My favorite breakfast is Instant Pot Uttapams. It’s a savory Indian pancake that’s easy to make and actually, is inexpensive too.
My whole foods recipe uses healthy grains and lentils that ferment into a flavorful batter overnight.
What Is an Uttapam?
It’s a savory south Indian pancake that’s traditionally made from a batter of urad dal (a type of skinned and split lentil) and rice that’s fermented overnight.
You can make dosas, an Indian crepe, from the same batter. But it takes less time and skill to ladle out the batter like a pancake, so that’s why it’s my favorite method.
What’s an Uttapam Made With?
In my recipe, we change up the grain from plain white rice to brown rice, millet, and quinoa to make this a whole grain powerhouse.
Other than the batter, you can add shredded or minced raw veggies. Remember they will only be cooked once the pancake is flipped over, so the smaller the better.
You can also add chopped cilantro or vegan shredded cheese. Try Julie and Kitee’s homemade vegan oil-free cheese recipe if you haven’t – it’s awesome.
Where Can I Buy Urad Dal Lentils?
If you have an Indian market near you that’s the best place to get them. Plus I love to support my local markets as much as I can.
No Indian market where you live? You can buy urad dal on Amazon. They even have organic urad dal!
How Do You Make Uttapam Batter?
You will soak the urad dal with the grains in water for about 8 hours. Then you’ll puree the mixture in your blender, in batches.
The next step is to naturally ferment the batter. We’re going to use the yogurt function which is on most IP models except the LUX.
You don’t have to have an Ip to ferment it, but why not use what we already have?
If you have a LUX or other model without a yogurt function, place the batter in your oven with the light turned on overnight.
What Should I Serve With My Instant Pot Uttapams?
While they are perfect just served with the Coconut Cilantro Chutney for breakfast, you should try Maniell’s tomato chutney recipe too.
I like to serve with Instant Pot Yellow Split Peas with Tomatoes (Tarka Dal) or your favorite dal for a hearty dinner.
If you have an Instant Pot and a slow cooker try my Vegan Slow Cooker Creamy Indian Lentils and Kidney Beans. I don’t recommend making it on the slow cooker setting on your electric pressure cooker though!
Since I can no longer have gluten, these Indian pancakes act like the bread in a few meal.
Instant Pot Chai Tea Concentrate is the perfect beverage to serve with an Indian meal. I make up a batch once a week and you can serve it iced or hot anytime you get a craving!
Easy Instant Pot Uttapams: Savory Indian Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup urad dal
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup millet
- 1 cup quinoa washed well to remove the seed coating
- 5 cups water
Instructions
- Mix the urad dal, rice, millet, quinoa and water in a large bowl. Cover and let soak to soften for 8 hours.
- After the soak, puree the mixture (including the soaking water) in your blender in batches and add to your Instant Pot liner.
- Place the liner in your Instant Pot, cover and press the yogurt setting. Leave it at the default 8 hours for it to ferment.
- Note: You can store the fermented mixture in your fridge for up to 1 week or you can cook up all the pancakes at once and freeze them to heat for later.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add ½ cup (120 ml) of the batter per pancake and shape into a circle. Cook until bubbles begin to form.
- Sprinkle the topping you choose over the top of the pancake and press in a little with your spatula. Flip the pancake and cook until both sides are browned.
- Place on a plate and cook the next one. You could also have more than one skillet going at a time.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Coconut Cilantro Chutney
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp curry leaves optional
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp mustard powder
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients except for salt to your blender. Blend until mostly smooth.
- You will need to scrape down a few times and may need to add an additional tablespoon or two (15 or 30 ml) of water to get it smoother.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Elena says
Hello 🙂
This recipe looks amazing! I was wondering if I could leave out the rice and just use dal, quinoa and millet? Or any other option to replace rice (no glutinous grains because I have an intolerance to them)?
Do I have to blend the same water they have soaked in or in fresh water?
Thank you in advance 🙂
Elena
Kathy Hester says
I haven’t made it that way, but I think it should work if the amounts are the same.
Lorainne says
I have the same question about the water, do you drain it then blend, blend it as is, or add fresh water?
Thanks looks amazing.
Kathy Hester says
I go ahead and blend them in the soaking water.
Leslie says
Indian food intimidates me, but this recipe looks totally manageable. The chutney sounds amazing!
Kortney says
These sound like pancakes that will actually keep you full! I love the idea of pancakes, but am always hungry pretty quickly after eating them. These with cheese! yes please!
Kathy says
Do you drain them before you blend?
Kathy Hester says
I go ahead and blend them in the soaking water.
Yael says
This looks amazing! Can the urad dal be replace by other beans or lentils?
Kathy Hester says
I’ve only used urad dal, but here a recipe that uses red lentils: https://www.rinagolan.co/uttapam-indian-crepe/
Anita J Harshman says
The recipe states
1 cup quinoa , washed well to remove the seed coating 5 cups (1.2 L) water
5 cups water
Does that mean the grains/dal/rice should be soaking in 5 cups or 10 cups of water?
Thanks
Kathy Hester says
It is just 5 cups water. I updated the recipe, thank you for spotting that.
Linda says
Probably a silly question,, but can the coconut be left out of the Coconut Cilantro? I’m not a huge fan of the taste or cals/fat of coconut. Thanks
Kathy Hester says
You can search for a cilantro chutney or there’s a link to a tomato chutney in the post.
Riya says
New style of making uttapams..
Liked it 🙂
Deeksha says
This looks so amazing. thanks for the recipe.
Letizia says
Sorry for the silly question, I’ve never used the yogurt setting on my instant pot, do you lock the lid and set to sealing? Or do you leave the valve open? Thank you! Can’t wait to try this!
Kathy Hester says
You can actually do either, but I set it to sealing to make sure it keeps its temp steady. I hope that helps!
Linda says
I could not find the homemade vegan oil-free cheese recipe on Julie and Kitee’s website. Do you have a direct link to the recipe?
I am interested in trying the savory Indian pancakes, but I don’t want to buy the urdal dal if I am not going to use it in an additional recipe. Any suggestions besides crepes?
Kathy Hester says
Try here for the cheese recipe: https://juliehasson.com/homemade-vegan-taco-cheese-with-oil-free-variation-gluten-free/
There are a lot of Indian recipes for urad dal, you could try using red split lentils in the uttapam. I haven’t tried it, but it should work.
Melissa Phillippe says
Hi there – this looks amazing and I look forward to trying it! Any suggestions for what to put on it (besides cheese) in the cooking process? I see something green! Green ideas? Maybe best to use pre-cooked greens??? Thanks!
Kathy Hester says
I usually use minded onions, grated carrots and zucchini, and greens or herbs like cilantro would work great too!