A few months back a reader had commented that this blog lacks some Indian breakfast recipes. And I completely agree with that. The reason there are not many breakfast recipes is because, our breakfast mainly consists of either cheese Sandwich or Granola. The elaborate Indian breakfasts is reserved only for weekends. During weekends, we make sure that we have a relaxed and filling breakfast. In fact, I spend so much time in relaxing and savoring each morsel of my breakfast that I just don't get a chance to photograph the dish. But these days I am working on that. I try and wake up a little early so that I can get the breakfast ready and photograph the before serving. I did exactly that with these crepes a few days back.
During my growing years, Adai made a frequent appearance on our breakfast table. Since amma was working, she used to make these pretty often. Since these crepes does not need any fermentation, like dosa, they can be prepared instantly after grinding. Unlike dosa, the adai has a mixture of all the lentils. Because of which, this crepe is a tad bit more healthier and filling than the dosa.
There are many recipes for the adai. but I follow the recipe that I had read a long time back in a Kannada weekly. This recipe works perfectly for me. The Adais come out brown and crisp.
The adai can be made served with any kind of chutney or with the humble chutney powder. But personally, I just love having adais with coconut chutney and a huge dollop of butter. Ah!!! That's what I call heaven.
Adai Recipe:
Preparation time: 10min+ soaking time
Makes- Approximately 20 adais
Ingredients:
Rice (preferably sona masoori) - 1 cup heaped
Toor dal or split pigeon peas- 3tbsp
Chana dal or bengal gram- 3tbsp
Moong dal or split green gram- 3tbsp
Urad dal or split black gram- 3tbsp
Poha or beaten rice- 3tbsp
Kashmiri red chilies- 3-4
Freshly grated coconut- 2tbsp (optional)
Salt to taste
Curry leaves a few
Oil to shallow fry- As required
Equpment required:
A wet grinder or blender
A non stick or cast iron girdle or skillet
A spatula
Method:
- Wash and Soak the rice, lentils, beaten rice and red chilies in 3 cups of water for 5-6hrs or overnight.
- Grind the soaked mixture, coconut and curry leaves to a fine batter. Transfer the batter to a vessel and add salt and water to make a loose batter. The consistency of the batter should be such that that it coats the back of the spoon.
- Heat a skillet and pour a ladle full of batter to the skillet and immediately spread the batter in circular motion so that the batter spreads to the edges.
- Pour a tea spoon of oil around the edges and cook the crepe till brown and crisp.
- Carefully remove the adai from the skillet and serve hot with coconut chutney.
Notes:
- The red chilies can be replaced with green chilies.
- Pepper corns can be added to make the adai extra spicy.
- You can add vegetables like grated carrot and finely chopped onions to give the crepes a healthy boost and color.