Last updated on January 28th, 2020
Adai recipe- a healthy protein packed lentil pancakes. It is the best breakfast for growing toddlers, kids and also adults. Adai is a thick mixed lentil dosa from Tamil cuisine that is loved all over south India. It is best served with aviyal, jaggery-butter and chutney.
This adai recipe is 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 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 crsipy. 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.
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.
Variations in making adai recipe.
- 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.
Adai recpe video:
How to make adai recipe (step by step)
1. First of all rinse and soak the rice and lentils separately for 3-8 hours.
2. 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.
3. Take drained rice in the same jar. Add very less water and grind to a slightly coarse paste.
4. 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.
5. 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.
If you’ve tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and recipes.
Adai Recipe Card Below:
Adai Recipe | Adai Dosa Recipe
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.
thanks for sharing this traditional recipe harini. will try out soon!