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You are here: Home / Tamil Recipes / Adai recipe, South Indian Ada or Adai recipe

Adai recipe, South Indian Ada or Adai recipe

March 20, 2016 37 Comments

Adai recipe, learn how to make adai recipe, a protein-packed lentil pancake or dosa that’s popular in South India, particularly Tamil Nadu.

adai recipe, how to make adai or ada

The plate of adai above is from my Amma. She made it and the two chutneys, my uncle took the pic, and they sent it over to me a few months back. I kept meaning to post the adai recipe but that never happened.

Then I went back home for Christmas vacation and Amma made it again because I love adai (or ada as we call it) but TH is not a fan and so I have never tried making them myself at the time of writing this. Edited to add: this has changed now, of course. I have sine then used Amma’s adai recipe many times and even made this spinach adai , a healthier and really tasty variation.

But they are delicious and protein-packed although not really an instant option. Just like regular dosas, some prior planning and soaking needs to happen to get them going.

More interesting and different dosa recipes:
Sago dosa
Jowar dosa
Instant rava dosa
Instant wheat dosa

4.0 from 1 reviews
Adai Recipe
 
Print
Prep time
3 hours
Cook time
30 mins
Total time
3 hours 30 mins
 
Adai recipe, a popular South Indian lentil crepe recipe using a batter of ground lentils and rice with some chillies.
Author: nags
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 12 adai
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of par-boiled rice (I have tried raw rice and that turns out well too)
  • 1 cup of whole skinned urad dal / ulutham paruppu / uzhunnu parippu
  • 1 cup of mix of toor dal (or peas dal) and channa dal
  • 5 dry red chillies
  • A few curry leaves
  • 8 shallots sliced thin (or use 1 small onion)
  • ¼ tsp of asafoetida powder / perungaayam
  • ½ cup of grated coconut (optional)
  • 1 tsp of salt (or to taste)
  • ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
  • Gingelly or Indian sesame oil for cooking the adai
Instructions
  1. Soak the rice, urad dal, and the mixed dals separately in water for at least 2 hours and a maximum of 4 hours. Add the red chillies to one of the bowls and let them soak as well (or you can just add 1 tsp red chilli powder when grinding the dals).
  2. Grind the urad dal first with little water. It doesn't need to be a smooth paste just more or less so. Then grind the rice, again not super smooth but just ground well.
  3. Finally grind the mixed dals along with the chillies to a paste. Use adequate water to let them grind. You can add in the coconut at this stage too, if using.
  4. Mix these together along with salt, asafoetida, chopped shallots, turmeric, and curry leaves torn roughly. Mix well with enough water to make a batter that's the consistency of dosa batter.
  5. Pour one ladleful on an oiled griddle or tawa and spread into a circle. Make sure the dosa is not too thick.
  6. Flip over after a minute or so and cook the other side until golden brown.
  7. The above is one way of doing it, just like regular dosas, but I prefer the lacy dosas that amma makes. For that, add more water to the batter and make it much more watery. You won't be able to spread them on the griddle so just pour on it starting from the outer circle, filling the gaps as you go. With this method you end up with lacy adai with crispy edges and it's just delicious.
  8. We usually serve adai with chutney but avial is a popular combination too
3.5.3208

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak the rice, urad dal, and the mixed dals separately in water for at least 2 hours and a maximum of 4 hours. Add the red chillies to one of the bowls and let them soak as well (or you can just add 1 tsp red chilli powder when grinding the dals).

2. Grind the urad dal first with little water. It doesn’t need to be a smooth paste just more or less so. Then grind the rice, again not super smooth but just ground well.

3. Finally grind the mixed dals along with the chillies to a paste. Use adequate water to let them grind. You can add in the coconut at this stage too, if using.

4. Mix these together along with salt, asafoetida, chopped shallots, turmeric, and curry leaves torn roughly. Mix well with enough water to make a batter that’s the consistency of dosa batter.

adai recipe, how to make adai or ada

5. Pour one ladleful on an oiled griddle or tawa and spread into a circle. Make sure the dosa is not too thick.

adai recipe, how to make adai or ada

6. Flip over after a minute or so and cook the other side until golden brown.

adai recipe, how to make adai or ada

7. The above is one way of doing it, just like regular dosas, but I prefer the lacy dosas that amma makes. For that, add more water to the batter and make it much “looser”. You won’t be able to spread them on the griddle so just pour on it starting from the outer circle, filling the gaps as you go. I hope the pictures below explain this.

adai recipe, how to make adai or ada
adai recipe, how to make adai or ada
adai recipe, how to make adai or ada

The batter should be loose enough to spread as you pour and cover up the gaps and you can help it along the way by filling the gaps. This way, the crepes take much longer to cook but the patience is worth it. You end up with lacy adai with crispy edges and it’s just delicious.

adai recipe, how to make adai or ada

We usually serve adai with 2 types of chutneys – red chilli chutney and thick coconut chutney (as shows in the first picture) or some random curry that’s left over.

Traditionally, Tamilians serve adai with . In fact, most restaurants serve adai-avial as a combination like puttu and kadala. I don’t think that’s done in Kerala though, correct me if I am wrong.

Oh boy, I am craving adai now. Too bad I have to go bury my face in some unhealthy snacks at work instead!

For adai recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

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By nags Filed Under: Breakfast, Kerala Recipes, Tamil Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hanuman

    May 8, 2016 at 10:28 am

    Healthy and delicious dosas.

    Reply
  2. Preethi

    March 6, 2013 at 5:46 am

    Can we use idli rava instead of idli rice?

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      March 6, 2013 at 5:51 am

      no i don't think idli rava can be used to make adai. just use any par-boiled rice.

      Reply
  3. Anonymous

    February 19, 2013 at 7:39 am

    when i make this recepie the batter is little bit bitter.how it happens?

    Reply
  4. Kate Whittum

    August 9, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    Finally made these last night- a big hit with TH and my 18 mo. old. It took a lot of thinning out to get the batter the proper consistency, I must not have added enough water during grinding. By the 3rd dosa, crispiness was achieved!

    Thanks for another winner for my rotation!

    Reply
  5. Shoba

    July 8, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    We eat this adai with butter nd even jackfruit jam or Chaka varati!! It tastes yum.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    April 27, 2012 at 2:46 pm

    Hi Miss Nags- a frequent lurker, I'm coming out of the shadows to third or fourth the request for the chilli chutney recipe in the pic as the accompaniment- looks awesome! Making these adai will be my weekend food project 🙂

    On a side note, thanks for all your work on this blog- my husband is Indian, Gujarati from Mumbai, and a very picky eater! And you don't know how many times you have saved me with dinner & lunch ideas – I had just begun learning Indian cooking techniques when we met (so different from Western/French based methods) but books don't help with those little tips like a sister or mom would know, that you give. So, thank you thank you!

    All the best,
    Kate, Sunnyside NYC

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      May 3, 2012 at 12:47 am

      i keep forgetting to ask my mom for the chilly chutney recipe. will do this weekend when i call her. also, it's very sweet of you to take the trouble to learn your husband's taste in cooking and the techniques. it's definitely very different from western-style cooking. glad the recipes help. don't hesitate to ask any questions or for help when needed 🙂

      Reply
  7. Harmony Infotech

    April 7, 2012 at 6:07 am

    Hi Nags
    Do you know how to make sponge dosa. If yes then please post its recipe.

    Reply
  8. swastika

    March 28, 2012 at 10:00 am

    hii
    can u please share the chutney recipie.. it looks yummmmmmmmmmy

    Reply
  9. swastika

    March 28, 2012 at 9:59 am

    hii Nags..
    can u please share the chutney recipie..

    Reply
  10. Vimina Bagavath

    March 24, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    Hi Nags, I have been browsing through your blog for a few days now. Made the kathirikkai poriyal, which was super good.
    How long does the ada batter stay? Do I have to make it fresh every time?
    When amma makes at home, she adds tapioca(kappa) while grinding the batter. It comes out really nice.

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      March 27, 2012 at 7:09 am

      i think it can stay fresh for a day in the fridge. haven't kept it longer. never heard of adding kappa to the adai batter, very interesting!

      Reply
  11. Priya Yallapantula

    March 13, 2012 at 4:49 pm

    wow, that looks superb and so tempting 🙂

    Reply
  12. Rosh

    March 13, 2012 at 9:52 am

    My dosas never come out well. Have come across wonderful recipes but sigh! So I am gonna just drool over your pictures and move on 😀

    Chef Al dente
    Ongoing event – Gimme GREEN!

    Reply
  13. Susee

    March 11, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    hi nags my mom preptn s diff she uses white rice (pacha arisi) instead of urad dhal n idli rice makes adai more gud(juz my opinion) n usin some curry leaves n drumstick leaves also gives more taste 🙂
    thnx n bye

    Reply
  14. Sumi

    March 9, 2012 at 3:18 pm

    Completely different recipe for the adai's that we are used too..may be thats why they are called Adai dosa 🙂 I have question though, since the ratio of urad dhal is more, does it need to be kept for some hours/ fermented ? very curious to try this recipe.:)

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      March 10, 2012 at 1:19 am

      I actually had the same question but amma said she doesn't let it sit for more than 30 mins max. I will double check when I talk to her next 🙂

      Reply
  15. Nupur

    March 9, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    Wonderful Adai, am only trying to get better on Dosas these days…

    Cheers
    UK Rasoi
    Ongoing event : For you Mum

    Reply
  16. Jyoti

    March 9, 2012 at 9:23 am

    I have only made simple dosa at home till now.. Has tasted similar adai at a friends place one.. Will make this soon.. Bookmarked

    Reply
  17. Anu

    March 9, 2012 at 4:23 am

    oh myy..:( i was craving for adai while making dosas now, thinking i should ask my mom the recipe..n when i sit down to eat saw this post in fb.. craving so badly now..:( i jus love the lacy version..
    pls post the chilli chutney recipe too..looks soo tempting..:))

    Reply
  18. Soundarya V

    March 9, 2012 at 3:18 am

    love the adai..looks awesome..I'm hungry now..

    Reply
  19. Home Cooked Oriya Food

    March 9, 2012 at 2:08 am

    lovely ada… nothing like crispy lacy ones your mom has made above…

    Reply
  20. Kai ruchi

    March 9, 2012 at 1:17 am

    I like adai a lot, I used to always ask my mom to prepare this for me before marriage. Fortunately my husbands loves it too. So I prepare this often. Great clicks!

    Reply
  21. Ambika

    March 8, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    I love adai! Your's look perfectly thin and crisp. Beautiful photos!

    Reply
  22. Spandana

    March 8, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    Looks very good.. I always try to make the second way.. like rawa dosa… but somehow it always fails… not able to achieve that thin and crispy texture!
    The pics look so delicious!

    Reply
  23. Hema

    March 8, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    Looks awesome, in my place it is always adai with tomato chutney..

    Reply
  24. SJ

    March 8, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    What is with some men and adai?! Even J doesn't like adai and I love it. The adai in the last pic looks so pretty 🙂

    Reply
  25. Saraswathi Iyer

    March 8, 2012 at 11:24 am

    Today my nite dinner is this. Nice clicks.

    Reply
  26. Aarthi

    March 8, 2012 at 11:19 am

    ada dosa looks perfect…this is my all time favorite..

    Reply
  27. zareena

    March 8, 2012 at 10:57 am

    I love these. I had them in one of my friends house and they were delicious. Now a days I usually make these for my kid and my Husband is a big fan of this.. Love the lacy version.

    Reply
  28. Chitra

    March 8, 2012 at 10:36 am

    Can u share the recipe of those 2 chutneys. they look tempting. ada with chutney looks mouthwatering !

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      March 9, 2012 at 2:19 am

      let me ask amma for the chutney recipes. i have the recipe for the orange coconut chutney but not for the spicier chilly chutney

      Reply
  29. Archana Chari

    March 8, 2012 at 9:30 am

    Adai Aviyal is Tam, for sure. I got a super knock out when I asked this at Cochin. It is also served with vellam. Adai also acts as a neat way to sneak keerais, esp murugakeerai. Man, I crave one now too 🙁

    Reply
  30. RAKS KITCHEN

    March 8, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    The last pic, its a killer!! Just now had adai for dinner and still yours makes me crave for more!

    Reply
  31. Sharmilee! :)

    March 8, 2012 at 10:50 am

    You give me this night and day I can have it without complaining luv adai so much. I have seen in most restaurants with aviyal as combination but havent tasted it. I love adai with coconut chutney and sugar 🙂 Crispy and perfect adais, tempting me so much now!

    Reply
  32. Srimathi

    March 8, 2012 at 10:22 am

    The adai is made with lots of holes like rava dosai. This is a great way to make it. Will try this technique next time. Nothing to beat a plate that Amma makes, its the best.

    Reply

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I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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