South Indian Onion Uttapam | Under 15 minute breakfast recipe

South Indian food is the best for breakfast. I know you would agree!

Hold on my North Indian friends, I am not choosing Dosas over Cheela or Idli over Poori. I love my side of food to bits. But I cant have them everyday especially the days I am working. I need something which is filling, easy and quick to make and yet healthy and delicious. South Indian food (most of it) fits the bill just right.

Of course, if you stuff 10 idlis in the morning along with bowlfuls of chutney or sambhar, THAT wouldn’t be termed healthy, right! But eating as per your appetite, fuels into you enough energy to survive at least half of the day. Plus, it has good amount of protein and essential fats to keep the metabolism up.

Anyway, I was game where it says tasty. Ha!

Delicious rice and lentils savoury pancake from South India

Like this Uttapam. Such a wonderful way to use up the leftover Dosa batter. The slightly soured up Idli-dosa batter tastes just awesome in uttapams. You can make it using the fresh batter too, but my South Indian friends vouch for the sour taste so I would go with that. 

Serve this Uttapam with-> Coconut chutney | Raw mango chutney | Tangy coriander chutney| Sweet and sour tomato chutney 

Out of all the varieties, Onion uttapam has always been my favourite. Long before than I know its even a recipe. I just liked the crunch of onions embedded into the soft uttapams.

The only thing I have experienced and I would share it with you, is the use of oil in uttapams. I wouldn’t use Olive oil or Mustard oil to make Uttapams. Mostly I use ghee, but if you are watching weight or avoiding dairy, I recommend using Sesame oil, Peanut oil or coconut oil. This would help to bring in the actual taste of this dish.

Another tip is that- The consistency of the batter plays a key role in the taste and texture of the uttapam. If the batter is too thick or stirred too much or it is the last batch of the remaining batter, then uttapam might turn hard and not soft, golden and crisp.

I have used Flaxseed and curry leaves podi (dry chutney) to be served with this, in the photos. Shall post the recipe for that soon.

Also read the notes in the recipe to get the perfect crispy uttapams.

So here is a quick recipe for Onion uttapam for you. And for my North Indian friends, I love our Aloo parathas equally. Actually more than Uttapam :- )

Click for more under 15 minutes recipes. 

Do write to me if you try this recipe and it comes out to be good. Even if not, I would love to hear from you. Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see more of these recipes and inside fun.

Nutritional info-> this is a vegan and gluten free recipe. Good source of fats, protein and essential minerals.

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South Indian Onion Uttapam | Under 15 minute breakfast recipe

Super easy South Indian rice and lentil savoury pancakes, served with an assortment of chutneys. Healthy + Vegan + GF

Course Breakfast

Cuisine South Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 -5 pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup Idli-Dosa batter
• 1 large onion sliced thin lengthwise
• 1-2 green chilies minced or chopped very small
• piece A small of ginger grated or minced
• A pinch of salt optional
• ¼ tsp of black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp oil to roast uttapams more or less

Instructions

1. Heat a tawa (griddle), when it becomes hot, turn the flame to low. Spread a tsp of oil on it.
3. Take a small ladleful (chamcha) of batter, pour it at the center of the tawa. Spread it gently in spiral motion, not spreading it too much and keeping it thicker than a dosa. Only the quantity of batter will be more than what you would normally use for a dosa.
5. Now top the uttapam with the onion, sprinkle some black pepper powder. Let it cook for a bit.
7. Once you see the sides of the uttapam coming off from the tawa, and the top of uttapam has started forming some holes-> add some more drops of ghee or oil (whatever you are using) in those holes. And then flip it to let the other side cooked.
9. This side will take lesser time to cook, so keep it like that only for a few seconds or about a minute (this also depends on the thickness and size of the uttapam).
11. Flip again and roast the first side for a few more seconds. Once both the sides are crisp (first side will be crispier than the side with onions), transfer the uttapam onto a plate and serve with chutneys or podi.

Recipe Notes

Use the idli batter without stirring much, that would give you soft, spongy and crisp uttapams.

Do not mix onions into the batter, rather top them over the uttapam immediately after you pour and spread the batter onto the tawa. If you wait for like half a minute, the batter will start cooking up and the onions wont immerse properly.

Keep the flame at low while cooking the Uttapam. You might turn it a bit high after each uttapam and once the tawa is hot enough, turn it back to low.

Check out more Indian breakfast recipes-> 

Maharashtrian Kanda poha

Bihari Choora matar

Sindhi Koki

Rajasthani Masala baati

South Indian Chana dal dosa