Allergens in Adai: sesame.
Ingredients
Quantities for 4.
- 1 cup, raw Riceidli rice or any short-grain raw rice
- 1/3 cup Toor Dal
- 1/3 cup Chana Dal
- 1/3 cup Urad Dal
- 6 Dried Red Chillibyadgi or guntur, to taste
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetidause compounded-free hing to keep this gluten-free
- 2 sprigs, torn Curry Leaves
- 2.5cm piece, roughly chopped Ginger
- 1 medium, finely chopped Onionstirred into the batter raw, never ground inoptional
- 3 tbsp, fresh grated Coconutoptional
- 2 tbsp, chopped Coriander Leavesoptional
- 6 tbsp, for the griddle Sesame Oilgingelly oil is the Tamil default
- about 200ml for grinding Water
- to taste Salt
Cookware
stovetop, tawa, blender
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Soak the rice and all three dals together in plenty of water for 3 hours. Soak the dried chillies with them so they grind smooth.
- Adai batter is never fermented. Grind it and cook within the hour, or refrigerate and use the same day.
- Chop the onion and coriander only after grinding. They go in at the last moment or the batter turns watery.
Method
- Drain the soaked rice, dals and chillies, keeping the soaking water aside.Do not throw the soaking water away; you will want a little of it to loosen the grind.
- Grind everything with the ginger, curry leaves, asafoetida and salt, adding water in small splashes, to a coarse batter with the texture of wet semolina.Coarse is the point. A silky adai batter cooks into a limp pancake instead of a crisp one.
- Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chopped onion, coconut and coriander. The batter should be thick enough to mound on a spoon.
- Rest the batter 20 minutes while the tawa heats over medium.
- Pour a ladleful onto the hot tawa and spread outward with the back of the ladle to a 20cm round, about 5mm thick. Thicker than a dosa.
- Make a coin-sized hole in the centre and drizzle 1 tbsp sesame oil around the rim and into the hole.The hole lets steam escape so the middle cooks through instead of staying pasty.
- Cook 3 to 4 minutes until the edges lift and the underside is a mottled deep brown.
- Flip and cook 2 minutes more, pressing lightly with the spatula, then serve hot with avial or plain jaggery and butter.
Storage
Adai is best straight off the tawa. The batter keeps 2 days refrigerated and in fact grows tastier on day two; bring to room temperature and thin with a spoon of water before cooking.
Nutrition Medium estimate
One serving of Adai (219 g) is about 605 calories, or 277 calories per 100 g.
Medium protein: 15 g a serving, 10% of the calories
| Per serving219 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 605 kcal | 277 kcal |
| Protein | 14.7 g | 7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 74.7 g | 34 g |
| of which sugars | 4.1 g | 2 g |
| Fibre | 8.9 g | 4 g |
| Fat | 28.1 g | 13 g |
| of which saturated | 6.8 g | 3 g |
| of which unsaturated | 19.7 g | 9 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for asafoetida, curry leaves, urad dal. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Vegan Indian recipes · Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · Dairy-free Indian recipes · Tamil Nadu recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.