Oats Uttapam (Instant & Healthy)

Looking for yummy and different Oats Recipes for your everyday meals? Here’s one that is really a great one, when it comes to flavors, health as well as ease in making. This instant recipe is that of an Oats Uttapam, which is an easy and nutritious way of making uttapams with oats, sooji or rava (cream of wheat) and gram flour (besan). A twist to your regular uttapams too. Whether you add the veggies or not, this dish is going to be yummy in every way. The recipe is also vegan friendly.

About Oats Uttapam

This Oats Uttapam is a fantastic way to use oats, other than in your breakfast cereal bowls paired with milk. Also, it is a sumptuous and healthy variation to your usual traditional uttapams as well, because it is always good to have variety in food too. Helps to break the monotony of life.

In this recipe of Oats Uttapam, all you need to do is to make the batter and prep up the vegetables that go as a topping on the uttapam. In case you wish to, you can also make the uttapams without one or two veggies or even add more as per your choice.

For the batter, you have to begin by grinding the quick cooking oats or rolled oats into a fine flour. Then, add in the other ingredients like rava or sooji (cream of wheat, semolina flour), besan (gram flour) and salt along with the water to make a smooth, lump-free batter mixture. Make sure to rest this batter for a good 20 minutes.

Instead of sooji or rava, you can also use rice flour in this recipe. Thus, having a gluten free option of these uttapams. I usually try and include oats in different ways for our Indian breakfasts at home. Along with this Oats Uttapam, some of our other oats Indian favorites are Oats Idli and Oats Dosa.

In this Oats Uttapam or any other uttapam as well, I always add veggies like onion, bell pepper and tomatoes as a topping. You can even add grated carrots and beetroot. If you do not have any vegetables, you can even make them plain. But with topped veggies, the taste is definitely better.

Whether or not you want to add the green chilies, is your choice completely. I like a little hit of spice in every bite of this Oats Uttapam. Hence, I do add the green chilies in this recipe.

To leaven the batter, a bit of baking soda and lemon juice is added. The tangy, acidic lemon juice reacts with the alkaline baking soda and aerates the batter. This makes for a lighter and soft texture in the oats uthappam.

You can make these instant Oats Uttapam not only for breakfast, but also for brunch or for a quick evening snack. Along with this yummy uttapam version, you should also check out the recipes of the Rava Uttapam and the original traditionally made Uttapam.

This Oats Uttapam taste good the way they are. Although, you can serve them with a tasty Coconut Chutney or even tomato ketchup.

How to make Oats Uttapam

Make Oats Flour

1. Take ½ cup quick cooking oats in a mixer or grinder. You can even take ½ cup rolled oats.

2. Grind the oats to a fine flour.

3. Then, take the prepared oats flour in a mixing bowl.

Make Oats Batter & Prepare Vegetables

4. Now add ¼ cup rava (sooji or cream of wheat or semolina flour) and ¼ cup besan (gram flour).

5. Add salt as per taste.

6. Pour ⅔ cup water.

7. Mix very well to a smooth batter, without any lumps. Cover the bowl and let the oats, rava and besan flour soak in water for 20 minutes.

8. Rinse and then slice 1 onion, 1 bell pepper and 1 tomato thinly. Also, chop 1 green chili and some coriander leaves.

9. On the same chopping board or tray, mix everything and set aside.

Leaven Batter

10. After 20 minutes, the batter will thicken as the oats, besan and sooji will absorb water.

11. I added ¼ cup more water as the batter had become slightly thick. Before soaking, I added ⅔ cup water and later added ¼ cup more. 

Addition of water will depend on the quality of oats, besan and sooji. You can add more water, if the batter becomes thick.

12. Add water as required to make a medium consistency flowing batter. If after soaking, the batter has a medium consistency, then do not add any water.

The final consistency is in the picture below.

13. Now, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Mix very well. If you do not have lemon juice, then add ¼ cup whisked curd instead.

14. Then, add ⅛ teaspoon baking soda, which is about 2 to 3 pinches of baking soda. Mix again very well.

Make Oats Uttapam

15. On medium flame, heat a cast iron pan or a nonstick pan. If using a cast iron pan, then drizzle ½ teaspoon oil and spread it with the spoon.

16. Lower the heat and pour a ladle full of the batter on the tawa. Gently spread the batter to get a round circle.

17. Now, spread the mixed vegetables on the batter. With a spatula, press the vegetables lightly, so that they stick to the batter.

18. Drizzle a few drops of oil on the center and at the sides of the uttapam.

19. Cook till the base is done. While cooking, you can regulate the heat to low or medium.

20. Then, gently lift up the Oats Uttapam.

21. Flip and cook the side with the vegetables.

22. Cook this side till the vegetables are lightly caramelized or golden.

23. Remove the Oats Uttapam on a plate. Prepare the Oats Uttapam in batches this way.

24. Serve Oats Uttapam hot or warm with Coconut Chutney, tomato ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

Expert Tips

1. You can make this dish with either rolled oats or quick cooking oats.
2. In place of cream of wheat (rava or sooji), you can even add rice flour in this recipe of Oats Uttapam. This will also make it a gluten-free recipe.
3. Curd (yogurt) can be used as an alternative ingredient for lemon juice. Use ¼ cup curd.
4. Adjust the consistency of the batter by adding more water, if the batter is too thick. The quantity of water that you will add in the batter will also depend on the quality of sooji, gram flour and oats.
5. This recipe of Oats Uttapam can easily be scaled to a double or triple for making for larger portions.

This Oats Uttapam from the archives, originally published in June 2016 has been updated and republished on January 2023.