Millets are a great replacement to rice especially for diabetics / weight watchers. In Indian Cuisine, Millets can easily replace rice for Idli, Dosa , Pongal . Today's dish is a play on the popular Onion Uttapam with a twist with millets. You could use the Millet Idli recipe to make the Uttapam, but I chose to make the Uttapam batter from scratch. If you are just venturing into millets, do check out various ways to use millets from One Pot Meals to Dosa, Idli Upma , Pongal to Millet Cakes
Onions and garlic belong to the family Allium which are basically sulphur compounds, which helps in treating cardio vascular ailments, nasal congestions (best done with steamed onions), lowering blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and lowering blood pressure. IF you like to eat pickled onions with your paratha or sandwiches, then check out this quick n easy Pickled Onions
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Uttapam / Utthappam / Oothappam is a South Indian Pancake made slightly thicker than Dosa on a skillet topped with veggies / sauces / chutneys / Podis. As mentioned, one can use Idli / Dosa batter to make Uttapam, but let's make the batter from scratch.
Other Uttapam recipes on the blog include:
Mini Thinai (foxtail millet) Veg Uttapam
Andhra style Erra Karam Dosa
Let's get to the recipe now.
Prep time - 10 mins, Soaking + grinding time - 6 hours,
Fermentation - overnight / 8-10 hours.
Makes - 15~20 Uttapams
You would need:
- Little Millet / Samai / Samo - 3 cups (1 cup = 120 ml)
- Urad Dal (Split / Whole) - 1 cup
- Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
- Salt - to taste
- Oil - to fry (approx. ¼ - ½ teaspoon per Uttapam)
Topping:
- Chopped Onions - 1 cup
- Chopped coriander - 2 TBSP
- Chopped curry leaves - 1 tsp
- Crushed black pepper - ½ tsp
- Minced ginger & green chillies - to taste
- Idli Podi - ½ teaspoon per dosa (optional).
How to:
Day 1:
Wash and soak the millet + methi and Urad in minimal water separately for 4-6 hours.
Grind the Urad dal and methi first to a smooth fluffy batter. Grind the millet to a slightly coarse texture.
In a bowl, mix both the batters and add salt and fluff it up well. Close and ferment the batter for 8-10 hours or overnight.
NEXT DAY:
To make the topping:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil, add the ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and minced onions and caramelise it well. Add black pepper and mix well. Add the chopped cilantro and mix well. Keep ready.
Once the batter has fermented well, mix well with a deep ladle. Heat the skillet to medium-hot. Pour 1-2 ladles of the batter to a thick dosa (uttapam consistency) and drizzle the oil around, while topping the dosa with the minced onion mixture and some idli molagapudi (opt,). Let it get golden brown on one side
Flip to the other side if required. Or serve the Millet Onion Uttapam immediately with more Idli Molagapodi / Chutney of any sort.
Shobha says
Yummy uttappams. I love adding lot of onion too.With little millets it is a healthy version.
Mayuri Patel says
Delicious looking uttapam using little millet. Nice way to get the family to enjoy millet. I usually don't cook the topping before adding it on top. Caramelized onion sounds like a good idea.
Superduper kitchen says
Little millet uthappam looks delicious and an healthy option when compared to the regular one. Either I mix the topping with the batter or top it on uthappan without cooking it. Cooking it before must enhance the flavour. Loved it.
Priya Iyer says
The millet uttappams look so soft and delicious! I love that there is zero rice in there. I also love the topping you have used for the uttappams, with the pepper powder. Very interesting!
Poonam Bachhav says
Little millet uttapam with caramalized onions sounds absolutely healthy and delicious ! I am going to try this version soon. Thanks for the share.
Sujata Roy says
Millet uttapam looks so inviting. Loved the topping with lots of onion. And adding pepper green chilli and idli podi uttapam must be spicy and delicious.
Vidya Narayan says
Onion Uttapams are a personal favourite and these look delicious. Millets make the best batter choice for health conscious folks.
Rafeeda AR says
I totally love uthappams that are studded with lots of onions and coriander leaves on top... So good to dunk into chutney... That platter looks so delicious.
Aruna says
Onions (especially shallots) have a way of elevating many a simple dish. I like the crunch of the onion but will try it your way too.
Paarul says
Absolutely loving it, one of the healthy option in the menu, these onion millet uttapam are great way to add millets.
Unknown says
Wow, addition of millet has taken the nutrition level of uttapam to another level. Perfect recipe for a hearty and healthy meal any time of the day. Awesome share
Narmadha says
small onion uttapam is one of our favorite dish and you made it healthy by using millets instead of rice. Looks too tempting
JollyHomemadeRecipes says
That’s really a good idea of uttapam using little millet. They looks so soft and delicious. I love to add veggies on my topping along with onions.
mildly indian says
That fragrance of onion oothappams drizzled with ghee, mmm, makes me happy now. I am all set to dunk it in the chutney.