onions, mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies.
- ½ cup semolina/sooji
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- ¼ tsp baking soda (optional, but makes a softer fluffier uttapam)
- salt, to taste
- oil, for cooking
- 4 green chillies, finely chopped (deseeded if you like)
- 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped2-3 tsp finely chopped cilantro
- Mix the sooji/semolina with the yogurt. Add in salt and stir in enough water to make a smooth mixture. Let stand 30 minutes.
- Chop the tomatoes, onions, cilantro and green chillies. Mix and keep aside.
- After 30 minutes, heat a griddle or tawa.
- Add the baking soda, stir and mix well.
- Add a small amount of oil to grease the tawa/griddle well. Pour 2 tbsp of the semolina mixture ( I used an ice cream scoop), and spread it into a thick pancake.
- Add the tomato-onion-chillie-cilantro mix on top and cover the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, drizzling some oil on the top and sides. Turn the pancake over and cook for a further 2 minutes or until browned.
- Serve hot.
It looks simply delicious with the traditional tomato and onion topping. This (Gluten free) is what I sometimes order when I go to south Indian restaurants. When I make at home I use Gits dosa mix. and top with cabbage and thinly sliced baby carrots to make it look like pizza.
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Thanks Balvinder. Using dosa batter does make it gluten free but also increases the work and for me the possibility of failing! I remember having pizza uttapams when I was a kid-with ketchup on top and cabbage and carrots in the mix. Mom would make it like that. Thanks for the reminder!
Looks so good. My mom generally makes uttapam and adds the veggies on top and cook them as well. Sometimes in the batter too. I guess there are different variations. I’ve never made south indian specialties.. this looks fairly simple. Thanks for sharing.
Lots of variations! This is simple to put together so I stick to this recipe when I need a quick and easy meal.
I have to confess – I’ve never made dosa or idli batter from scratch. I’m just too scared of the process for some reason! And it’s so easy to buy batter in India that I’m spoilt. But it’s been on my to-do list for a while, not for the blog, but just to attempt it on my own. Rava based dishes are such a lifesaver! And these look perfect!
Thanks richa! I hear you! Its daunting for me too. And yes if I had the luxury like you I would always be buying ready made batter. But yes dosa batter is on my list to conquer.
Omg for real? Are you telling me it is actually possible for me to make uttapam myself? I haven’t eaten south Indian in ages for the same reason as you. I don’t even cook traditional Hyderabadi dishes because it’s too much effort (but luckily Mom is a three hour drive away). I don’t have sooji, since we’re not South enough to include it in our cooking. That was not on the list of kitchen essentials my mom gave me, but next time we hit up Patel brothers, I’m making a mad dash to that aisle! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
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Yup dosa batter does not come to me easy, and thats why I love this recipe- I get my south indian fix without stressing over the batter. You are so lucky to have your mom 3 hrs away! Let me know how it goes if you do try this out!
these looks delicious! I craved uttapam so bad when I was pregnant- will have to try these!
Aww thats so cute. You should- these are easy and you can always make variations on the topping, though I generally always make them with the ones in the recipe.
Ah the good old uthappams! 😛 Being south Indian I can tell you mastering the art of making idli batter comes wth lots and lots of trials. And no amount of following the “Best” Idli batter recipe from any blog will give you the desired result until and unless you keep experimenting the ratio of the ingredients and the place you keep it to ferment. This recipe is so new to me, I have heard of instant rava dosa – (which I am yet to master) and rava idli recipes. Whatever it is, your photograpy is stunning dear! And a tip – once you learn to make idli batter – first day you make idli, next day it gets good for dosas and then the three day old batter is best for uthappams!