Adai

My daughter loves Adai and I make it almost every week now, thanks to the recipe given by my friends RC and Vijaya and the wet grinder schlepped all the way from India by Subra and Revathi.

There are many many recipes and techniques for making Adai and I have gotten it down to one my daughter and I like. I have served it to at least one Sangeetha Kalanidhi, a number of Padma Sri and untold numbers of Kalimamani and have gotten way with it. So it must be good.

So here goes by special request for Lakshmi Sudha;

Rinse 1/2 cup of toor dal and 1/2 cup of chana dal and a handful of urad dal and 1 cup of white or brown rice and soak them over night in water with 2 or 3 dry chillies.

Grind the dal and rice in a wet grinder with the chillies and 1/4 tsp whole pepper corns and 1 tsp salt. Grind to a coarse rawa texture and to a tooth paste consistency. This batter can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge in the US. You will have to experiment and see how long it lasts in hotter climes.

When making adai I like to add 1part sour idly or dosa batter to 10 parts of adai batter. It adds a tangy sourness that I like.

Add finely minced curry leaves. Fresh ginger may be added as well as green chillies. Add 1/2 tsp of hing and mix thoroughly just before making the Adai. Finely chopped onions could be used as well.

Make the adais 6 - 8 inches in diameter on your favorite griddle over medium heat. I use a blend of canola/vegetable and sesame (nallennai) and a tsp of ghee. Make sure the adais are golden brown and crisp. The iddly batter will help the adai cook well. You should see little air pockets form. Drizzle oil into them and in a small hole in the center.

Serve with thogaiyal, jaggery, and butter (yes butter, I use Irish butter) and one more accompaniment like iddly powder, fresh home made pickles or Vathakuzhambu. Pulikachhal. I was told once that this was how it was served in the home of the late Maharajapuram Santhanam.

I also serve a cup of fresh plain yoghurt.

  Don'ttell yourself it is healthy. Just enjoy it.

I once tried putting some grated carrots in the adai for my daughter when she was three. To this day when I ask her if she wants adai she says " Seri. Anaal Carrot podathai..."

Try this Variation submitted by Saraswathi Varadarajan :

Saraswathi Varadarajan If you want your adai to be crispier and taste like Anjaneyar kovil vadai" try this.
Wash nicely 100 gms of urad dal with its black skin , instead of white urad in your recipe. Drain it in a colander and let it remain for at least half hour. By the time you grind the rest- powder the black urad in your mixie/ spice grinder and add it on top of the adai batter . Just before pouring on the tawa mix it well and make your adai with a hole in the centre, pour ghee/ oil through the hole. You will make a really crisp adai.
Add a big lump of home made butter and sugar/ or butter and idli milagai podi.... It is YUMMy...