Uttapam Recipe

South Indian breakfast recipe – Uttapam, is a delicious savory pancake with crispy golden edges and a pillowy soft center. This recipe is made with fermented rice and urad dal batter, known as idli-dosa batter, and topped with different vegetables.

This breakfast recipe is vegan, gluten-free, wholesome, and also makes for a quick and satisfying meal. It can be served with Coconut chutney, green chutney, onion chutney, or ketchup.

Learn how to make uthappam at home for your next meal with this easy step-by-step process and video.

Jump to:

• What is Uttapam?
• Variety of Uttapams
• This recipe for Uttapam is
• Ingredients required
• Step by step process
• Notes, Tips and quick FAQs
• More South Indian Breakfast Recipes
• Uttapam Recipe
• Video

Sometimes, making breakfast, lunch or dinner can be challenging. It’s hard to come up with options!

I know you must be thinking, a food blogger is saying this.

But still, I have those days when I have no clue what to make. Sometimes you are just tired of eating the same old stuff and sometimes you just don’t have the energy to cook from scratch.

For those days, my Idli-dosa batter comes to the rescue.

I always use just one all-purpose batter for making idli, dosas, uttapa, white dhokla, and handvo. We love south Indian food at home, so I usually make a big batch of this batter.

I store it in my fridge and even in the freezer. It makes life easy a lot for those lazy days.

Using idli-dosa batter, you can whip up a quick meal in no time. You can make paniyaram, dhokla, handvo, and uttapam from leftover idli batter.

So I am sharing the Uttapam recipe made with idli-dosa batter today.

What is Uttapam?

Uttapam is a thicker variety of dosa, savory rice, and lentil pancake. It is a staple breakfast recipe of South India.

It is made with fermented rice and urad dal batter and topped with different veggies.

They are a cross between dosa and idli. The edges of this pancake are crispy like dosa and its core is pillowy soft like idli.

It is so quick and easy to make, that it can be prepared instantly when you have the batter ready.

It is Hearty and a fail-proof south Indian breakfast/meal recipe that does not need any special techniques.

If you don’t have the batter ready, you can also use store-bought idli dosa batter available in any Indian store.

You can use Gits or any ready-to-make uttapam packets as well to make this recipe.

As I said, you can top it with different vegetables and topping and make a variety of Uttapams.

Variety of Uttapams

There are many varieties of uttapams.

• Onion – To make onion uttapam, you just need to top the batter with finely chopped onions. This is my husband’s favorite way of eating this recipe.
• Tomato – Just like an onion, this verity of uttapa is topped with circles of thinly sliced tomato, chilies, and cilantro.
• Masala uttapam – Here the masala term is used for a mix of onion, bell pepper, green chili, cilantro, and tomato. This is my favorite.
• Cheese – Cheese uttapams are perfect for kids and adults alike. I prefer to use Amul cheese, but you can use any cheese available in the fridge.
• Beetroot – Sometimes I also add grated beetroot for some extra health benefit. Uthappam made with beetroot also looks very pretty.
• Rasam powder, podi masala, or gun powder – If I am in the rush or I do not feel like chopping the veggies in the morning, that time I sprinkle rasam powder, podi masala, or gun powder over it. It tastes fantastic.
• You can use cabbage, corn, broccoli, mushroom, etc. Get creative and use toppings that your family loves. You can just use one topping or go for more.

This recipe for Uttapam is

• a comforting, satisfying, and nutritious dish.
• an ideal recipe for those days when you are looking for quick, simple, easy, and healthy breakfast/meal ideas.
• a great make-ahead meal and freezes well.
• a great way to get your kids to have a filling, balanced meal.
• Perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• Stays fresh and soft after cooling down, so it is ideal for the lunch box.

Ingredients required

To get started, you will need the following ingredients for Uttappam.

• Idli Dosa Batter – This can be made at home or they are easily available to buy in Asian Grocer Stores. Do check out my very detailed Idli dosa batter recipe post.
• Onion – You can use Red Onion, White Onion, brown, or Shallots. Make sure to dice the onion really finely.
• Bell pepper – I have used green bell pepper. You can use any color pepper. Make sure to chop it finely.
• Tomatoes – Use red ripe tomatoes and dice them finely.
• Green Chili – It adds the perfect spice to this savory pancake. If you are making it for kids, omit it.
• Cilantro – for the freshness
• Ghee or oil – for making the edge a little bit crispy. For vegan use any oil of your choice.
• Podi Masala (Optional) – I like to sprinkle a little bit of Podi masala on my uttapamas. But it’s completely optional. You can even use chaat masala.

Step by step process

• Take the batter in a big mixing bowl. Add water to the Uttapam batter to make pancake-batter-like consistency.
  • Note – My idli dosa batter already had salt in it so I didn’t add any. Add salt to taste if your batter doesn’t have salt in it.
• Heat a pan (cast iron or nonstick) on medium to low heat and apply a little bit of ghee or oil.
• Spread about 1 and ½ ladles full of batter (about ⅓ cup) to form a 6-inch disc (thicker than the dosa). (image 1)
• Once you see bubbles on the top (image 2), add in your toppings (Here I have added onion, bell pepper, tomato, green chilies, and cilantro) and press in gently. (image 3 to 7)
  • Tip – Do not overcrowd the top with veggies otherwise it will get soggy.
• You can use any toppings of your choice.
• Drizzle a few drops of oil or ghee on the sides and on the top.
• Let it cook for 2 minutes on medium to low heat or until the bottom is golden brown. (image 8)
• Carefully flip the uttapam and allow the top side to cook for 1 to 2 minutes as the onions start to caramelize. (image 9)

• Optional step – Flip the uttapam again (vegetable side up) and then sprinkle some podi masala on top of the veggies.
  • Tip – If you want to make cheese uttapam, sprinkle grated cheese at this point.
• Take the uttapam out and serve with the topping side up with coconut chutney, Peanut chutney, or onion chutney and sambar.
  • Note – Always cook on medium to low heat. This way it will cook well from the inside too. If cooking on high flame, it will stay raw from inside and you will taste batter while eating. So be patient.
• Repeat the same process with the remaining batter.

Mini uttapams

• Fill the batter in the reusable ketchup bottle and make inch circles on the pan. Add the toppings, drizzle some oil or ghee and gently flip them with a small spoon or a fork. (image 10 to 13)
• Press them gently and allow them to cook for a minute.

• Take them out and serve with chutney or ketchup.
• For the medium-sized version, you can use multiple cavity pans too, easily available on Amazon.

Notes, Tips and quick FAQs

• To enhance the taste, dont skip the oil.
• To make it extra crispy, use a generous amount of oil or ghee.
• If possible, use a cast iron pan for a great crispy result.
• Don’t forget to wipe the tawa with a clean cloth or towel before spreading the batter for each Uttapam.
• Make sure the pan is hot enough before pouring the batter otherwise the uttapam won’t puff and it will be flat.
• Lower the flame while spreading the uttapam and then cook on medium flame after flipping for crisp and golden results.
• Cook on low to medium heat so the batter is cooked from inside.
• Cook vegetable uthappam on both sides to ensure a crispy outcome.
• My family prefers a little bit spicy uttapa and hence added finely chopped green chilies as a topping, skip this if you do not like it or serve it to kids.
• Chop the veggies only when you are ready to make.
• If you don’t want to use any vegetable toppings, you can also make plain uttapam.
• Don’t overload with vegetables. Otherwise, it will be soggy.
• This recipe can also be doubled or tripled.

More South Indian Breakfast Recipes

• Medu vada
• Ven Pongal
• Rawa Dosa
• Pesarattu

Warm Regards,

Dhwani.