Setting the mood

I wish I were out of doors – I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy […] I’m sure I should be myself were I once among the heather on those hills.

exploring our woods and pond, not unlike Catherine exploring the moors

Despite temps in the high 80s and days spilling over with bright white sunshine, autumn is just around the corner. I love this time of year for so many reasons – skinny jeans and opaque tights tucked into knee-high boots, stocking up on yarn to knit up scarves/hats/arm&leg warmers, the smell of decaying leaves and wood fires.

But mostly, I love it for the books and films it puts me in the mood for.

This is the time of year when I first read The Historian and A Discovery of Witches; when I always re-read Into the Wild, Time Traveler’s Wife, and a few shorts by King or Barker. I check out new novels friends describe as “dark in the best way possible.” I plan and view – sometimes for and by just myself – film festivals ranging from Kubrick to gothic horror.

{Film favorites the first half of this month: Jane Eyre (2011); Wuthering Heights (2011); The Awakening. Oh, so much to say about these films! Perhaps a review post is in the near future.}

In my autumn kitchen, there are apples and winter squash piled up on the table; yeasted and slow-rising breads in the oven; a pot of oatmeal for breakfast every morning and teacakes under the cake dome every night. Familiar grains are revisited, new ones explored. And always, always, a jar of uttapam batter bubbling away on the counter.

bubbles! bubbles!

uttapam is the perfect side for a bowl of soup or stew

Uttapam

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In a roundabout sort of way, dosas are to uttapam what crepes are to pancakes. Over the years I’ve modified SE Katz’s dosa recipe from Wild Fermentation, changing a couple of ingredients to suit my tastes, and decreasing liquid to keep the batter thick. I usually fill these with chopped onion and cilantro, but have also been known to stuff them full of all manner of things à la the pudla craze. I like to measure my batter out 1/4 cup at a time, mixing in the filling for each uttapam directly in the measuring cup. Depending on ambient room temperature, humidity and organisms present in the air, each batch of batter will ferment a little differently. As soon as your batter tastes good to you, move it to the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation process. I prefer to use a tall glass 1/2 gallon jar for my batter.

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{batter}
1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
1/2 cup cooked basmati rice
1 cup dry red lentils
1/4 cup plain, unsweetened coconut kefir or yogurt

{suggested filling per uttapam}
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped onion
pinch of salt
coconut oil, for the skillet

Fermenting the batter
In a tall bowl or jar, combine your rice and lentils and cover completely with water. Seal tightly and leave to soak for 8-12 hours.

Strain the rice and lentils, and return them to the jar. Add the kefir or yogurt and use an immersion blender to grind everything into a thick, smooth batter. Small flecks of rice and lentils is fine, but the batter should not be chunky. Add water only if necessary, a tablespoon at a time.

Cover the top of the jar with a piece of gauze or cheesecloth, secure with a rubber band (or lid ring, if using a canning jar) and leave out at room temperature to ferment, anywhere from 24-56 hours. Check after 24 hours and every 8 hours after, until the flavor suits you. It will be sour, and the batter will expand and rise substantially as it ferments.

Making the uttapam
Prepare enough filling for however many uttapam you want to make. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, and rub with a small amount of coconut oil. While the skillet is heating, measure out 1/4 cup batter. Drop your filling into the measuring cup and fold in with a small spoon. Pour the batter into the skillet; it should be the consistency of pancake batter. Cook until crisp and golden on one side, about five minutes; flip and cook through.

Yield: 3 Cups batter

Prep time: 5 minutes | Fermentation time: 1-3 days | Cook time: 10 minutes