Adai or Rice and lentils pancake

ADAI

I do not usually blog my breakfast as it is peak hour at home. These days thanks to the cloudy weather and hardly any light I get to photograph only the breakfast as it is cloudier the rest of the day. Time passes slowly and the weather reflects itself in my person by making me sleepy most of the time. I try to brighten the otherwise dull day with vibrant food and great books. It works at least for an hour!

On one such day I made adai. Adai is a traditional South Indian breakfast originating from Tamilnadu. It is a healthy and robust food that peps up your energy levels. Beware, more than two at a time will make you feel exactly the opposite as the lentils will make you lethargic if you give in to your taste buds:). It is best enjoyed with crushed organic jaggery and homemade molagapodi(spiced powder). South India has a very wide variety of savoury pancakes to offer. I have some of them on TONGUE TICKLERS...... too.

Unlike most dishes which need to be referred to repeatedly to recall the ingredients and method of preparation, the proportion for adai is quite easy to recall. Though traditionally only bengalgram, blackgram and pigeon peas are used, I use any lentil available in my pantry. All you need to remember is that the collective proportion of the lentils should be equal to the proportion of raw rice used.

Would you not like to try this tasty, vegan breakfast? I am showing it off at Dil Se...

Will you be there too? I hope you like this recipe as much as we do. My son loves this with a generous helping of jaggery:), and my grandfather used to have his with a double helping of thick yogurt. The mood turns happy when the food is adai and so it is just right for FIC-Express your mood through colours. Nithya - here we come:).

I am lining this up for MLLA-13, conceived by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted, right here!

Dish:Adai (Rice and Lentil pancakes)
Yield: 10 to 15 approx.

Ingredients:
Raw Rice (I use organic brown rice) - 5 fist fulls

Pigeon peas / Tuvar dal - 1 fist full
Red kidney beans / Kashmiri Rajma - 1 fist full
Split bengalgram / Chana dal - 1 fist full
Dehusked split blackgram / Urad dal -1 fist full
Black eyed peas / Small Lobia / Cherupayaru - 1 fist full

Dry red chillies - 1 (Mine are hot)
Green chilli - 1
Asafoetida / Hing - 1/8tsp.
Sesame oil - 1tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil to roast pancakes

Optional:
Finely chopped onion - 2 tbsp.
Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp.
OR
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp.

Method:
Wash the rice and the lentils well till water runs clear.
Soak them together in a big vessel overnight or for at least 4 hours.
Drain the next day or after 4 hours and grind with the spices (not onions, coconut or coriander) to a coarse batter - beach sand texture and thicker than dosa batter.
Mix well with salt and a tsp. of oil and rest for at least 10 minutes.
If you are still left with a lot of enery and enthusiasm chop onions, coriander or grate coconut. I prefer making tea and sipping on it. If somebody else did the rest of the work maybe I would love adding other things to it:).
Energetic people may mix the chopped stuff into the batter and others like me can proceed with the pancakes.
Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan to moderate hot.
Testing: Sprinkle water and the droplets will dance around before evaporating. If they do not, then heat till it answers the dance test.
Crumple a clean paper and with the slightest bit of oil clean the surface of the pan. I do that even if it is non-stick - I am not a believer!
Pour a ladle (About 4tbsps.) of thick batter in the center of the pan and roll out to the centre with the help of the back of the ladle.
Lower the heat and allow the pancake to cook till the colour of the raw batter changes to translucent and the bottom feels crunchy crisp.
Now flip using a pancake turner and cook the other side pouring 1/2 tsp. oil on the sides of the pancake.
Roast till dotted with brown specks all over.
Remove and serve hot with jaggery, plain yogurt or molagapodi.

Adai
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Url to this recipe:
http://tumyumtreats.blogspot.com/2009/07/adai-or-rice-and-lentils-pancake.html
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Other pancakes featured in TONGUE TICKLERS......

Besan ka chilla
Dosa with Chinese filling
Dosa plain with chutney and molagapodi
Felafel dosa
Mint masala dosa
Pesarattu
Ragi Dosa / Millet Dosa