These delicious Rava Uttapam make for a great Indian breakfast & can be made under 30 mins. Unlike the traditional Uttapam, these instant uttapam do not require a fermented batter. So that saves a lot of time and effort. Rava uttapam can be eaten plain or with a spicy chutney & Podi. You can also get fancy and add some grated cheese to make them cheesy.
Apart from this rava uttapam, breakfast foods like this Rava Dosa, Wheat Dosa, Oats Uttapam & Besan Chilla come handy when you don’t have much time to prepare in advance.
For the uninitiated, Rava Uttapam are Indian savory pancakes made with semolina (rava), spices, yogurt, veggies & herbs. Traditionally, lentils and rice are soaked and then ground to a batter which is later fermented until airy.
This batter is poured to a hot pan and topped with onions, chilies, coriander leaves and cumin seeds. The fermented batter cooks up to fluffy thick pancakes which are cooked in ghee or oil.
Making these rava uttapam is much easier than the traditional version because this recipe helps you by-pass the lengthy steps of soaking, grinding and fermenting. Instead we make a simple batter by mixing all the ingredients.
This recipe uses yogurt (homemade curd) to impart a slight tangy flavor & it also helps to rise the uttapams a bit when you cook the batter. I have not used baking soda or eno at all as I did not feel the need. But if you prefer, you may add as mentioned in the recipe card.
1. Add 1 cup semolina (176 grams fine rava / suji) to a mixing bowl.
2. Add ½ cup water (120 ml).
4. Next add ½ cup yogurt (120 ml) and ⅓ to ½ teaspoon salt or as needed.
8. Grease or season your tawa well with few drops of oil. Rub with a sliced onion or kitchen tissue. I season my cast iron pan after every wash and wipe off the excess oil before storing it. I heat it and grease it again before use.
9. If you want to use eno, you may add ¼ teaspoon eno or a pinch of baking soda to the batter & mix it well. When the pan turns hot, pour ⅓ cup of the prepared batter.
10. Spread it gently, only a little. We want thick uttapams, so avoid spreading it a lot.
11. Immediately add some cut veggies.
12. Press down with a wooden spatula. If you do not do this, veggies will come off the uttapam when you turn it.
13. Pour ½ to ¾ teaspoon oil or ghee and cook on a medium heat.
14. After a while you will see the edges loosen from the pan, gently lift it with a spatula and turn it.
15. Cook on both the sides till fully done. If you want you can also cook longer to brown your veggies & the uttapam both. If you want you can also add cheese or Idli podi at this stage. To make the next uttapam, make sure the pan is hot enough.