Adai is a popular lentil crepe from Tamil cuisine. Made with different kinds of lentils, rice and spices these make for a healthy breakfast or meal.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 3 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 28 minutes
  • Yield: 8
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup rice ((idly rice or short grain parboiled rice like sona masuri or ponni))
  • ¼ cup chana dal ((split skinned bengal gram))
  • ¼ cup toor dal ((split skinned pigeon peas))
  • 2 tablespoons moong dal ((split skinned green gram))
  • 2 tablespoons urad dal ((split skinned black gram))
  • ¾ to 1 inch ginger (peeled)
  • 4 to 5 dried red chilies ((l use less spicy variety, adjust to taste))
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ⅛ teaspoon Hing ((asafoetida))
  • ½ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • ½ cup water ((more as required to make thick batter))
  • 2 tablespoons Oil (or ghee as needed)
  • 1 small onion (very finely chopped (about 2 to 3 tbsps.))
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (finely chopped)

Method

Preparation

  1. To a large bowl, add all the lentils and rice. Rinse them very well thrice. Add fresh water and red chilies. Soak them for at least 2 to 4 hours. (overnight is okay)
  2. Drain the water and add them to a grinder jar along with cumin and ginger. Pour fresh water. Blend to a slightly coarse thick batter, adding more water only as needed.
  3. The batter has to be thick yet of spreading consistency. The batter is ready to use now alternately you may rest for 2 to 4 hours at room temperature.

How to cook Adai

  1. Heat a pan on a medium heat and add few drops of oil. Smear it all over the pan with a kitchen tissue.
  2. While the pan heats, add chopped onions, salt, hing, coriander leaves to the batter. Mix everything well. Taste test and adjust salt.
  3. To make thick adai, keep the consistency of batter thick else add more water as needed for a slightly thin batter. (see photos in the post for consistency).
  4. Regulate the flame to medium. Make sure the pan is hot and pour a ladle full of batter. Spread it quickly like a dosa, thick or thin as per your liking.
  5. Add ½ tsp oil or ghee across the edges. Cook on a medium heat until the edges loosen from the pan. Turn it and cook on the other side as well. Make sure it is cooked on both the sides until crisp.
  6. To make the next one, be sure to heat the pan well. It should be hot but not smoking hot.
  7. Serve adai dosa with coconut chutney or any other chutney.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.