Uttapam egg roast
- Published: 2 Feb 23
- Updated: 25 Mar 24
“This dish is perfect for brunch as it combines the goodness of eggs with a fluffy rice pancake laced with tongue-tickling spices – it’s both satisfying and nourishing.” Surender Mohan
Surender’s story Born in Delhi, Surender was captivated by food from a young age, surrounded by India’s diverse flavours and growing up with a family who loved to cook. He began his career at The Hyatt Regency in Delhi before joining the The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, a group of luxury hotels, and helped open their first restaurant, Jamavar, in Bangalor. Surender became executive chef across subsequent Jamavar openings then moved to London to take over the helm as culinary director of Jamavar London and Bombay Bustle.
- Serves 4
- Hands-on time 1 hour, plus 4-5 hours soaking and overnight fermenting
Ingredients
- 25g urad dal (also known as black gram)
- 90g raw ponni rice (see Know-how)
- 90g basmati rice
- Pinch granulated sugar
- 1 medium onion
- 1 small tomato
- ½ green chilli
- Small handful coriander leaves
- Ghee or butter to fry
For the egg roast
- 4 medium free-range eggs
- Rapeseed oil to fry and sprinkle
- 10g fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 green chillies, slit open lengthways
- Pinch of curry leaf powder
- 4 medium onions, sliced
- 200g tomatoes, finely chopped
- ½ tsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garam masala
- Small handful coriander, chopped
Method
- Begin a day in advance. Put the urad dal and both types of rice in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 4-5 hours.
- Drain the dal and rice in a fine sieve, then transfer to a blender with a splash of water. Whizz to give a very smooth batter, adding a little more water until needed. Pour into a bowl and mix in a pinch of salt and sugar. Cover and rest in a warm place overnight.
- The next day, boil the eggs in a pan of water for 8 minutes then drain, cool in cold running water and peel. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy-based pan over a low-medium heat, then add the ginger, garlic, chillies and curry leaf powder and cook gently for a few minutes. Stir in the onions and cook over a low heat for 20-25 minutes until soft.
- Stir in the tomatoes and the ketchup and cook for another 5 minutes. Make some space in the middle of the pan and add the chilli powder, turmeric and pepper with a few drops of oil. Cook for a few minutes, then stir into the onion mixture until well combined. Add the garam masala and chopped coriander, then season with salt. Cut the boiled eggs in half, put them in the sauce and cook for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and cover.
- For the uthappam topping, finely chop the onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander leaves and set aside in a bowl.
- Grease a medium, heavy-bottomed frying pan or a flat cast iron pan with ¼ tsp ghee or butter and put it over a medium heat to heat through. Make sure the batter is the consistency of double cream, adding a little water if it is too thick, and season with salt. Ladle a quarter of the batter into the hot pan and move the pan around so the batter spreads into an even layer. Reduce the heat to low-medium and sprinkle with a quarter of the fresh topping. Sprinkle a little oil towards the edges and over the fresh topping. After 1-2 minutes, when the base is firm, flip it and cook on the other side for another minute until cooked through.
- Repeat with the remaining batter to make another 3 pancakes, greasing the pan each time. Top each pancake with a quarter of the egg roast and serve.
- Recipe from February 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 357kcals
- Fat
- 12.9g (4.1g saturated)
- Protein
- 14.6g
- Carbohydrates
- 44g (4.8g sugars)
- Fibre
- 3.2g
- Salt
- 0.6g
delicious. tips
You need to start this the morning before – you could make the egg roast at the same time, while the dal and rice soak. Store in the fridge once cooled then reheat gently in a pan.
Ponni rice is a specific variety used throughout southern India and Southeast Asia, ideal for batters and with a shorter grain than basmati. You can find it online or in Indian grocers. Urad dal is usually available in larger supermarkets.
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