Dishoom Uttapam Stack Recipe

8 February 2021

Uttapam are a fluffy savoury dosa, made with rice. They're usually enjoyed with savoury toppings but we particularly like ours with lashings of jaggery syrup and a thick, strained yoghurt. Chef Naved has shared his recipe for making an extra fluffy stack at home.

SERVES 2 GENEROUSLY
Uttapam Batter

Ingredients

185g raw basmati rice

60g flattened rice, or cooked, cooled rice

½ tsp fenugreek seeds (not leaves) – optional

60ml coconut milk

20ml cold water

1 level tsp fast action yeast

2 tsp caster sugar

50ml lukewarm water

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp fine salt

A little vegetable oil, for frying

Fresh fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries or strawberries

Method

  1. Wash and drain the basmati rice. Add the fenugreek seeds (if using), cover generously with fresh water and soak for 5 hours or overnight.
  2. After soaking, drain the rice. Combine with the flattened rice, or cooked, cooled rice, coconut milk and 20ml water and blend to a very thick, smooth batter (add a little more water if it’s too stiff).
  3. To activate the yeast, add it to a small bowl or mug along with the caster sugar and lukewarm water. Stir gently then allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Tip the yeast and water into the blended batter, mix well and rest it in a warm place for 2-3 hours. Go make your jaggery syrup and shrikhand.
  5. Just before frying, add bicarbonate of soda and salt. The batter should be thick to make fluffy pancakes, however if it is too stiff, add a little water. Place a plate into the oven on a low heat, to keep your pancakes warm while you fry in batches.
  6. Warm 1-2tsp oil in a medium-hot pan. Add a ladle of batter per pancake, and fry for 2 minutes either side until lightly browned, fluffy and speckled with bubbles. Place onto your warmed plate whilst you cook the rest.
  7. Serve your stack of pancakes topped with a scoop of creamy Shrikhand, a generous drizzle of jaggery syrup and fresh fruit.
For the toppings
Jaggery Syrup

Ingredients

100g jaggery 

200ml boiling water

20g salted butter

1 small cinnamon stick

Star anise – just two points of a star

Method

  1. Break up the jaggery (a few powerful thumps with a rolling pin will do nicely). Add to a small saucepan with the water, cinnamon and star anise, bring to the boil and reduce to a honey-like consistency.
  2. Add the butter and stir well together. Remove the cinnamon and star anise, and set syrup to one side until needed. 
Shrikhand

Ingredients

250g strained or extra-thick Greek yoghurt

2 tsp icing sugar

A small pinch of fine salt

A pinch of cardamom powder

Method

If you don’t have strained or extra-thick yoghurt, hang 300g Greek yoghurt in muslin overnight in the fridge, above a bowl to catch the drips. Mix all of the ingredients together. Keeps for 1-2 days, refrigerate until needed.

For other Dishoom recipes, please see Dishoom: from Bombay with love, our cookery book and highly subjective guide to Bombay.

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