Adai recipe, South Indian lentils dosa ( pancakes )

Adai is a type of South Indian dosa made with toor dal, channa dal and rice. It is a thick lentils pancake with a soft centre and crispy edges. It is generously topped with shallots and moringa leaves. You can have them for breakfast or as an afternoon light meal. They are quite filling and protein rich. Unlike the regular dosa, adai will be thick and it has a hole in the centre. It can be made instantaneously and no fermentation is required.

This is one of the few dishes that I had an instant liking as a child. More than as a breakfast this often appeared as our weekend evening tiffin. As mentioned in this mangal ooti post, we are a group of clans who have our meals swapped. We eat lunch around 10 and have a light meal, tiffin, around 2 or 3 during weekends. Tiffin (do not confuse it with the confectionary) is an Indian english word and is unique to the Indian culture. It usually refers to a light meal that we have in the afternoon and sometimes breakfast. You can read more about the intersesting story behind the tiffin in this post.

The etymology of the word adai remains unknown but adai has been in existence since the olden days. KT acharya mentions adai as a shallow fried rice snack in his book, Indian food, A Historical Companion. He says they were popularly served as a street side snack along with appam, dosa etc…

Adai mavu (batter)

The traditional adai batter is made of lentils and rice grains. In the past, it was made with equal parts rice and pulses, and at least a minimum of 4 different kinds of pulses were used in the preparation of adai.

In the present day, it is reduced to 2 types of lentils (channa dal and urad dal) and a combination of parboiled rice and raw rice is used.

The combined ratio of rice & dal is 1:1 for the traditional recipe. Individually,
Channa dal & toor dal - 1 : ¼
Parboiled rice & raw rice - 1 : 1

The above mentioned ratio will give you a perfectly crispy edged adai with a thick soft centre. Unlike the regular dosa, adai will be thick and it has a hole in the centre. The hole in the centre is made to ensure even cooking when oil is added to it. 

For a crispy adai, take the rice : dal ratio as 1 : ¾ and if you need completely soft adais reverse the proportion. You can experiment with the ratio as per your preference.

Adai batter consistency

Grind the rice almost smoothly. If you touch the batter you will feel rice grits like corn meal texture. Then add the dal to it. Pulse and grind it coarsely. Chunks of dal will be visible.

Though, Adai is a close cousin to the most popular South Indian breakfast, Dosa, the batter does not require fermentation. Adai can be made instantly.

Resting it for half hour to one hour before making them will yield perfectly crispy edged adais.

The shelf life of the batter is up to 3 days in the refrigerator. It will be good up to a week but sometimes it will become slightly sour when kept longer.

Adai variations and varieties

1.  Adai can be made plain only with the ground batter. To make it more flavorful, we add shallots, moringa leaves and sometimes also coconut. But shallots are often used.
2. You can also make multigrain adais combining more lentil varieties like mung dal, urad dal, brown chickpeas etc... Take all these ingredients in equal proportions and grind.
3.  During some festive occasions, we make pacharisi adai. Substituting parboiled rice with raw rice.

Serving Adai

Adai can be served for breakfast or dinner. This is best served with avial - medley of veggies cooked in a coconut based gravy. You can also  pair this with coconut chutney or mor kuzhambu or milagai podi. Normally the Tamil people have this with Jaggery.

Print

Adai

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Soaking time

3 hrs

Total Time

45 mins

 

Adai is a type of South Indian dosa made with toor dal, channa dal and rice. It is a thick lentils pancake with a soft centre and crispy edges. It is generously topped with shallots and moringa leaves. You can have them for breakfast or as an afternoon light meal. They are quite filling and protein rich. Unlike the regular dosa, adai will be thick and it has a hole in the centre. It can be made instantaneously and no fermentation is required.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Tamil Nadu

Keyword: Adai dosai, lentils pancake, Protien rich pancakes

Servings: 10 to 12 medium sized pancakes

Calories per serving: 185 kcal

Ingredients

For the Batter

• ½ Cup raw rice (pachai arisi)
• ½ Cup parboiled rice ( puzhungal arisi ) Idly rice
• ½ Cup channa dal
• ¼ cup toor dal
• 5-6 red chillies

Making Dosa

• 10-12 shallots roughly chopped
• 1 curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Instructions

For the Batter

1. Soak the dal and rice separately for minimum 3 hour. Rinse and drain the water. Grind the chillies first. Once it is coarsely grounded, add the rice. Grind it to an almost smooth batter by adding water. Then add the dal and pulse. It should be coarse and not smoothly ground. 

2. The batter will be in very thick consistency. Add little water to it. 

3. Mix both, add salt, shallots, curry leaves and drumstick leaves (if using).

Making Dosa

1. Take the required amount for that meal and keep the rest in refrigerator.  (1)
2. Heat the tawa | griddle. Once it is hot, apply some oil and spread it. Ladle the dosa in the centre and spread it. The dosa will be very thick and heavy.

3. With the back end of the spatula, make a small hole in the centre.  Keep it on medium flame. Drizzle oil on the outer edges and in the middle. The hole in the centre is created to evenly cook the adai. 

4. Once the bottom side becomes brown, flip and cook on the other side. Repeat the same for the rest of the dosas.

Recipe Notes

1. The batter can be refrigerated for about two days.
2. Shallots and drum stick leaves are the highlight ingredients in this recipe. Try not to avoid them. 
3. Unlike the regular dosa, this takes time to get cooked. Also keep the flame in medium, since these are thick, it needs time to cook through and the bottom should not be burned.
4. This is best served with Avial.