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    Home > Indian Vegan Recipes > Indian Vegan Breakfast Recipes

    Brown Rice Uthappam

    Posted: Apr 3, 2012 ยท Updated: Mar 30, 2022

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

    Uthappams are thick, tasty south Indian dosas with onions and a few other herbs and spices. I make these uthappams with brown rice for a healthier twist.

    A reader requested a recipe for uthappam and this past weekend I decided to do one better: I tried out a healthier version of this already waist-friendly snack. A Brown Rice Uthappam.

    If you've never run into an uthappam before, think of it as a chubby, onion-flecked coconut chutney crossed with an idly. The basic ingredients in all three recipes are the same-- rice and udad dal-- but the technique makes a world of  difference to their final textures and even flavor. While a dosa is spread out into a thin crepe on the griddle using the back of a rounded ladle and an idly is steamed, the batter for an uthappam is poured on much as you would pour on a pancake batter and then left alone. The hot griddle browns the outside and steams the inside and what you end up with is a pancake that has a pleasantly chewy mouth feel.

    Best of all, you can sprinkle all sorts of veggies and herbs on the uthappam as it's cooking, the most popular choice being onions and coriander leaves. The veggies sink cozily into the batter and cook up into a deliciously toothy texture.

    I don't make uthappam very often because Desi loves his dosas crepey (I even make my Adai -- another kind of thick dosa-- paper-thin). But the brown rice was definitely an incentive for him because he's a bigger health nut than I am, and so was the Sundried Tomato Chutney I served up alongside. I also varied the thickness of the uthappams by making a few of them traditionally fat and then spreading a few others more thinly, as you can see in the picture above.

    For my Brown Rice Uthappam I made parboiled brown rice exactly as I did when I created my Brown Rice Dosas. It is a technique that works like a charm and cuts down soaking time by several hours.

    An Uthappam batter typically contains  udad dal, or black gram dal, but I also added a couple of tablespoons of tuvar dal to my recipe although this is not a traditional ingredient. That's because even as I was soaking the dal I could hear in my head the voice of my sister-in-law Lalitha Manni, a fabulous cook, reminding me that tuvar dal adds crispness to any kind of dosa. So in it went.

    She was right. My Uthappams had a lovely golden finish and crispy edges that were a delicious complement to the chewy middle.

    Three uthappams on a white plate.

    Brown Rice Uthappam

    A healthy version of the south Indian favorite Uthappam, made with brown rice, accompanied by a sundried tomato chutney.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review Recipe
    Course: Breakfast/Meal
    Cuisine: Indian, Tamil
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: Brown Rice Uthappam
    Cook Time: 30 mins
    Total Time: 30 mins
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 146kcal
    Author: Vaishali ยท Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

    Ingredients 

    • 1 cup brown rice (Cover with an inch of water in a microwave-safe bowl and zap for five minutes. Let the rice and water stand for another 30 minutes.)
    • ยฝ cup urad dal (black gram dal)
    • 2 tablespoon toor dal (pigeon peas)
    • 2 dry red chili peppers
    • Salt to taste
    • 1 onion (finely minced. You can also add tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, or green chilliesโ€“ any vegetable that would taste good when steamed lightly would work fine here).
    • 2 tablespoon curry leaves (or cilantro, chopped)
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    Instructions

    • Mix the parboiled brown rice and the two dals, cover with at least 2 inches of water, and let them soak for 5-6 hours.
    • Drain the soaked dals and rice and place in a blender along with the remaining ingredients. Add water and blend into a smooth batter that should be about the consistency of a pancake batter.
    • Heat a cast-iron or nonstick griddle on a medium flame until a drop of water flicked on the surface skitters and evaporates.
    • Pour about ยฝ cup of the uthappam batter in the center and, if needed, coax a little with the ladle to form a circle about 5-6 inches in diameter. You can make your uthappam thicker if you like. Either use more batter or shape it into a smaller circle.
    • Sprinkle on some of the chopped onions and any other veggies or herbs youโ€™re using.
    • Drizzle a few drops of oil along the edges of the uthappam. This makes for a crisper edge and also makes it easier to flip the uthappam.
    • Place a lid on top of the pan and let the uthappam cook about two minutes. It is important to cover the pan because if you donโ€™t you might end up with semi-cooked batter on the inside and that wouldnโ€™t taste any good. You want the uthappam to steam thoroughly on the inside.
    • Flip the uthappam once it is golden brown on the bottom and cook for about a minute more.
    • Serve hot.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 149mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment and recipe rating below!
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    About Vaishali


    Hi! I am so happy you're here. I'm Vaishali, and I've been sharing recipes for delicious vegan food at Holy Cow Vegan since 2007. Every one of the more than 1,000 recipes on this blog has been tried and tested -- and loved -- by my family and I. I hope you will find something here to share with your loved ones. Thanks for stopping by!
    Read more about me here.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. dave

      March 06, 2022 at 12:32 am

      Where is the sun-dried tomato chutney recipe? Did search here and couldn't find it.

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        March 06, 2022 at 10:38 am

        I've been redoing some old recipes and removed this one as it wasn't getting many views. Here's the recipe if you'd like to make it--I love the unique flavor!
        Sundried tomato chutney
        Ingredients
        ยฝ cup thick coconut milk
        6 sundried tomatoes (I used ones that are packed in olive oil and they are really moist. If you are using dry sundried tomatoes, soak them in a little water for at least half an hour to soften them)
        1 large clove of garlic , chopped
        2 green chilies (adjust to your taste)
        Salt to taste
        Instructions
        Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend into a smooth paste. Serve with the Brown Rice Uthappam.

        Reply
    2. Nandini

      September 07, 2015 at 9:49 am

      5 stars
      Thank you, Vaishali for sharing all these lovely recipes! Its such a pleasure of read and cook these. I also am not a huge fan of the sour taste of over fermentation, but fermented foods are good for you and you can control the degree of fermentation by putting the batter in the fridge once it has risen to a degree but not long enough to be really sour. You get a little bit of tanginess not to mention a soft fluffy texture in the uthapam without it being unpleasantly sour. So, I have learned to not be afraid of fermentation for about half a day when I have to the time to leave the batter aside. In north American climates, it is hard to ferment to sourness unless the weather is really warm and you leave it for a long time. Love your recipes and always look forward to every new recipe you put out.

      Reply
    3. Richa

      April 05, 2012 at 6:50 pm

      love that sundried tomato chutney.. it probably worked out really well with those filled up uttapams!

      Reply
    4. Priya

      April 05, 2012 at 1:36 pm

      Both uthappams and chutney looks fabulous..makes me hungry..

      Reply
    5. janet @ the taste space

      April 05, 2012 at 12:26 am

      This is so timely because I was investigating uthappams as well! Is udad dal the same as urad dal? Do you use the one with or without the husk?

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        April 05, 2012 at 3:18 am

        Hi Janet, yes, they are the same. I use the one without the black skin, but you could use either.

        Reply
      • janet @ the taste space

        April 05, 2012 at 5:08 am

        Awesome! Thanks for the clarification. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    6. Tibik

      April 03, 2012 at 3:30 pm

      The sun dried tomato chutney sounds fantastic. Do you have to let the batter ferment before making the uthapams?
      Thanks
      Tibik

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        April 03, 2012 at 3:46 pm

        Thanks, Tibik. I never ferment dosa and idly batters because Desi doesn't like the sour flavor. But you can definitely ferment it if you prefer to -- just let it stand on the counter overnight.

        Reply
    7. Manasi

      April 03, 2012 at 3:20 pm

      They are gorgeously golden! I always use dosa batter to make Uttapam, I see that u have not fermented the batter. What if I am using regular white rice? same procedure?

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        April 03, 2012 at 3:45 pm

        Manasi, yes, you can use the same procedure with white rice. I never ferment the batter because we don't like the sour taste.

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Vaishali! I cook, eat and share easy, tasty and nutritious plant-based recipes from my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. 

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