Tomato Onion Cheddar Oothapams
These Tomato Onion Cheddar Oothapams or Uttapam are a source of much happiness this morning. To me oothapams are always a bonus. Something extra that is the gift from making dosas.
Oothapams in my house make for happy children. Well, for my son anything with cheese is a good idea. Once upon a time things like cheese dosas and or oothapams were a novel idea. These days on most South Indian restaurant menus, a variety of dosas and oothapams including cheese oothapams are fair game.
What exactly are Oothapams?
Oothapams are essentially savory pancakes made with leftover dosa batter. Being a natural sourdough batter, the dosa batter ferments even when left in the refrigerator. This results in the tangy flavor becoming a little more pronounced.
An oothapam is shaped and cooked like a pancake. A little thicker than a dosa and cooked until they are crisp around the edges but still slightly spongy in the center. Vegetables like peas, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers are used for oothapams.
How to enjoy Oothapams
You can combine your oothapams with samhar and chutney. In my cookbook, Instant Indian, you will find a traditional recipe for Sambhar. You can also try the sambhar recipe on this site.
They are also complete on its own. In short, fuss free enough to fit into the morning even after a late start. This oothapam can be made either with a classic batter or my short cut batter. Either way they are perfect for a morning treat. The contemporary twist in this recipe is the addition cheddar. Just a little and it goes a long way.
You can make larger oothapams on a regular sized pan. Mini Oothapams are prettier and more versatile. Especially in my fussy household.
Given that I have such a detailed post on dosa and dosa batter, I will not repeat myself on that. The only advise I will offer is to cook the oothapam on low heat, add in the vegetables (tomato and onion while the batter is still soft and cooking. Allow the batter to gently set before adding in the cheese. It should be still just a little moist. A little cheese goes a long way, do not overdo the cheese.
.If you like this recipe and want more ideas, do join my Indian Instant Pot Facebook group and Legume Love Group. Of course Instant Indian is ready for order, joining its siblings The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles and Spices and Seasons.
A recipe of tomato onion and cheddar mini oothapams.
Ingredients
- 1 and half cups day old dosa batter (see post here https://spicechronicles.com/dosa-crisp-ruce-lentil-sourdough-crepes/#sthash.1yoI41nV.dpbs)
- Oil for greasing and preparing the pan
- Chopped tomatoes or grape tomatoes halved
- 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- Chopped green chilies (optional)
- 3/4 cup grated cheddar
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place your mini-oothapam pan on the fire and add a little oil on each of the pancake moulds.
- After a minute, add enough batter to fill the base of the pancake wells. Turn the heat on low and allow the pancakes to cook until just a little set.
- Add the onion, tomato and green chilies if using. Let them cook until the bottom is crisp and the top is set.
- Add about 1 tablepoon of the grated cheese over each pancake and cook until the cheese is melted.
- Remove the pancakes. Clean the pan well with a moist paper towel and make the next batch.
- Continue until all the batter is used up. This makes about 3 batches of 7 pancakes each.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired
Notes
If you do not have a mini oothapam pan, you can make these on a regular flat tawa, in larger amounts. The fermenting as with all instant pot functions does not need any hands on time.