Palakkad Adai is a lentil dosa made using black Urad dal and rice. I usually serve it with butter, jaggery or curd.
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Palakkad Adai
Palakkad Adai is a type of dosa prepared in south Indian homes made with a variety and combinations of dals and rice. This recipe of Palakkad Adai is specifically prepared in households in Kerala and part of the recipe heritage of the Palakkad Iyer community.
This recipe for Adai is made with Black Urad dal and red rice. I remember eating this Adai in a thick Akki roti/ thalipeeth like form when I was younger. The soaked dal and rice were hand ground in a stone grinder into a semi smooth batter. Then, my mother used to take a big ball of the thick Adai maavu and pat it on an iron tawa and steam cook it like a ragi rotti while drizzling generous amounts of gingelly oil.
But I have written this recipe to make it a more spreadable consistency, like a dosa.
If you are looking for another Adai recipe, please find a more common and popular Adai recipe here.
Ingredients for Palakkad Adai
The main ingredient for Palakkad Adai is Black Urad Dal. The proportion of dal to rice varies in each household. I use more Dal than rice but some households use more rice than dal.
For every cup of Black Urad dal, you may use half a cup of rice. If you have less Urad dal, you may invert the ratios and use 1 cup of rice and 1/2 the measure of black Urad dal.
Tur dal – If you have Tur dal handy, you can add 1/2 cup of Tur dal as well. If you are not using, you can add the same measure of rice/red rice.
Red rice or white rice – You may use half a cup of either red or white rice. If you use red rice, the dosa will have a deep dark colour while the use of white rice will yield a lighter coloured adai.
Spices used for flavour
There are several ways you can add flavour to this Adai. The below mentioned ingredients add maximum flavour to the Adai.
- – Whole Pepper corns – 5-6
- – Dried Red chillies – 2-3
- – Jeera – 1/2 tsp
- – Curry Leaves – 2 sprigs
- – Ginger – 1 inch
Adding all these ingredients together in small quantities will make the Adai taste absolutely brilliant!
How to make Palakkad Adai?
The Prep
To a large bowl, add the black Urad dal, Tur dal, and red rice. Wash and rinse the rice with water until the water turns clear. Add enough water to the bowl with 2-3 inches of water above the soaked dal and rice. This will give the dals a little place to expand. Allow them to soak for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
In a separate bowl, add 2-3 dried red chillies and add water. Allow the red chillies to soak as well.
Drain the water from the soaked dals, rinse them once, and then add them to a mixer jar. Add the soaked red chillies as well. Next, add in the jeera, curry leaves, and peppercorns to the mixer jar too.
Grind them into a smooth batter by adding little fresh water. The batter’s consistency should neither be too thick or thin. Add salt and mix well.
The cook
Place an iron tawa on medium heat. Once the tawa is hot, take a ladle full of Adai batter and spread it evenly. Once the batter dries out, drizzle gingelly oil on the sides and in the centre for crisping up the Adai. Flip the Adai and cook it on the other side too. Flip again and serve it hot.
Serving Suggestions
Adai is usually served with butter and jaggery. You may also serve it with any chutney of your choice. Check out this Apple Ginger chutney that will go fantastic with this Adai.
If you have time, you can serve this Adai with Avial, another traditional Kerala dish.
In my home, we usually eat Adai with butter, jaggery, milaga podi, curd or pickle.
Shelf life and storage
The Adai batter stores well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Adai that has already been made on the tawa has to be eaten immediately, otherwise it will get hard and rubbery.
FAQs
-If you find white foam like substances on top of the soaked dal, it is nothing to worry about. This occurs when the dal and rice have been soaked for over 8 hours. Just drain the water and rinse the soaked ingredients with water until clear.
-Always use fresh water for grinding the Adai batter, not the water the dal has been soaking in.
-It is not absolutely necessary to add all the ingredients in the spices section to make your Adai. Even if you have a couple of ingredients, the Adai will taste very good.
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Recipe
Palakkad Adai
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black Urad Dal 180g
- ½ cup Tur Dal 90g
- ½ cup Red Rice/ Rice 90g
- 3-4 Dried Red Chillies
- 1 tsp Jeera
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1-2 sprigs Curry Leaves
- Salt as per taste
- Gingelly Oil / Sesame Oil for cooking the Adai
Instructions
- To a bowl, add the dals and rice. Wash and rinse them thoroughly until the water is clear. Cover and allow it to soak for minimum of 3 hours. You can soak it overnight too.
- Separately, add 3-4 red chillies to water and soak for about 4 hours. (or overnight)
- Next, drain the water in which the dals and rice have been soaking. Rinse it once if you see that there are bubbles or white foam on top of the water. This usually happens when you've allowed it to soak for more than 8 hours.
- Add the soaked red chillies, jeera, black pepper, dals and rice to a mixer. Add a spring or two of curry leaves. Grind to a smooth paste by adding a little fresh water.
- Place a pan on medium to high heat and pour of a ladle of the adai batter and spread evenly. Once the adai has dried up, drizzle some oil to the sides and on top of the adai.
- Flip the adai and cook it on the other side as well.
- Remove from the tawa and serve your Adai with butter and jaggery.
If you are looking for more Dosa Recipes, please click here.
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