Elephant Beans Mini Uttapams with Spicy Tomato Chutney

Today’s recipe is Elephant Beans Mini Uttapams with Spicy Tomato Chutney.

As a vegetarian, I always seek ways to consume the right amount of proteins my body needs. While the Indian diet has loads of lentils and legumes, and we also consume foods like Paneer and Soyabeans, repetitively using these ingredients brings boredom. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for new ingredients that I can include in my diet. The inspiration mostly comes from Indian cuisine and I try to use these ingredients in traditional Indian recipes. Today’s post is one such recipe.

Recently, on a visit to the Turkish store near my house, I came across Bombay Fasulye or Elephant Beans. The name caught my attention. Being from India and well aware of Bombay (it’s called Mumbai now)—the financial capital of India and a melting pot of cultures—I was intrigued and picked up these beans immediately.

On reading about these beans on the internet, I found out that these beans are grown in Göynük, Turkey. I couldn’t find its connection with Bombay! I also found that these beans find their way into many Turkish recipes.

Inspired by a Mediterranean-style salad, I soaked the beans overnight and boiled them the next day. I made a quick salad by combining it with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and some herbs. Although the overall taste was good, the beans were mushy and bland and, quite frankly, didn’t suit my palette.

That made me wonder what I could possibly use the rest of the beans for. So, I took inspiration from a popular South Indian breakfast, Uttapam, which is made with rice and de-skinned black gram lentils. You can check out the original recipe for Uttapam here.

I used this recipe as a referance and created my version of high-protein elephant beans Uttapam. I paired it with spicy tomato and peanut chutney, and it tasted delicious. So, let’s start with the recipe:

Equipment needed to make Elephant Beans Uttapam with Spicy Tomato Chutney:

• Mixing bowl
• Mixer Grinder
• Knives
• Chopping Board
• Pancake Pan
• Pan for frying the chutney ingredients

Read about all the equipment I use in my kitchen in my article: Setting Up My Indian Kitchen in Germany.

A Tip:

A small pancake pan ( mentioned above) is a wonderful addition to the kitchen for making Mini Uttapams, pancakes, etc. I particularly find them useful for batters that don’t spread so easily and evenly. Since the pancake pan is small in diameter, you can just pour the batter on to the pan and gently pat it using the spatula to spread it evenly. You can make the pancake as thick or thin as you like. It is easy to flip, and the pancake has a nice round shape, which looks so pleasing to the eyes!

Ingredients needed to make Elephant Beans Uttapam:

• 250 gm Elephant Beans; washed and soaked overnight
  
  
  
• 100 gm Broken Wheat; washed and soaked overnight
  
  
  
• 3 tbsp Rice Flour
• Water; for grinding
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2-3 tbsp Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
• Salt; to taste
• ⅓ tsp Baking Soda
• Thinly Sliced Onions; to top the Uttapams
• Oil for frying

A Tip again!

If you don’t have broken wheat, just add wheat flour to the batter. If you don’t have rice flour, soak some rice overnight and use it for this recipe.

Notes about Ingredient Sourcing in Germany:

1. Elephant Beans: Commonly available in Turkish shops. Called Bombay Fasulye.
2. Broken Wheat: Buy Bulgur. It is available in supermarkets.
3. Rice Flour: It is Called Reismehl in German. It is available in some supermarkets and easily in Indian shops.
4. Cumin Seeds: It is called Kreizkummel in German. It is available in some supermarkets and easily in Indian shops.
5. Fresh Coriander: Easily available in Indian shops.
6. Salt: Called Salz in German. Easily available in supermarkets. Read my article about Salt varieties in supermarkets here.
7. Baking Soda: Called Natron in German. It is available in sachets in supermarkets.
8. Onions: Called Zwiebeln in German. Easily available in the vegetable section of supermarkets
9. Oil: Sesame, Gingely, or peanut oil works best. These are easily available in Indian and Asian shops. Read my article about oil varieties in supermarkets here.

Method to make Elephant Beans Uttapam:

• Grind the soaked elephant beans and broken wheat to a fine paste. Add water if required. Combine with rice flour and give it a good mix. The batter should neither be too thick nor too thin.
  
  
  
• Add salt, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and baking soda. You can add finely chopped green chillies and curry leaves as well for added taste and flavour.
  
  
  
• Mix well.
  
  
  
• Brush oil in a small pancake pan and bring it to medium heat. Pour a medium-thick layer of the batter.
  
  
  
• Sprinkle some sliced onions. You can also add chopped coriander leaves, curry leaves and sesame seeds for added colour and taste. Drizzle some oil on the edges as well as on top. Cook on medium heat.
  
  
  
• Flip and cook on medium heat till it is fully done.
  
  
  
• Remove and serve hot with any chutney of your choice. I served it with spicy tomato peanut chutney. You can check out its recipe here.
  
  

A tip:

While cooking the Uttapams, don’t cook them on high heat. High heat will burn them from the outside and leave them uncooked from the inside. Also, don’t overcook them. If you overcook them, they will become dry and hard. When you pour the batter, keep it medium-thick. Cook on medium heat. After flipping and cooking for 30 seconds, insert a knife and check. If it comes out clean, take it out and serve immediately.

Here is the recipe in printable format:

Check out other recipes from my kitchen here.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. If you buy using these links, I receive a small commission. This has no effect on the price for you.

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