ADAI

Adai is a South Indian breakfast item. As it has a good quantity of lentils, it is high in protein content. But it is pretty heavy, so senior citizens, please go easy on the tasty adai - to make it easy-to-digest, you can grind the ingredients a little fine and make the adais a little thin.

It tastes good with honey, jaggery, butter or curd with salt and crushed green chilli.

                                      

Another speciality is adai with 'avial'.

                                 

Ingredients

1. Raw rice - 2 cups
2. Urad dal (with skin) - 1/2 cup
3. Chana dal - 1/2 cup
4. Tuvar dal - 2 tbsp
5. Whole red chilli - 1- 2
6. Pepper corns - 8-10 (optional)
7. Green chilli - 1
8. Asafetida - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp
9. Salt to taste
10. Curry leaves - 10-12
11. Oil

Method

1. Soak the rice and dals together for 2 - 3 hours.
2. Grind the mixture coarsely in a mixer along with red chilli, green chilli, and pepper corns.
3. Sprinkle asafetida.
4. Add salt and chopped curry leaves and mix well.
5. Set aside for 6-7 hours.
6. To make adais, heat tava and grease it with oil.
7. Make a thick adai (a little thicker than dosa).
8. Add oil all around it.
9. Allow it to cook on medium flame.
10. When the bottom portion is brown, flip it and add another spoon of oil all around it.
11. Cook the second side too.
12. Remove when done.
13. Serve hot with butter / jaggery / curd / honey / avial.

Tips

1. The adai should be cooked well - don't be in a hurry. 
2. It will taste great with more oil - but you know where to draw the line, don't you?
3. Thin adai also tastes great.
4. You don't have to allow the batter to ferment - the adais will taste equally great.
5. Fermented batter is easier to digest.

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.