Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

This is something I've been working on for several weeks.  Uttapam (or ooththappam or Uthappa) is a South Indian or Tamil pancake-like dish made with a batter of grain (such as rice, semolina or millet), or grain and legumes, similar to dosa batter. Dosa is thinner and crepe-like--sometimes crisp and sometimes softer. Uttapam is a thick pancake, with toppings of vegetables added to the "pancake" when it is just ready to be flipped over. Uttapam is sometimes called an "Indian pizza".  It's a common breakfast and snack food in Southern India.

I was interested in making uttapam for my husband as a more interesting way for him to eat oats, and as a way to includes legumes in a breakfast food.  Oats and legumes contain lots of soluble fiber, which is helpful for many conditions, such as angina. After perusing many South Indian cooking blogs, I was interested to find that oats are being incorporated into Indian cuisines because they are a healthful addition to diabetic diets, and diabetes is unfortunately becoming more prevalent in India.

I tried some quick recipes with rolled oats or quick oats and urad dal (hulled, split black gram-- easy to find in Indian markets and well-stocked grocery stores) and they were good, but I realized that I wanted a fermented batter, leavened with the natural fermentation of the oat and legume batter sitting overnight.  The fermentation in good for the gut and it makes the batter foamy and full of flavor, with no added leavening.

I decided to start the batter with soaked oat groats (whole oats) and either urad dal, moong dal (split hulled mung beans) or the easily-available split yellow peas. Our local Real Canadian Superstore carries urad dal in their  bulk section, so I had plenty of it on hand and that's what I have been using most often.  But yellow split peas are another excellent option.

Soaked Oat Groats (steel cut oats or rolled oats can also be used)

This is not an "instant recipe, but the "hands-on" time is very minimal and the finished batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or so-- it just gets better!



Printable Recipe

UPDATE: SEE FRUIT UTTAPAM VARIATION BELOW RECIPE
BRYANNA'S FERMENTED OAT AND URAD DAL UTTAPAM
Servings: 18 uttapam
Yield: about 6 cups batter
An excellent breakfast, lunch, supper or substantial snack dish. Serve with your favorite dal or sambar, and/or chutneys, and perhaps some non-dairy yogurt or cheese. The Nutrition facts are for one Uttapam, without toppings. NOTE: You can use this batter to make dosa as well.

1  cup oats groats (whole oats)-- (steel cut oats or rolled oats can also be used-- I've used both successfully)
1 cup  urad dal (split, hulled black gram), moong dal (split, hulled mung beans), or even red lentils, chana dal or yellow split peas
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (NOTE: This is a fermentation aid, but, if you can't find them, omit.)
water
For the Batter:
2- 2 1/2 cups mixed soaking water from oats and dal
1/2- 1 teaspoon salt
For Cooking: (amounts will vary depending on how many uttapam you are making at one time)
oil for greasing the pan
thinly-sliced onion
thinly-sliced vegetables of your choice (could include: sweet potato, cooked potato, squash, cabbage, kale or other greens [dry], halved grape tomatoes, chiles, any color bell peppers, halved grape tomatoes, grated carrots, grated coconut, chopped cilantro, green onion, or leeks, etc.
Non-dairy cheese shreds
For Garnishing:
Your favorite dal or sambar (here's a good sambar recipe: http://abcdsofcooking.com/2009/12/sambar-south-indian-lentil-stew/)
Indian chutney and/ or raita (vegetable and yogurt salad, made with non-dairy yogurt)
chopped fresh cilantro, basil and/or mint

The day before you plan to make the Uttapam, about 6 hours before you go to bed:
1. In separate bowls or pitchers, cover the oats and dal or split peas with water by several inches.  Add the fenugreek seeds to the dal.  Cover with a clean cloth and let stand at room temperature for about 6 hours.

Just before you retire for the night:
1. Drain the soaked oats and dal separately, saving the soaking water.
2. If you have a large, high-speed blender, you can blend the drained oats, drained dal, salt and 2 to 2 1/2 cups reserved soaking water all at once.
3. If you have a less sturdy blender, blend the oats with 1- 1/4 cups soaking water, and the dal with 1- 1 1/4 cups soaking water in separate batches and then mix them together in a large bowl with the salt.
4. Whichever way you do it, the batter should be like a pancake batter-- thicker than a crepe batter-- but very smooth.
5. Scrape the batter into a large mixing bowl and cover loosely with a lid or towel.  Place in a warm-ish spot (maybe the oven with the light on) and leave overnight.

In the morning the batter should have risen a bit and be full of bubbles.

6. You can use it immediately, or place the batter in a covered jar or storage container and refrigerate for up to a week.  It will get more flavorful as it sits! If you are cooking some uttapam, immediately, prepare your veggie toppings and veggie cheese, if using, and set out your Garnishes.  Have some plates heating in a low oven.

To cook the Uttapam:
1. Have your veggie toppings ready and heat your favorite pancake skillet or griddle over high heat until cold water sizzles when sprinkled on it.  Turn the heat down to medium-high and spray with a bit of oil from a pump-sprayer.  I use a soup ladle with a rounded bottom that holds about 1/3 cup to scoop out some batter and also to spread the batter.

2. For each uttapam, pour the ladle-full of batter into the center of the pan and , starting from the center, use the bottom of the ladle in a circular motion going outwards to shape a round "pancake" about 6" across.

The uttapam pancake should be full of little holes from the fermentation in the batter.

3. Cover the pan briefly, if you like.  When the bottom is golden brown, quickly sprinkle the top with a handful of your veggie toppings, press it down lightly into the batter, loosen the bottom of the uttapam and quickly flip it over.

4. Cook just until the veggies look cooked and a bit charred.  Serve at once, veggie side up, or you can make several at a time and keep them hot in a 200 degree F oven until you are ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per “pancake”): 55 calories, 4 calories from fat, .5 g total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 54 mg sodium, 123.1 mg potassium, 9.6 g carbohydrates, 3.2 g fiber, .5 g sugar, 3.4 g protein, 9.8 points.

FRUIT UTTAPAM VARIATION:

I had a brainstorm last night while trying to fall asleep (long story)-- why not use fruit on the uttapam batter instead of veggies, and serve with maple syrup (maybe with some vegan ricotta or vegan yogurt).

I decided to make blueberry uttapam this morning and served it with  maple syrup-- it was fantastic!

Enjoy!

Moong Dal "Crepes" with Indian-style sautéed Savoy cabbage and soy yogurt

I'm really excited about these Indian "crepes" (called adai or pesarattu, made only from dal [dried legume] and un-fermented)-- they are made from beans!

I have made dosa (another type of Indian "crepe") for years, but usually with some grain or flour in them, and usually with some oil in the pan. My experiment was to make them solely with soaked beans and with no more than a light spritz of oil in the pan. It was a success, and DH and my friend Holly gobbled them up. (For a filling, I used a simple cabbage stir-fry recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World of Vegetarian Cooking, with some Tofu "Yogurt". You can use any vegan yogurt.)

We all remarked that this simple, delicious, nourishing, and filling meal was so inexpensive to make.















This experience has inspired me to try different kinds of Indian breads and dumplings that can be cooked in a nonstick pan, or steamed, using soaked beans, sprouted beans, bean flours, and even fresh corn. I'll let you know if I have any other successes.

Last night I soaked some moong dal in water:



I used split moong dal, with the skins.Much later, I found my split washed moong dal (which has the skins removed), which would have made a nice white batter. Mine was kind of green! Oh, well-- next time.


Washed moong dal

In the morning it looked like this and I had about 5 1/2 cups of soaked dal.













Here's the recipe:

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S MOONG DAL ADAI OR PESARATTU (INDIAN "CREPES" )
Servings: 12
These crepes are a type of Indian "crepe" that is made only from soaked, but not fermented, dal. These are actually a bit sturdier than the crepes we're used to, but they fold and roll nicely. You can eat them simply with chutney or an Indian-style vegetable stir-fry, or with a more elaborate vegetable curry, if you like. They can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack, or for a lunch or supper dish. (They would be great for a gluten-free diet, too.)

1 1/2 cups split moong dal (The washed kind have no skins, so make a nicer-looking batter, but you can use the kind with the skins.  I'm told that you can use whole moong dal as well.)
water to generously cover-- they really soak it up!
2 tablespoons (or more, according to taste) of fresh chopped green chilies (seeds removed-- or, cheat, as I did, and use pickled or canned jalapeño peppers)
1 piece (1-inch) fresh ginger, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
water to thin the batter, as necessary (1/2 cup, at least)

The night before you are to make the adai, rinse and drain the dal and then place in a bowl or container with room to almost triple, and cover generously with water. The dal will soak up alot of water, so don't be stingy!

The day you are making the pancakes, make or assemble your filling(s) before starting to cook the adai.

Drain the water off the soaked dal and place it in a large high-speed blender container, along with the chilies, salt and ginger. In a Vita-Mix, you can grind the soaked beans, using the tamper, without extra water, but I don't think you could do this in cheaper blenders. In any case, I ended up adding water to the batter, so you are safe to add 1/2 cup of water to the batter when blending.

Blend the mixture until smooth, stopping and scraping down as necessary. Scoop the mixture into a bowl. Add the cumin seeds.

Now, adjust the thickness of the batter. If it's too thick, it won't spread easily. I kept stirring in water until it spread easily. I didn't measure, unfortunately, but the batter ended up like a regular Western crepe batter, more or less-- kind of like cream.

Spray a good-quality 8 to 10" nonstick skillet with oil from a spray pump and heat over high heat. (OR use a well-seasoned cast iron, carbon steel or stainless steel skillet instead of a non-stick pan-- see below recipe for how to season these skillets so that they are virtually nonstick, and how to keep them that way.)

With a good nonstick or well-seasoned skillet you may be able to cook these without using a spray pump with oil, but it depends on your pan. When cold water sprinkled on the pan sizzles, scoop about 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan with a small ladle and then use the bottom of the ladle to go in circles and spread the batter out from the center. It's easier than you might think! See the "action" pictures below (they are blurry, but give you the idea):

















PS: if your batter doesn't spread easily, it may be too thick.

I turned the heat down just a notch or two from the "high" setting. Almost as soon as you have the batter spread, it will start looking a bit dry on top.

Carefully turn the adai and cook for a few seconds, then fold in half and lay on a platter with a clean tea towel over the adai.



Repeat until the batter is all used up. These can be refrigerated and reheated.










Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per crepe): 90.8 calories; 3% calories from fat; 0.3g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 166.5mg sodium; 327.7mg potassium; 16.4g carbohydrates; 4.3g fiber; 1.7g sugar; 12.1g net carbs; 6.2g protein; 1.0 points.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SEASONING SKILLETS AND KEEPING THEM SEASONED , SO THAT THEY ARE VIRTUALLY NONSTICK:

Instructions for seasoning a carbon steel skillet here, here and here.

Instructions for seasoning a stainless steel skillet here and here.

Instructions for seasoning a cast iron skillet here.

If your cast iron skillet is really a mess, here is one way to restore it. If it is a rusty mess, it needs to be stripped and re-seasoned. I had an old pan like this and I did not want to use lye or oven cleaner to scrub it.  I used the self-cleaning oven method described at the beginning of this article. This treatment stripped it right down to the grey iron. Then I did thorough oven-seasoning-- rub oil on all parts of the pan, including the handle; make sure there is no dripping oil; bake at about 350 degrees F for 1 hour; cool completely; repeat 3 more times. This may seem excessive, but you can do it when you are baking something at the same time, and the pan was like new!

To keep your cast iron pans well-seasoned, after cooking, add some HOT water to the pan (do not use cold) and let them soak for a few minutes.  Then clean with a scrub brush (no stainless steel scrubbers, please!).  Anything is stuck, use the edge of a plastic (not metal) dough scraper or the special polycarbonate pan scraper that Lodge sells for this purpose:
Dry the pan thoroughly.  Rub a little oil all over the inside of the pan.  Rub it in well and don't leave any excess oil.  Place over low heat on the stove for 5-10 minutes.  Let it cool and store.

PS: You do not need to use an expensive oil like flax oil, or even coconut oil.  Your favorite neutral smelling/tasting oil will do just fine.

Enjoy!