Adai

I love the crispy taste of adais and find them very nutritious too. They just need a few hours of soaking and I usually grind them in a mixie (no need for a grinder) and they don't need any fermenting either so they are perfect when you need something on short notice (in comparison to idlis/dosas). At home, my mom would normally make a chutney to go with this or for a sweet touch, some butter and sugar. I make aviyal and find that these two pair quite well too.

ADAI

Ingredients:

Brown Rice - 3/4 cup
Raw Rice - 1/4 cup
Green Mung - 1/4 cup
Channa Dhal - 1/4 cup
Toor Dhal - 1/4 cup
Urad Dhal - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 10
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Asafoetida - a couple pinches
Spinach/Methi - 1.5 cup, chopped
Onion - 1 medium red onion, chopped fine
Cabbage - 1/2 cup, chopped
Carrot - 1, grated
Coconut - 2 inch piece, chopped into small pieces Curry leaves - few, chopped
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt, to taste
Oil to cook adais.

Method:
1) Soak the rices and dhals together for about 3-4 hours. (Add some warm water if you want to soak them faster). I have used different dhals like masoor, chori etc... most dhals work.

2) Grind this with the red chillies, ginger, asafoetida and some salt to a paste. It should be slightly grainy and not too smooth.

3) To this paste, add the chopped onion, methi/spinach, cabbage, carrot, curry leaves, coconut, chilli powder. Add some water if it's too thick. The batter consistency should be thicker than dosa batter but not too thick to make spreading impossible.


4) Heat a wide pan (dosakal) and rub some oil. Pour a spoonful of batter and slowly spread it out by making concentric circles as thin as you can. My mom would always take away a little of the batter from the middle of this circle so she can pour some oil there and make it crispy, so I do that too. Pour some oil around the edges too.

5) Let this cook until golden brown on one side, flip over and let the other side cook as well. Serve hot for a filling and tasty meal.