Vegetable Uttapam ~ Using Split Black gram with skin and Brown Rice

Uttapam is an popular South Indian breakfast. We can say uttapam is an Indian pancake made using idli-dosa batter and topped with vegetables. Uttapam will be thick, soft from inside and the outer surface will be crisp.

Many people use idli batter to make uttapam. My Mom also used to make uttapam with idli batter on 3rd or 4th day after making idli batter. There is a difference between idli batter and dosa batter in Andhra. In Andhra, we mix idli rava to urad dal/black split gram paste to make idli. We can also make dosa with this which will be like uttapam - thick and soft. For making dosa, we use urad dal and rice(normal white rice). In Tamilnadu, urad dal and idli rice is used to prepare batter with which we can make both idli and dosa.

The batter today I made can be used both for preparing idli and dosa. These days I stopped using white rice for making batter and using brown rice. We already aware of the health benefits of brown rice. I started using black gram with skin as it will have extra nutrients and also taste good. 

Let's see the nutrition facts of Urad dal/Black gram

Urad dal ia an high protein dal and is a good source of Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium and Vitamin B6.  

Don't have much time for fermentation, don't worry, add some yeast to the batter and keep in warm place and see the magic in 2 to 3 hours.  

Ingredients

• Thoka Minapappu/Split black gram with Skin - 1/2 cup
• Brown Rice - 2 cups
• Atukulu/Poha/Beaten Rice - 1/4 cup
• Salt to taste

Veggies

• Carrot - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Onion - 1, small
• Green Peas - 1/4 cup (I am using frozen peas)
• We can also use green beans, cabbage, green chilies, coriander leaves and sweet corn

Preparing Batter:

• Wash minapappu/black gram and brown rice separately and soak over night.
• Next morning wash black gram for 3 times (Keep skin) and brown rice.
• Soak beaten rice for 15 minutes before grinding.
• Grind brown rice by adding little water and keep aside.
• Now grind black gram and beaten rice (add little water) together and mix with brown rice paste.
• Ferment black gram and brown rice batter over night or for 8 hours in a warm place.

Preparing Yummy Uttapam

• Wash all the veggies. Grate carrot and finely chop tomato and onion.
• Heat a griddle and add salt and little water to the uttapam batter. (Batter should not be too thick like idli batter or too thin like dosa batter)
• Pour two ladles of batter on the griddle. Don't spread it(Batter will spread by itself, if you feel it is too thick spread a little but remember uttapam will be little thick)
• Add oil and veggies to uttapam and cook on both sides till it turn golden brown. (They take little long to cook)
• Serve hot with chutney or sambar.