What is Thinai Uttapam | Foxtail Millet Uttapam ?
Thinai Uttapam or Foxtail Millet Uttapam is a thick dosa (savoury pancake) made with millets topped with sauteed vegetables. 100% Gluten Free and Vegan. Served as breakfast or snack.
Benefits of using Millets in everyday diet
Thinai (Foxtail Millet) is a recent addition to my kitchen for the last few years. Millets can replace rice in most of the South Indian dishes, and bring down the Glycemic Index of the dish – something thats beneficial to diabetics and those who want to taste good South Indian food, yet cut down on Carbs / Rice. Thanks to food nutrionists’ articles in print and digital media, and the food bloggers, there has been considerable revival of these millets to cater to healthy food : something that our ancestors swore by. However, experts also caution against over use of Millets. Anything in moderation is definitely key here.
Where all can millets be used?
We have been fairly successful to make quite a few dishes with millets replacing rice totally (or upto 90%) on the following recipes:
- Thinai Dosa (Foxtail Millet Crepes)
- Samai (little Millet) Dosa
- Thinai Khara Pongal (Spicy Savoury Pudding with Millet + Green gram)
- Millets X Mas Cake (Eggless & Vegan)
- Ragi Thinai Dosa (Finger millet + Foxtail millet dosa)
- Samai (little millet) Pongal
- Varagu (Kodo Millet) Pongal
- Varagu (Kodo Millet) Upma, and many more…
My elder one loves Dosa for breakfast on most days, and the younger one is following in her sister’s footsteps. Nowadays, I do have a batter of Idli / Dosa on most weekdays which comes very handy to make these in an instant.
I have made it fibre rich by adding some veggies to this, but you can skip these if you have a younger child or want to serve it plain. You can also make these along with some Idli, Vada, Pongal etc to serve as Mini Meal for breakfast as served in this Chettinad style Mini Breakfast. Other Uttapam recipes include Samai (Little Millet) Onion Uttapam
Other Millet Recipes you may like:
Click here or the picture below to check out 20+ Easy Chutney varieties to serve with South Indian Breakfast dishes.
Mini Thinai Uttapams – Mini Foxtail Millet Veg topped Dosa
Cuisine :South Indian Course : Breakfast ; Serving suggestions : Chutney / Molagapudi
Soak time : 4 hours, Grind time : 15 mins Fermentation time : 8-10 hours (depending on the climate)
Cook time : 1 min per Uttapam
Makes : 20 – 25 Mini Uttapams or 15 medium sized Uttapams
Ingredients to make the Thinai Uttapam:
- 3 cups Foxtail Millet (ನವಣೆ / தினை where 1 cup = 120 ml)
- 1 cup Idli Rice
- 1 cup Whole black gram (skin less) / Urad Dal Whole
- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds (Methi dana / Vendhayam / Menthya)
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Oil (per Uttapam)
Toppings for Thinai Uttapam:
- 1 cup Onion (Finely minced)
- 1/2 cup Cabbage (Shredded)
- 1/4 cup carrot (Finely grated)
- 3 green chilli (Minced
- 1 tsp Ginger (grated)
- 3 tsp coriander (finely choppeD)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper (crushed)
- Oil – 1 TBSP
Method to make Thinai Uttapam:
- Wash & Soak the Millet, Dal, Rice and methi seeds together for 4 hours. Grind to a smooth paste as for Idli / Dosa. Add enough salt, beat well. Allow to ferment for 8-10 hours (or overnight)
- In the morning, mix the batter well. Adjust consistency.
- In a pan, add 1 TBSP oil, saute the cabbage, onions, carrots and other toppings for 2-3 mins till the raw smell disappears. Do not add salt at this stage.
- Make small Uttapams on a hot Tava / Griddle. drizzle 1/4 tsp oil around the sides, top with the sauteed toppings and a sprinkling of salt and black pepper. Cook on medium-low flame for 1/2 min on each side, flip over and let the veggies slightly get crunchy. Serve immediately with Podi or any chutney
Thinai Uttapam | Foxtail Millet Uttapam
Equipment
- Wet Blender
- Tava / Skillet
- Ladle
- Spatula
Ingredients
Batter
- 3 cups Foxtail Millet ನವಣೆ / தினை where 1 cup = 120 ml
- 1 cup Idli Rice
- 1 cup Whole black gram skin less / Urad Dal Whole
- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds Methi dana / Vendhayam / Menthya
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 10 tsp Sesame oil to make the Uttapams
Topping
- 1 cup Onion Finely minced
- 1/2 cup Cabbage Shredded
- 1/4 cup carrot Finely grated
- 3 green chilli (Minced
- 1 tsp Ginger grated
- 3 tsp coriander finely chopped
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper crushed
- 1 TBSP Sesame oil
Uttapam with foxtail millets is such a healthy breakfast.
Bookmarked Kalyani! Lovely idea.
Thats my kind of uthappams, such a filling and healthy breakfast..
Such a fluffy uttapam and I love the carrot topped ones. Uttapams are my favorite in lunch boxes as they stay soft. Glad to have a millet based one for a change.
yes THanks Seema. We have almost replaced rice in most forms of idli/dosa/pongal/uttapam with millets, and don’t notice the difference at all
I love foxtail millet and Idli and dosa with them turns out so nice and soft. I love this with the generous veggies loaded on top. Perfect for lunch or breakfast
Thanks Renu!
Love uttapams. This one with foxtail millet is such a healthy and delicious breakfast. Haven’t made uttapams in a long time. Must plan to do so this weekend.
yeah. Uttapams are a favourite amongst many Mayuri