Adai Recipe | Adai Dosa |How to make Adai

Adai is a variety of South Indian dosa or crepe made from assorted lentils and rice. It can make for a protein-rich breakfast or dinner. Adai batter requires no fermentation and tastes fantastic with just a dollop of butter as a side. My traditional adai recipe has been passed down through generations.

What is Adai made of?

Adai is a type of dosa or crepe made from lentils, rice, and dry red chilies. It is flavored with spices and does not require any fancy side dish.

It’s crispy from the chana dal and spicy from the addition of chilies. It basically tastes like a paruppu vada in the form of dosa sans all the oil.

Nutrition Profile

Unlike the regular dosa which has rice and lentils in the ratio of 3:1, adai boasts an almost equal ratio of rice to lentil, making it a protein-rich meal. Lentils combined with rice give you the complete package of the 9 essential amino acids.

Adai is quintessentially South Indian and you’ll find a unique recipe for every family. I grew up eating plenty of adais, typically on the weekends because that’s when my mom would run out of dosa batter.

 Amma would soak rice and lentils in the morning and we would have yummy adais for dinner. The leftover batter would then be promptly stored in the refrigerator for the next day.

If my brother and I were extra good, Mom would make kunukku or fritters from adai batter. It tastes out of the world. Piping hot adai fritters with chai on a rainy day is my kind of therapy.

A complete meal for kids

My toddler ate Adai for dinner every single day for a year since he turned 1. It helped us in hitting his protein and iron goals for the week. Adai is a perfect meal for picky toddlers. Even today, he has a wide smile when I make adai and serve it with a dollop of butter. I guess some things never change.  

Check out other traditional South Indian recipes from my blog

Vella Dosai

Moru Curry

Keerai Masiyal

Tomato Thokku

Lemon Pickle

Why you will love Adai

• It’s protein-rich and iron-rich
• You can modify the recipe and still get amazing adais
• It is Vegan and Vegetarian
• It tastes wonderful
• It doesn’t require any fancy side dish
• Adai batter does not require fermentation
• Adai is good for diabetics as it has a low glycemic value

Ingredients for Adai

Raw rice

Ponni raw rice or Sona masoori raw rice can be used. Raw rice is the one you use on a daily basis to have with curries.

Idli rice

Idli rice is parboiled rice that is used for making idli and dosa batter in Tamilnadu. If you don’t have idli rice replace it with raw rice, any variety of millet or quinoa.

Chana dal

Split chickpeas also known as Chana dal or Kadala paruppu is the key to making tasty and crispy adais.

Toor dal

Split yellow pigeon peas or Toor dal is one of the most popular lentils used in everyday Indian cooking.

Yellow Moong dal

Split moong lentils are small yellow lentils that are basically peeled and split green gram lentils. You can replace it with green gram dal for more fiber.

Urad dal

Split and peeled black lentil also known as Urad dal is another ingredient used in my Adai recipe. You can replace it with black Urad dal for extra fiber.

Dry Red chilies

Dry red chilies add a wonderful flavor to this adai. You can replace it with Kashmiri dry red chilies for extra color but increase the quantity of Kashmiri red chilies as they are very mild.

Asafoetida

The flavor king in my Adai recipe is undoubtedly, Asafoetida. Please don’t skimp on it and definitely don’t skip it. I repeat, do not skip it!

Step-by-step method

Soaking Rice and Dal

Soak rice and dal separately for at least 4-5 hours.

Take raw rice and idli rice in a vessel and pour water to soak the rice. Fill water till it’s above 2-3 cm from the level of rice.

Measure chana dal, toor dal, moong dal, and urad dal according to my recipe. Pour water to soak the dal. Make sure the water level is at least 5-6 cm above the dal level because dal doubles in size when you soak it in water.

Making the Batter

Drain water from rice and dal. You can use the soaked water to water your plants. It’s a nutrition tonic for your plants.

In a mixer, add red chilies, and the soaked rice. Add 1/4^th cup of water. Grind the rice till it’s smooth. Add more water if required. If you add too much water in the beginning, you won’t be able to grind it to a smooth paste.

Transfer the rice paste to a clean vessel.

In the same mixer jar, add the soaked lentils reserving 1/4^th of the lentils aside.

Add ½ cup of water and grind the lentils smoothly. Add more water if your lentil paste is too dry.

Once done, add the reserved lentils to the mixer. Give it a quick pulse. A part of the lentils should be coarse. It’ll give a wonderful texture to your adais. So, don’t grind the reserved lentils to a smooth paste.

Once done, transfer the lentil paste to the vessel containing the rice paste. Mix well and add ½ cup of water, salt, and asafoetida.

Mix well and add more water if necessary. The batter should be thick if you want the traditional adais which are usually thick.

If you want to make it thinner, add more water to bring it to the consistency of dosa batter.

Rest the batter at room temperature for 1-2 hours if you can. It’s not necessary, but the resting time ensures that the flavors are absorbed well.

Cooking Adai

Heat a girdle. I’ve used a cast iron girdle. You can use non-stick, cast iron, or an electric girdle.

Once it’s hot, pour a ladle of adai batter on the hot girdle and spread it into a small circle. Do not try to make it thin like a dosa. Adai is traditionally on the thicker side.

Pour coconut oil on the sides. You can use any oil, but coconut oil tastes the best with adai. Just trust me on this one.

You can poke a hole in the center of the adai. My mom does that. She says it helps in even cooking. You can skip this step and still have well-cooked adais 😉

Cook on medium-low heat. This ensures that adai is cooked through without burning the bottom.

When you see it browning on the sides, gently flip it to cook the other side.

Cook for 2-3 minutes and flip it back. You should be able to see brown patches on the adai. Transfer it to a plate.

Make the next adai following the same steps.

Serve the adais hot with a side of avial or coconut chutney or just a dollop of butter. I like mine with a side of jaggery and butter.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the side dish of Adai?

• Adai can be eaten with a side of Aviyal, or coconut chutney.
• It also tastes wonderful with just a dollop of butter or a combination of butter and jaggery.
• My mom would make jaggery syrup as a side dish for Adai. Simply heat jaggery with a spoonful of water to make a syrup out of it,

Is Adai good for diabetics?

Adai is very good for diabetics as it contains a higher ratio of lentils, making it fiber-rich and a low glycemic index food. Pair it with Aviyal for an extra dose of nutrients and fiber from the vegetables.

What are the benefits of eating Adai?

Adai is a protein-rich and iron-rich meal. It’s perfect for vegetarians to hit their protein and iron goals. Adai is rich in folic acid and is great for pregnant women. It’s also fiber rich and keeps you full for a long time.

Different ways to eat Adai

• While making adai, add chopped small onions to the batter or sprinkle it on top of the adai while cooking it.
• You can also mix a handful of drumstick leaves or murungai elai in the batter for a boost of iron.
• You can add curry leaves and ginger to the batter while grinding. My mom does that frequently.
• You can vary the quantity of the lentils and rice based on your preference. It’s a very forgiving recipe.