4 January 2016

Multi grain Uthappam

         More I move away from the refined fare, more I am drawn towards millets and whole grains. Our Bloghop theme being regional breakfast, I was oscillating between khichdi, upma or the usual idlis and dosas. Then the thought of wheat dosa struck me..... what more could I do with it. After some brainstorming beween me and my guru, i.e, my mother(!!), we decided upon a multi-grain batter that we could use for a Uthappam. This one has the goodness of Flax seeds too, it's amazing what adding these seeds(or meal) does to any batter!!
One can use any topping for this, being a cheese lover, I had to use both paneer and grated cheese !!
This batter is best prepared 6-8 hours in advance, or left overnite to ferment. If you are running short by couple hours, you can add sour buttermilk to the batter (to adjust consistency).
MULTI-GRAIN UTHAPPAM
Ingredients :
Black gram / Urad dal - 1/4 cup (*See notes)
Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Ragi flour - 1/2 cup
Bajra flour - 1/2 cup
Flax seeds meal - 1 tbsp (*See notes)
Salt to taste

Topping (optional)
Finely chopped capsicum
Chopped onions
Chopped tomatoes
Diced paneer
Dried oregano
Grated cheese
Method :
1. Wash and soak the urad dal for about half an hour.

2. In a mixer, add together the soaked urad dal, wheat flour, ragi flour, bajra flour and flax seeds meal and grind to a fine batter using just enough water (We can add more water or buttermilk later, before preparing). Add salt to taste and give it another quick whisk. Transfer to a bowl and let rest for about 6-8 hours or overnight.

3. Heat a dosa tawa on medium heat. Grease it with a little oil. Pour a ladle-ful of batter and spread to form a thick pancake / uthappam. Quickly add the desired vegetables and paneer on top (Except cheese), sprinkle some dried oregano or any spice of your choice. Pour little oil around the pancake and over the toppings. Cover and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Keep the flame on medium heat. Now remove the cover and flip the uthappam to let cook on the other side.
4. To make it interesting for kids, we can add some cheese as well. If adding cheese, flip the pancake back to the right side, i.e toppings side up, add grated cheese and cover-cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes more or till cheese melts. 
Serve hot with desired accompaniments. 

Notes : 
1. The whole urad dal, not the 'sabut' brown one, but the unbroken white urad dal specially used for idli batter is best for this, if available.
2. If you have whole flax seeds instead of the meal, soak the seeds along with the urad dal.

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