PANEER UTTAPAM/UTHAPAM – soft and fluffy Indian style savory pancakes or dosas with paneer in the batter, perfect for breakfast and a delightful start to any day! Like I have mentioned in one of my earlier posts, these past few months, I have been rummaging through my store bought and handwritten cookbooks for interesting recipes to tickle my palate! On one such sojourn, I came across this recipe for PANEER UTTAPAM in one of my older handwritten books with no mention of source! I do not know where I found it but I was so fascinated by the recipe that I promptly wrote it down and now after decades, got to try this unique uttapam.
WHAT IS UTTAPAM?
Uttapams are thick savory rice-lentil south Indian pancakes which Indians normally enjoy mostly for breakfast or even lunch/dinner with some coconut chutney! The batter varies with a variety of mix of lentils and rice or even just using semolina etc. with or without toppings. It could be the fermented batter types or instant recipes; no Indian can resist these savory (or sometimes sweet) pancakes or dosai, dosa or dose as they call in Karnataka in southern part of India!
PANEER UTTAPAM:
With global cuisine exploding in everyone’s kitchen, paneer is not an alien ingredient! It is basically an Indian cottage cheese made by splitting milk with lemon juice. Normally, paneer is used to make Indian sweets like Rasgullas, Sandesh, in curries like Paneer Makhani or even in savory dishes like paneer paratha! But here, once the paneer is made by splitting boiling milk with some lemon juice, rice is soaked in the split milk mixture and blended to make a thick batter like you would make for any dosa or idli batter. A dash of poha or flattened rice is blended into the batter for the puffy, soft and porous texture. This is then fermented and made into thick uttapams (Indian savory pancakes) or thin, crispy dosas (Indian savory crepes). Make it plain or with a myriad of toppings like chopped green chilies, cilantro, onions, carrots, chutney powder/molaga podi etc. This uttapam is a slight variation to the Konkani delicacy “Surnali”, again thick pancakes made savory or sweet!
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
No Indian dosa, idli or uttapam is enjoyed without a side of a spicy condiment or chutney like coconut chutney or molaga podi (lentil-spice powder) or sometimes sambar (Indian lentil stew, with or without veggies). Here, our family enjoyed these with fresh coriander seeds coconut chutney and jaggery coffee! Totally husband approved dosa and will be in my always-to-make list of dosas!
Hope you try this amazing, delicious, fluffy, soft and porous Paneer Uttapam (thick or thin) in your kitchen and relish with family and friends. Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Here are some more breakfast dishes from my kitchen:
Ragi Rava Dosa with Dill Leaves Puri with Bhaji Mixed Vegatable Upma Brown Rice and Quinoa Dosa
Do check out how to make these fluffy, soft and delicious PANEER UTHAPAMS:
Step-wise Instructions to make Paneer Uttapam:
TO MAKE THE BATTER:
Wash rice in plenty of water until the water runs clear. Set aside.
3 cups rice 500 ml milk ½ lemon juice or more if needed 1 cup poha/flattened rice 1 tbsp salt or to taste Oil for roasting the uttapams/dosas OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: Finely chopped green chilies/Serrano peppers Finely chopped cilantro/coriander leaves Finely chopped onions Chutney powder/molaga podi etc.
Instructions Notes For more softer uttapams, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more poha to the batter. Make sure to refrigerate leftover batter immediately as the batter may turn sour. On hot days, ferment for a shorter time and in winters, follow the above timeline.
Boil milk in a saucepan and when it comes to a boil, stir in lemon juice. Keep boiling on medium heat. You will notice the milk splitting to form paneer. If needed add more lemon juice.
Once the milk has curdled, remove from heat and add the washed rice. Mix well and soak in milk mixture for 4 to 6 hours. Add more water if needed to keep the rice fully soaked.
Wash the poha well and drain. Add the washed poha to the soaked rice.
Blend the whole mixture to a fine thick paste like idli batter. Transfer to a large bowl, add salt to taste and mix well. Keep aside to ferment again for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
TO MAKE UTTAPAMS:
Heat a flat iron/non stick griddle or pan. Smear oil and wipe with a clean tissue. Once the pan is hot (you can test by sprinkling some water; it will sizzle and evaporate immediately!), pour a ladle of thick batter on the pan. Spread slightly to make a thick pancake. Reduce heat and sprinkle your choice of toppings. Drizzle some oil over and around the uttapam, cover and cook on low heat to medium low heat until the top is cooked and you no longer see wet batter. At this stage, you can remove from pan and serve right away or flip and cook the other side too slightly.
Continue making as many uttapams as you want and store leftover batter in fridge. If you want thin dosas, you can dilute the batter and make thin dosas. Just spread the batter around the hot pan until it is thinly spread. Drizzle oil and cook on high for a few seconds and then flip and cook again.
For a crispy bottom, cook the dosa on medium low heat until the bottom is crisp, brown and the top is well cooked and you no longer see any wet batter.
Enjoy soft, fluffy, porous and delicious thick PANEER UTTAPAMS or thin crispy paneer dosas with a side of fresh coconut chutney or molaga podi/chutney powder or even your favorite sambar (lentil-vegetable stew) for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
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