Sago and Rice-Flour Uttapam with Onion and Coriander
Lalkila Kitchen · Vegetarian · Breakfast · Pan cooking · From the archive
These small savoury pancakes use sago, rice flour and yoghurt rather than a fermented rice-and-dal batter. The archive calls them sabudana uttapam. Onion and coriander go into the batter, so each pancake has seasoning throughout. Make the first one small: it is an easy way to check the consistency before filling the pan.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup small sago pearls
- 1 cup plain yoghurt
- 2 cups rice flour
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 4 curry leaves, finely sliced
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped coriander
- Up to 1/2 cup oil, used as needed for the pan
- Water as needed
- Salt to taste
Method
- Soak the sago in the yoghurt for three hours in the refrigerator; check that the pearls soften. Add a splash of water if the mixture becomes dry.
- Mix in rice flour, onion, curry leaves, chillies, coriander and salt. Add water gradually to make a thick but pourable batter.
- Lightly oil a non-stick pan over medium heat. Spread a small ladleful into a pancake. Cook until its underside colours and the surface begins to set.
- Turn carefully and cook the other side until the centre has no wet floury batter. Repeat, stirring the batter between pancakes and oiling the pan as needed.
Cooking notes
Sago sizes differ. If the pearls remain hard, give them more soaking time rather than putting a gritty batter straight into the pan. Keep pancakes modest in size to make turning easier. This is a yoghurt recipe; it is not labelled plant based. For someone avoiding gluten, check the individual flour and other packaged ingredients rather than treating the dish name as certification.
Pantry shopping at Lalkila.com
For cooking and serving, explore Flours and Cookware. Read the actual product details and obtain fresh ingredients locally as needed.
More recipes
- Dal Dhokli with Kokum and Peanuts
- Small Aubergines Stuffed with Besan and Yoghurt
- Pan cooked paneer shashlik with capsicum and cream
Source and adaptation
Joseph Paul’s approved recipe archive, 22500314-Indian-Recipes.pdf, page 7, Sabudana Uttapam. No individual author is identified on the recipe.
Reduced the archive’s six chillies to two and its unmeasured bunch of coriander to 1/4 cup. Kept the listed oil as an upper amount for cooking successive pancakes. Added refrigerated soaking and centre-doneness cues.
This is an editorial adaptation, not kitchen-tested by Lalkila. FoodSafety.gov cooking temperatures and safe food handling provide the safety references. The featured image is a generated illustration of this recipe.