Adai is a flavorful South Indian pancake made from a batter of mixed lentils and rice. Rich in protein and fiber, it’s typically served with coconut chutney or spicy sambar for a satisfying meal. Of course, in our family, it has to be different 🙂 We relish it with Thengai Thuvayal. (Coconut Thuvayal). Tastes even better with just Idli milagai podi and grated jaggery. Oh, not to mention, butter on the adai is very important for the yumminess… My son likes to have adai with just butter on the side. Honestly, my daughter hates adai and I don’t know why…..
Adai
Adai, a South Indian pancake, is a protein-rich delight served with various accompaniments. Our family enjoys it with Coconut Thuvayal, Idli milagai podi, jaggery, and butter. Optional add-ins include garlic and yellow pumpkin.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Toor Dhal (split Pigeon peas)
- 1/4 cup Chana Dhal (split Bengal gram)
- 1/4 cup Split Moong Dhal (split Green gram)
- 1/4 cup Urad Dhal
- 1/4 cup Ponni Raw Rice (or sona masoori rice)
- 1/4 cup Ponni Puzhungal Arisi (Ponni Boiled rice)
- 4 Red chilies
- 4 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 1 inch Ginger finely chopped
- 1 Red onion finely chopped
- Coriander (handful) finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp Saunf (Fennel Seeds)
- 1/8 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1/2 cup Water add more if needed
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak all dhals and rice togther in a bowl for 4 hours. Grind together with red chillies, saunf, garlic to a coarse batter with water. It should be thick and NOT thin like dosa batter consistency.
- Add ginger, onion, coriander, curry leaves, hing, and salt to the batter. Mix everything well. Taste test and adjust.
- Heat a dosa pan, add a tsp of oil and smear it all over the pan with a tissue paper. Once the pan is hot, keep the flame in medium and pour one ladleful of adai batter and spread it like a dosa but not too thin. Adai is meant to be thick. Drizzle a spoon of oil or ghee around the adai. It is customary to make a tiny hole with the spatula in the centre of the adai and pour a wee bit of oil in it. This enables the oil to spread well within the adai and, of course, helps it cook faster and better.
- When one side is cooked and nicely browned, flip and cook the other side too. Keep flame in medium to make sure the thick adai gets cooked on the inside as well. It will become crispy on the outside and stay soft on the inside. It is totally optional to add a tsp of oil around the adai after flipping over.
- Enjoy the Adai with any accompaniment you would like.
Tips
- Since the batter has raw onions in it, make sure to take the right amount of adai batter you would be using for that meal and add onions only to it.
- Adding garlic is totally optional. I like garlic in everything except water 🙂
- My lovable Grandma used to add Parangi Pinju (Yellow tender pumpkin) – chopped into small pieces to the adai and it tastes soooo good….
- You can also add grated coconut to the batter.
[…] fiery red chilies, tangy tamarind, and urad dhal. This versatile thuvayal adds a burst of flavor to adai, dosa, or idli, elevating any meal with its vibrant and spicy profile. Heavenly when mixed with a […]