Sunday, November 04, 2007

Adai - without coconut :)

Last week I wanted to eat adai and I checked Aval Vikatan's 30 adai recipes. Coconut seemed to be the main ingredient and I had no coconut at home. I decided to buy coconut over the weekend. Today when I was at the Indian stores, I suddenly got an idea to avoid coconut for the next 2 weeks. So I ended up in square one thinking about adai, with no coconut at home :(
I then remembered the Madurai style adai that my Athai prepared when she visited us last year. She did that without coconut :)
I immediately called her and got the recipe. It did come out well. The best part was that it took less than 5 minutes to grind in the grinder - very easy and healthy with lot of proteins. Here's for the record....

Ingredients:
Boiled rice - 1 cup
Urad dal - 1/4 cup
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Channa dal - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 10
Onions - 1
Coriander leaves
Curry leaves
Oil

Seasonings:
Mustard - 1 spoon
Channa dal - 1 spoon
Urad dal - 1 spoon
Jeera/Seeragam - 1 spoon

Method:
1. Soak the rice and all 3 dal varieties for 3 hours
2. Drain the water and put the rice and dal in the grinder. Add 1 cup water, chillies and let it grind for 5 minutes. Asofoetida can also be added to this, if desired.
3. The batter should be thick and coarse.
4. Add salt and mix it in the batter
5. Separately, heat oil in a pan and add mustard, seeragam channa and urad dal. Once the mustard starts spluttering, add the cut onion and fry till it turns translucent.
6. Add this onion, finely cut coriander leaves and curry leaves to the batter and mix well.
7. Heat a pan and when it is hot, spray some oil. Then take one handful of batter and put it on the pan and spread it over. Pour 1/2 spoon oil over this adai. Keep the flame in medium, because adai takes time to get cooked. When one side turns brown, turn it over. Add another 1/2 spoon oil and wait till this side turns brown.

Now it is ready to be served. Some spicy chutney or pickle would go well with this adai. Some people like to eat adai with a butter also. You have to spread the butter over the adai( just a thin layer which would immediately melt). Then if desired, little butter can be had as sides for the adai. Butter option is not for the health conscious people!!!