THE MIXING BOWL
Southern Indian sourdough vegetable pancakes it is important to use water that isn’t chlorinated.
Uttampams: 1/2 cup urad dal, lentils 2 tablespoons chana dal, lentils 2 cups white rice, like Jasmine 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon salt, un-iodized salt is recommended 3/4 to 1 cup water that has no added chlorine 2-3 tablespoons oil for frying pancakes
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Tarmo Hannula
OCTOBER 15 - 21, 20211 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE
Topping:
UTTAMPAMS Subtle, flavorful and digestible Southern Indian pancakes are good anytime. But be warned,
they take time and ingredients are not commonly found in most grocery stores.
By SARAH RINGLER
U
ttampams, touted as a typical southern Indian breakfast pancake, are good at any time. Their subtle and intriguing flavors come from a sourdough pancake that is fried with bell peppers, onions and cilantro leaves. I made them once for an experiment and found myself thinking about the flavor so much that I made them again. Not only flavorful, uttampams are very easy on your stomach. The recipe,
adapted from one by Swasthi, is at Indianhealthyrecipes.com. Indian cuisine has a very old tradition that goes back 5,000 years and varies drastically across the diverse country. Gujarat, in Southern India where uttampams are popular, is famous for its vegetarian food. Rice is an important component. Uttampams are made from a mixture of rice, lentils and fenugreek seeds that have been soaked and ground up. The mixture is then set aside to ferment giving it a slightly sour taste. It is then fried like a pancake and served
with yogurt, chutney and sambal, a chili sauce. The recipe does take a while. The rice and lentil mixture needs to ferment for several hours so I started the soaking and grinding the day before. I also want to warn you that the ingredients aren’t typically in most kitchens. Two kinds of lentils are used, urad dal and chana dal. Both are available at Staff of Life as well the fenugreek seeds. You can buy them all in bulk so you aren’t forced to buy something you might not use again. Also, to aid in the fermentation process and for fluffier pancakes,
1 large red onion cut into small squares 1 medium red bell pepper cut in small squares 1/4 cup coriander leaves Mix both lentils with fenugreek seeds in a small bowl. Pour fresh water and soak for 4-5 hours. In another bowl rinse rice and soak for 4-5 hours. Drain water from lentils and grind in a blender. Drain water from rice and add to the blender with the lentils and grind. Add fresh water to make a smooth batter that isn’t runny. Put into a bowl, cover and rest for 8-16 hours until fermented. It is fermented when you see little bubbles. Don’t add salt until just before you’re ready to make the pancakes. Cut the red onion and bell peppers into 1/2-inch squares. Wash and dry cilantro. Combine onions, peppers and cilantro leaves in a medium bowl. Stir salt into the batter. Make one pancake at a time. Heat the griddle over medium heat. When griddle is hot, add a few tablespoons of oil. When the oil is shiny, spoon about 1/3 cup of batter on the griddle. You should have enough oil to make the edge crispy. When little holes appear, sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of mixed vegetables on the top. Flip the pancake and cook until vegetables are done. Continue to add a little oil as you make successive pancakes. Serve plain or with chutney, hot sauce (sambal) and yogurt.
