Adai is a thick crispy lentil crepe similar to dosa but with mixed lentils, pulses and legumes optionally. It is a healthy, protein rich and power packed breakfast option. Tastes absolutely delicous and crispy when served hot with wonderful flavor from lentils, curry leaves and chilies. Serve with sambar or chutney or avial but truly it is wonderful on its own 🙂 Vegan recipe!
This adai recipe is the basic one that I have been making for many years. As much as any traditional recipe every Tamil home has its own recipe for adai dosa also. Basically the proportion of lentils varies and also the amount of rice changes.
Adai is also known as adai dosa outside Tamilnadu. It is considered as one type of dosa so the name. It is almost similar to this mixed dal dosa I shared sometime back. The mixed dal dosa does not contain rice while there is rice in adai.
To make adai dosa I use a mix of regular rice and idli rice. For lentils we use a mix of toor dal, chana dal and urad dal. To make crispy ones reduce the amount of idli rice while for softer variant reduce the amount if raw rice.
Traditionally adai is made very thick and crispy. A big hole is made in the center and oil is added to cook it properly. Thick ones with very crispy edges is our favorite 🙂 If you prefer to make thin ones similar to dosa just grind the batter smoother.
This Adai Recipe Is
Traditional, authentic and time tested
for making crispy and flavorful ones
Vegan & gluten free
with added veggies
protein rich, power packed and wholesome
How To Make Adai Easily?
Making adai is easy. The batter needs no fermentation. To make adai for breakfast you can soak the rice and lentils before night. Grind the batter as first thing in the morning.
Let the batter stand for 30 minutes or an hour and it is ready to use. Alternately you can soak the rice and lentils for 3 hours.
Grind the batter and let it rest for 3-4 hours. You can also let the batter ferment like dosa batter before using.
As I mentioned above the proportion of rice and lentils used in this recipe is different from home to home. You can just alter the proportions to make crispy or soft adai.
Also the seasoning used in batter also changes. In our home we prefer to add just dried red chilies and asafoetida. Furthermore you can also add ginger while grinding the batter.
One thing I do not miss while making adai dosa are onions and vegetables. Especially shallots or pearl onions taste wonderful in adai.
Other vegetables that go with this recipe are yellow pumpkin, carrots and capsicum. Mixed lentils recipes are very good for growing toddlers and kids.
By adding vegetables it becomes a complete balanced meal. You can also sneak in vegetables in moong dal chilla, peserattu recipes. Below are some variations in this recipe.
Recipe Variations
- To make chettinad kara adai you can make a paste of garlic, tamarind and cumin seeds and add it to the adai batter.
- You can add cleaned and chopped moringa leaves or drumstick leaves to the batter.
- The same batter can be used to make paniyaram
- Finally we also make a deep fried snack called kunukku with left over batter.
Adai is always served with avial especially in restaurants. Jaggery and ghee is also a popular side dish for adai. At our home we just prefer to have it with tomato chutney.
Finally, if you are looking for more breakfast recipes do check idli, masala dosa, poori, upma, veg sandwich, akki roti recipes.
Step By Step Method
Rinse and soak rice in plenty of water.
Also rinse and soak measured lentils.
Drain and take the lentils in a mixer jar. Add asafoetida and also dried red chilies.
Grind to a slightly coarse paste without adding water. Remove the batter to a large bowl.
Take drained rice in the same jar. Add very less water and grind to a slightly coarse paste.
Mix both the batters well. Add required salt and also curry leaves. At this stage you can also leave the batter for fermentation especially if you prefer slightly tangy soft dosas.
Finally to the batter, add chopped vegetables and mix well. Adjust the batter consistency as per preference. You can also make a thin batter and make thin dosas. We like crispy thick ones made with thick batter.
6. Heat a cast iron tava well. Spread some oil and pour a ladle full of batter in the middle. Spread gently. Make a dent in the center and add oil. Also add oil at the edges.
Cook well till the edges turn crispy and golden. Thick ones takes more time to cook so plan accordingly. For perfect adai with crispy golden edges do the cooking in medium low flame. Serve hot with avial, chutney and butter.
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Adai Recipe (Lenti Crepes)
Ingredients
To soak
- 1 cup rice raw
- 1 cup idli rice OR par boiled rice
- 3/4 cup chana dal / split skinned bengal gram
- 1/2 cup toor dal / split skinned pigeon peas
- 1/8 cup hole urad dal/split skinned black gram
- Water for rinsing and soaking
Other ingredients
- 4-6 dried red chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cuo chopped capsicum
- 1/2 cup chopped pumpkin
- 10 curry leaves torn
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying adai
Instructions
To make batter
- Rinse and soak the rice and lentils separately for 3-8 hours.
- Drain and take the lentils in a mixer jar. Add asafoetida and dried red chilies. Grind to a slightly coarse paste without adding water. remove the batter to a large bowl.
- Take drained rice in the same jar. Add very less water and grind to a slightly coarse paste.
- Mix both the batters well. Add required salt and curry leaves.
Making adai
- To the batter, add chopped vegetables and mix well. Adjust the batter consistency as per preference. You can make a thin batter and make thin ones. We like crispy thick adai made with thick batter.
- Heat a cast iron tava well. Spread some oil and pour a ladle full of batter in the middle. Spread gently. Make a dent in the center of the adai and add oil. Also add oil at the edges. Cook well till the edges turn crispy and golden. Thick adai takes more time to cook. For perfect adai with crispy golden edges do the cooking in medium lo flame. Serve hot with avial, chutney and butter.
urmila says
thanks for sharing this traditional recipe harini. will try out soon!