Adai / Mixed Lentil & Rice crepes

Adai is the south Indian equivalent of a lentil crepe. Thicker than a dosa, the batter for the adai is made with a mixture of lentils and rice. It is usually served with jaggery or aviyal (a coconut- yogurt based curry). My mom recently came across this recipe from her sil. Adais are traditionally made with toor dal, chana dal and moong dal. But my aunt makes this with all the dals that you can find in your kitchen. I think it is a great way to include lentils in your diet and it is a great source of protein. Since there is no fermentation involved, a little bit of planning wrt to soaking the ingredients, you can make this easily. It does not take long to grind too! So here goes the recipe:

(I have not used green moong in this recipe for my lil one might be allergic to it! You guys should definitely include it in your recipe 🙂 )

Method:

Soak the dals and rice separately in water overnight. ( All the dals together along with red chilly in one bowl and rice in another bowl. ) Usually it is enough if we soak everything for about 3 hours, but since we are using black and white channa dal, we soak it overnight.

Grind everything together in a food processor / mixie with some water to a smooth paste. (The batter should not be too thick or too runny. It should be in flowing consistency)Add asafoetida, salt as needed and mix everything well. The batter is now ready to be made into adais. Unlike dosa batter, this does not need to be fermented.To make the adai, heat an iron skillet, take a ladle full of batter and pour it into the iron skillet.

Spread the better in a circular motion. ( spread it thin or keep it thick depending on your preference. We like it thin. Sprinkle some chopped onions on the adai and gently press it to the adai. I haven’t added onions this time but onions go very well with adai. ) Add the sesame oil to the sides of the adai and let the adai cook until nice and golden.When done, flip it to the other side. Let it cook for a minute. Remove from the tawa and serve with chutney and molagai podi!