Uttapam – First Choice of the Discerning

Uttapam - South Indian Breakfast
Uttapam is a favorite with the discerning.

Uttapam is far lesser known than the Idli and Dosa as a breakfast option, but for the discerning it is always their first choice. What is there in an Uttapam which motivates a particular section of people to opt for it over Idli and Dosa? It is cooking vegetables and spices on top of  the batter  which does the trick. Idli is sans vegetables and even  the Masala version of a Dosa gets only a stuffing of precooked “aloo bhaji” spread in the center. The visual impact of  an Uttapam is almost like that of a Pizza, but they both are very different in their core ingredient and style of cooking.

Those who enjoy Uttapam, claim that Uttapam gives you a simultaneous  experience of  having three different dishes: Its  crispy outer layer relates to that of Dosa; its insides are all soft like an Idli and its cooked toppings give you a feel of pizza.

Uttapam - South Indian Breakfast
Uttapam is a favorite with the discerning. Pizza, when it comes to toppings, onion are the favourite  followed with tomatoes. Many also prefer onion and tomato Uttapams and one finds these three variants on most menus of South Indian Restaurants.

 

Mini Uttapams have also become very popular, usually four to a portion, they vary in their toppings and sometimes offering of sides. Usually Uttapam is served with a side of Sambar and a helping of coconut chutney. However, it is not unusual to get tomato chutney, spicy green chilli and mint chutney and “gun powder” as sides.  Enjoy!

PS: Uttapam is also spelled as Utthapam to ensure that sound of ‘h’ which is natural to its pronunciation in Tamil is not missed.