Adai dosa is a kind of savory lentil crepes made in South India. Apart from the soaking time for lentils, the adais come together really quickly once the batter is made. Great choice for a healthy breakfast, after school snack or even light dinner.
You will need:
Rice - ½ cup (I used sona masoori, a medium-grained rice)
Urad dal - ½ cup
Green gram or mung beans - ½ cup
Mung dal - 2 tbsp
Toor dal - 2 tbsp
Poha or aval - ¼ cup
Oil - 2 tsp, plus extra for making the adai dosa
Shallots or red onions - ½ cup, chopped
Ginger - 1 tbsp, grated
Green chilies - 2, cut into rounds
Grated carrot - 1, large
Fresh cilantro leaves - ¼ cup, finely chopped
Salt - to taste (start with ½ tsp)
How to:
Wash rice, urad dal, mung beans, mung dal and toor dal in cold tap water a couple of times. Soak them in water in a large bowl for 2-3 hours.
Wash and soak poha in water for 10 minutes, just before you are ready to make the batter.
Grind rice, lentils and poha to a smooth paste in a blender, adding a little bit of water as required. Do this in batches if needed. Batter should be thick, but of pouring consistency. Feel the batter between your fingers, some grit like semi-fine sand is okay.
Transfer batter to a bowl and set aside. If not using immediately, refrigerate the batter for 1-2 days.
Heat oil in a skillet. Add onions, ginger and green chilies and saute on medium heat till onions are translucent. Add carrots and saute for a few more seconds.
Add this to the batter along with cilantro and mix well. Season with salt.
Heat a 9" or 10" smooth cast iron griddle or dosa/crepe pan on medium heat. Rub a few drops of oil on the pan with a rolled up wad of tissue paper.
Pour a ladle full (around ¼ cup) of batter in the center of the pan. Starting at the center, quickly make concentric circles of increasing diameter with the ladle. This will form the dosa shape. Pour a few drops of oil around the edges. Cook for a couple of minutes till bottom is golden brown, then flip and cook on the other side for a minute. Remove to a plate and keep warm while you finish cooking the rest of the batter.
Serve adai dosa warm with chutney, sambar or podi. Find recipe links for mint-coconut chutney and tiffin sambar just below this recipe card.
Notes:
1. The prep time does not reflect the soaking time for rice and lentils. 2. You can skip the sauteeing part and add onions and other ingredients directly in the batter. But it is best not to refrigerate batter with raw onions in it. So I always spare a couple of minutes to saute them first. 3. You can also add some rolled oats, flattened rice (aval or poha), flax-seeds, millets or quinoa while making adai batter. Adai is very versatile that way and it is really up to you how you want to make them. 4. Here is a glossary of terms for the uninitiated. Urad dal - skinned black gram, whole or split Mung dal - skinned green gram, split Mung beans - green gram, whole Toor dal (also called toovar/arhar dal) - skinned pigeon peas, split Poha/Aval - flattened rice flakes
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2016/05/23/adai-dosa-savory-mixed-lentil-crepes/