Ada Dosa

Instant, crispy, filling, spicy, hot and healthy! Ada dosai has very little oil, and curry leaves and shallots add to the health quotient.  Just keep the batter ready in plenty coz you may get the urge for snacking too often.

Preparation Time:
(for batter):  10 min, previous night.
Cooking Time: 5 min.

Ingredients:
To Soak Overnight
Raw rice – 1/2 cup
Parboiled rice – 1 cup
Bengal gram(Chana dal, Kadala parippu) – 1/4 cup

At the Time of Grinding the Batter
Black gram(Urad dal, Uzhunnu parippu)* – 1/4 cup
Peeled Shallots* (cheriya ulli) – 1 cup
Dried Red chillies OR powder* – 8 – 10 nos or as required
Curry leaves – 5-6 stalks
Oil [preferably sesame(til)] – 2 tablespoons
Salt

*Alternatives:
Red chilly – Red chilly powder or Green chilly
Shallots – Onion can be used but does not give the same taste. Shallots can be substituted with asafoetida also.
Black gram – White urad dal can be used and does not affect the taste.

Method:
Wash and soak the raw rice, parboiled rice, and chana dal overnight.
Grind the dals and rice along with shallots, red chillies, and curry leaves to make a coarse paste. Ensure that the batter is very coarse and not watery. Add salt. The trick to get the right consistency is to remove all water from the soaked rice and grind with very little water.

Heat griddle and pour about a full ladle of batter on to the griddle.

Spread the batter around by patting with a flat spoon to a make a circle. The fire should be on high.

Add a tsp of oil around the dosai and let it cook for about a minute.

Flip the dosai and cook in medium heat for another minute.

Smells Yummy!
Serve hot directly onto the plate!

List of accompaniments:
Sambhar, chutney, or butter.

Health Benefits/Alerts:
You can store this batter in the fridge for 2-3 days. Those who prefer sour dosai can let the batter ferment for 5-6 hours and then use it.

This is a very healthy diet. The use of asafoetida/shallots helps in easy digestion. Curry leaves have a great cleansing effect on the intestines. Weight watchers should watch out for the butter they eat with the Ada Dosai though!

Trivia:
This recipe is a beautiful blend of the tamil and malayalam food culture. Everyone in our family, irrespective of age, has been a huge fan of Ada dosai. And all new additions to the family have come around to liking it equally well. Its all about the smell….!!

Skill Level:
Medium

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