Uttapam
If you’re going to the trouble of making dosa—all the soaking, pureeing, and overnight resting—it’s sensible to make the amount called for in the preceding recipe (plus it’s not like 4 cups of rice and 1 cup of dal cost much more than half those amounts). But it’s unlikely you’ll have the griddle stamina or appetite to make it through all that batter. Hence, uttapam—a fancy version of dosa. These are perfect for lunch—I usually fry a couple and eat them with whatever leftovers there are from the dosa meal the night before. And although it might be untraditional, I season them with a pinch of chaat masala (page 594), but feel free to omit it if it doesn’t appeal or you don’t have it on hand. If you’re using a pancake griddle, you should be able to cook two uttapam at a time; or you could have two nonstick griddles going at the same time.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 6 to 8 pancakes
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Stir together the red onion, cilantro, bell pepper, chaat masala if you’re using it, and salt in a small bowl, taste, add more salt or chaat masala if necessary, and set aside.
Step 2
Preheat a nonstick or cast-iron griddle over medium heat for a full minute before greasing it with a film of oil. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle. Uttapam are usually 5- or 6-inch pancakes 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick; if the batter is particularly thick or cold, you may need to spread it with the back of a spoon (or the measuring cup) to those dimensions.
Step 3
After a minute or so, scatter the top of the pancake with a couple tablespoons of the onion-cilantro-pepper mix. When the bottom starts to color and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes later, flip the pancake and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, until the second side is crisped and colored. Serve hot.
