Kambu Oats Adai ~ Bajra Oats dhal Dosa ~ Savory millet and lentil Indian crepes.

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One of the first things I realized when I started working on pictures for my blog is that props are a very important part of a good picture. As a result,  I am always on the lookout for good props that I can use in my pictures. These days, this task is even shared by other members of my family. In addition to buying unique and pretty bowls and such, whenever I find the time I also try and make some of the things that I use as props in pictures. The tray that you see in the background in this picture is one such item that I made a few months back specifically to use in my pics :) This tray is made with leftover paint chips and some mod podge and is one of my favorite trays to use these days :) If you are interested in this sort of thing, do check out this post where I have put the stepwise tutorial for this tray.

Moving on, pearl millet/ Bajra/ Kambu has now become an integral part of my kitchen and I regularly make adais/ dosas with it. But this is the first time I tried making an adai with millets and oats, that has absolutely no rice. Was a little apprehensive that it would impact the texture and crispness of the adai / dosa, but it worked out really well.  There was no substantial difference between this adai and traditional adai made with rice and lentils making it perfect for those of you who have picky eaters in your home.

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Ingredients and Method to make Kambu Oats Adai
1 cup pearl millet (Bajra/ Kambu)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
1/3 cup split mung beans (mung dhal/ pasi parappu)
1/3 cup split chick pea lentil (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)
3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (hari mirch/ pachai molagai) (or to taste)
3 dry whole red chilies (sukhi lal mirch/ molaga vathal) (or to taste)
salt to taste
a little sesame oil to shallow fry adai/ dosa/ crepes (til ka tel/ nella ennai)

Place first five ingredients in a large bowl, fill with water, swirl with hand and drain. Fill with fresh water and soak the ingredients for about 3 to 4 hours.

In batches,  grind the soaked and drained grains with green chilies and red chilies until it turns into a grainy batter. The grains do not have to be ground very smooth, a little semolina/ rava like texture gives this adai/ dosa a more crisp and crunchy  texture. Make sure the batter is of pouring consistency but not too thin. When in doubt err on the side of a thicker batter, you can always adjust the consistency later if needed. Add salt to taste and mix well. This adai/ dosa does not need any fermenting, so the batter can be immediately used to make adai/ dosa

Heat a tawa/ griddle/ flat pan on medium heat,  pour a small quantity of batter in the center and spread quickly and evenly into a thin circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference, when the lower side is evenly golden brown, flip over and cook the other side until it has brownish spots on it.

Remove from heat and serve hot with chutney of choice/ aviyal/ molaga podi or even some curry.

Yield depends on size and thickness of each dosa/ adai.

Balance of the batter can be stored in the refrigerator and used up within 3 to 4 days for freshest taste.

If you are looking for Adai/ Dhal dosa recipes, here are a few more

Barley oat Adai ~ Dhal Dosa with barley

Cracked Wheat and Oat Adai ~ Dalia Dhal Dosa

Keerai Oat Barley Adai ~ Palak Dhal Dosa

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Kambu Adai ~ Bajra Dhal Dosa ~ Savory vegan and GF millet and lentil crepes

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Ever since I used hulled pearl millet in this dosa for the first time, pearl millet has become a regular addition to my grocery list. I've been wanting to experiment with it a lot more , but for now I have been using it in a variety of dosa recipes. Recently for the first time I tried it in adai. For those you unfamiliar with adai, it is a very nutritious and filling kind of dhal dosa / savory crepe traditionally made with rice and a mixture of lentils. 
 

This version with millet worked out very well.  The combination of millet and lentils make this adai healthy and nutritious. It's also very easy to make, just soak, grind and it's ready to make, making this a convenient option for the weekend breakfast or for a weeknight dinner. If you have been wanting to use pearl millet more often, give this flavorful adai / dosa a try and enjoy:)

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Ingredients and method to make Kambu adai/ Bajra dhal dosa

1 cup hulled pearl millet ( Bajra / Kambu )

1/2 cup raw rice ( chawal / arisi )

1/3 cup split mung bean lentil ( mung dhal/ paytham parappu)

1/3 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal / tuvaram parappu)

1/3 cup split chick pea lentil ( chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)

2 dry red chilies ( or to taste ) ( lal mirch / molagai vathal)

4 Thai or Indian green chilies ( or to taste ) ( hari mirch / pachai molagai)

1/2 tsp chopped ginger ( adrak/ inji)

Salt to taste ( namak / uppu)

1/8 tsp asafoetida powder ( hing / perungayam )

A little extra sesame oil to shallow fry the adai/ dhal dosa.

In a large bowl mix together, millet, rice and lentils. Fill with water, swirl with hand and drain water. Rinse once or twice more, fill with sufficient water and allow to soak for 3 to 4 hours.

Drain the water and grind in batches with green chilies, dry chilies, ginger and water as needed. The grains need only to be of a coarse texture so you do not need to grind it smooth.The batter needs to be on the thicker side, not runny so do not use water too liberally when grinding the batter.
Add salt to taste, asafoetida powder to the batter and mix well. This batter can be used immediately or can be refrigerated for upto 4 days and used as needed to make adai (crepe).



When making adai, heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa on medium heat. When hot, pour a little batter on the center of the pan/ tawa and quickly spread it into a thin circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the adai. When the lower side is golden brown, flip over and cook the other side until it has a few brownish/golden spots on it.

Serve hot with chutney of choice, honey or jaggery / Gud/ vellam or with aviyal.

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Oats adai ~ Dhal dosa with oats ~ Savory Indian crepes with lentils and oats

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Adai or dhal dosa (savory Indian crepes) is traditionally made with rice and a few types of lentils. It is one of my favorite types of dosa, because it tastes amazing, is a good source of protein and is much quicker than the regular type of dosa because it does not require any fermentation. Another reason I like adai  is because it allows me a lot of flexibility with regard to ingredients, without making a difference to the taste, making it easy for me to sneak in a few "non traditional" ingredients like quinoa, barley , oats and cracked wheat making for healthier adai:)

This one with oats is one of the first experiments I tried with adai, I thought I had already posted it here, and only recently noticed that I haven't posted it here....yet. In this version I just powder quick oats and add it to the batter, it gives the adai an instant boost of nutrition and fiber. This way I get to use some of the oat flour that I powder and keep for using in my bakes :)

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1/2 cup raw rice (chawal/ arisi)

1/3 cup split black gram lentil ( udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)

1/3 cup split pigeon peas ( tur dhal / tuvaram parappu)

1/3 cup split chick pea lentil ( chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)

1/2 cup quick oats (see notes)

3 dry red chilies (or to taste) (lal mirch)

3 green chilies (or to taste) (hara mirch)
1 tsp chopped ginger (adrak/ inji)

Salt to taste (namak/ uppu)

A little sesame oil ( til ka tel/ nella ennai) to shallow fry the adai

Soak the first four ingredients ( rice + lentils ) in sufficient water for about 3 hours. 

Powder quick oats in a mixer/ spice grinder/ blender to a fine powder.  Keep this aside. If you have ready made oat flour that can also be used in this recipe. 

Drain the soaked rice + lentils. In batches, grind along with red chilies, green chilies, ginger and enough water to make a thick batter. The lentils need not become fine and smooth, a little coarse texture gives more crispy adai. Grind the lentils to semolina/ rava texture. 

Add the oat flour and blend once or twice. Add water if required to adjust the consistency of the batter. Batter should be of pouring consistency but not too thin. If in doubt err on the side of thicker batter, you can always add water if needed to achieve desired consistency.

Add salt to taste and mix well. To make adai, heat a flat pan/ tawa/ griddle on medium heat. 

When hot, pour a ladle of batter in the center and quickly spread into thin even circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the adai. Allow it to cook until the lower side become golden brown, flip over and cook the other side until it gets tiny brownish spots. 

Remove and serve hot with any chutney of choice, molaga podi/ spice powder/ chutney powder or just plain honey.

Notes:
You can also soak this quick oats or rolled oats if you have that,  along with the rice and lentils and grind together with chilies and ginger etc as I did for this adai

 If you are looking for Adai/ Dhal dosa recipes, here are a few more

Barley oat Adai ~ Dhal Dosa with barley

Cracked Wheat and Oat Adai ~ Dalia Dhal Dosa

Keerai Oat Barley Adai ~ Palak Dhal Dosa

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Quinoa Oat Adai version 2.0 and some humor :)

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Before moving on to the post I would like to share a couple of fun things with my readers. First one is a joke that my brother told me during one of our phone conversations. It was pretty good and I thought my readers might enjoy it too, so here it is.....

Doctor: This newest kind of hearing aid that I have fitted you with is very small and powerful. I hope you enjoy using it.
Patient : Thanks Dr, I am looking forward to using it. Will be back to see you in three weeks time for the follow up.

In three weeks time...
Doctor: So how have you liked using your hearing aid? Your family must be thrilled that you can hear everything clearly.
Patient: I haven't told them about the hearing aid yet. And I have already changed my will three times in these last three weeks.

LOL :) Funny huh? Now onto the other thing I mentioned. This one is a clip I came across of an artist who makes a beautiful spray painting in under a minute. It is fascinating to watch him create the painting. I have uploaded the clip here. If you like art you might want to take a look at the clip, it is incredibly interesting:)

Finally moving on to the adai  (savory south Indian crepe made with rice and lentils). This time I made a variation of this earlier attempt of quinoa adai, only this time I also added barley and oats along with quinoa and made some changes to the proportions of lentils and grains. Adai, I find is a very easy way to sneak in quinoa into our diet, the nutty taste of the quinoa fits right in along with the other lentils and most people cannot even make out that quinoa is used in the recipe. Not only that, but quinoa also adds a nice crispiness to the adai that we really like :) So if you are wondering what to do with that packet of quinoa lying in your pantry, you might want to give this adai a try :)




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Ingredients and Method to make Quinoa oat adai
1/2 cup brown rice (can be substituted with white rice/chawal/ pachai arisi)
1/2 cup pearl barley (for a gluten free version substitute with brown rice)
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1/2 cup quinoa
1/3 cup whole black gram lentil (udad dhal)
1/3 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal)
1/3 cup split mung bean lentil (mung dhal)

6 to 8 Indian or Thai green chilies (or to taste)
6 to 8 whole dry red chilies (or to taste)
salt to taste
pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam)
a little sesame oil to shallow fry the adai

Place the first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Fill with water, swirl with hand and drain. Fill the bowl with sufficient water and allow the grains/ lentils to soak for about three hours.

Drain the lentils/ grains and grind along with red and green chilies and a little fresh water to make a coarse batter. The batter should not be too runny or too thick, but slightly thickish. In case of doubt err on the side of a thicker batter, it can be corrected later to get the right consistency more easily.

Add salt to taste to the batter and a pinch of asafoetida powder and mix well.
Heat a flat pan/ tawa/ griddle. Pour a small quantity of the batter in the center and spread into a thin circle. Add a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the adai. When the lower side cooks to a golden brown, flip over and cook the other side until it has golden brown spots on it.
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Remove and serve hot with aviyal ( a curry made with a medley of vegetables) / jaggery/ spice powder / flax chutney powder/ honey or even just by itself
Refrigerate the balance of the batter and use within 3 to 4 days for freshest taste.
Yield will depend on the size and thickness of each adai.

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Keerai Oat Barley adai ~ Palak Dhal Dosa ~ Spinach Oat Savory Indian crepes

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Can there be anything more boring and mundane than having to clean up the kitchen after cooking a large meal? After cooking a large meal, all I want to do is to finish up in the kitchen and move on to the next thing on my to do list, instead I have to devote this fair chunk of time to cleaning the kitchen. Sigh !! As I result, I am always looking for tips that make cleaning up simpler and quicker.

Here is an interesting article that I came across recently in readers digest, it had some interesting tips on kitchen cleaning. I haven't tried any of them but a few of them sound quite interesting. Especially the one about cleaning the blender with a drop of liquid dish detergent and water and just running the blender sounded really cool. Will definitely be trying some of these in the future.



Of course, one simple way to avoid spending a lot of time on clean up is to make something simple, read that as a single dish meal :-) I do this occasionally and one of the dishes I like to make is adai (savory Indian crepe).  I have already explained what adai is in this post so I will not go into it again  This version of adai has brown rice, lentils, oatmeal , barley and spinach. In addition it takes very little time to make and is delicious, really, what's not to like :-) So if you are looking for ways to sneak in some oatmeal , barley or spinach, this adai here is yet another way to do it.......

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Spinach Oat adai

1 cup brown rice (or white rice) (Chawal/ arisi)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup whole red lentils (masoor dhal)
1/3 cup split mung bean lentil (mung dhal)
1/3 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal)

5 Thai or Indian green chilies (or to taste)
5 small whole dry red chilies (or to taste)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam)
1 and 1/2 cups of packed spinach leaves (Palak/ keerai) 

In a large bowl mix together the first six ingredients, add water and swirl with your hand and drain water. Fill with sufficient water and allow the grains to soak for 3 hours.

Grind these soaked grains in batches along with red and green chilies adding only as much water as is required. The grains need only to be of a coarse texture so you do not need to grind it smooth.The batter needs to be on the thicker side, not runny so do not use water too liberally when grinding the batter.

Add a little spinach in each batch and give it another turn in the blender until the spinach is pureed too.

Add salt to taste and asafoetida powder to the batter and mix well.
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When making adai, heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa on medium heat. When hot, pour a little batter on the center of the pan/ tawa and quickly spread it into a thin circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the adai. When the lower side is golden brown, flip over and cook the other side until it has a few brownish/golden spots on it.

Here is a video clip of the process of making adai. This clip is not of this particular but the consistency of the batter and the technique is similar so am attaching the video here, if you would like to get an idea of how it is done, take a peek....


Remove and serve hot with some Molaga Podi (spice powder) / chutney of choice/ honey or jaggery/ some aviyal :-)

Refrigerate unused portion of batter and use within a few days for freshest taste.
Yield will depend on the size and thickness of each adai.

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Sprouted Mung Bean Adai~Moong Dhal Dosa~Savory Indian crepe with rice and lentils

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Recently when I was chatting with my mother in law, the conversation veered to...........where else.........food, of course. In the course of the conversation she mentioned that she made thavala adai, a kind of adai that I am yet to make or even taste. While sharing the recipe, she mentioned sprouted mung bean as one of the ingredients. Since the list of ingredients for thavala adai seemed a little too long, I decided to put it off for a different time, when I have everything at hand and a little more patience to try it too.

In the meanwhile the idea of using mung sprouts in adai got stuck in my head and I decided to give it a try as a variation to the traditional adai. I am so glad I tried this, the adai turned out beautifully, mung sprouts added a subtly different taste and texture from the traditional adai and I loved how it tasted. I am also so glad to find one more way to include sprouts in our diet. If you like adai, give this one a try....you will definitely enjoy it:-)

While on the topic of adai, one quick update before moving on to the recipe. I finally managed to update the pictures on this oat barley adai and this traditional adai. Have a quick peek if you have a minute....



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Ingredients and Method to make Sprouted Mung bean adai
2 cups brown rice  ( I used brown basmati) ( can be substituted with white rice too)
1/2 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
1/2 cup split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)
3/4 cup sprouted mung bean (Whole moong/green gram/pachai payaru) ( to learn how to sprout mung bean read this post)
5 dry red chilies (or to taste)
5 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
1 inch piece of ginger
1 stalk of curry leaves (optional)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)
a little sesame oil to shallow fry adai

To learn how to soak and make mung bean sprouts read this post 

Soak brown rice, split pigeon peas and chick pea lentil for 3 hours in sufficient water in a large bowl.

Add sprouted mung bean to the above grains and allow to soak for additional 30 minutes.

Grind the grains along with ginger, green chilies, red chilies and curry leaves if using, in batches adding water as required. The grains need only to be of a coarse texture so you do not need to grind it smooth.The batter needs to be on the thicker side, not runny so do not use water too liberally when grinding the batter.
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Add salt to taste, asafoetida powder to the batter and mix well. This batter can be used immediately or can be refrigerated and used within a few days (not too long say 3 to 4 days) to make adai (crepe).

When making adai, heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa on medium heat. When hot, pour a little batter on the center of the pan/ tawa and quickly spread it into a thin circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the adai. When the lower side is golden brown, flip over and cook the other side until it has a few brownish/golden spots on it.

Remove and serve hot with either chutney,  molaga podi, aviyal or even a piece of jaggery (vellam)
Yield will depend on the size and thickness of each adai.

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Barley Oat Adai~Dhal Dosa~Savory Indian crepes with Swiss chard

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 Adai, a type of spicy savory crepe from south Indian cuisine features frequently in our home, especially when my in laws are visiting because they like it very much too. On one such occasion when my mother in law and I were taking turns at making the traditional adai for the family and discussing different variations of adai,  she mentioned that sometimes muringai leaves (leaves from the drumstick plant ) are added to adai to give it a different flavor and texture. To read more about muringai or moringa leaves as it is called, read this wiki article.

This idea remained with me, but I never got a chance to try it since I have never seen these leaves here at my local grocers.  Actually I think I have never seen muringai/ moringa leaves anywhere, even in India, and have no idea how they taste. When I started using red swiss chard and found it so appealing, I wondered if I would be able to use that in place of muringai leaves in adai. Since there is no better way to find out than to try it, I did.....and loved the taste, texture and color these leaves added to the adai. The best thing is that it makes an already healthy adai, a little more healthier, and that makes this a winner in my book :-)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Swiss chard barley oat adai (see notes)
Soak together for 2 to 3 hours
1 cup brown basmati rice (can be substituted with any type of white rice)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup split or whole black gram lentil (udad dhal/ muzhu ulundhu or ulatham parappu)
1/3 cup split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)
1/2 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
1/3 cup cracked wheat (dalia/ lapsi)
1/2 cup pearl barley

and grind this with
8 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
6 Dry red chilies (or to taste)

salt to taste
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)
Red swiss chard leaves + stem cut very very fine as required (see notes)

a little sesame oil to shallow fry the adai....

Soak the grains and lentils together in sufficient water for at least 2 to 3 hours.Grind in batches in a grinder/blender/mixer along with green chilies and red chilies, adding water as required to make a thick batter, not too watery or runny. When in doubt err on the side of thicker batter, which can later be corrected by adding more water.

The grains and lentils do not need to be ground very fine, when you touch it, if it feels like semolina (rava) it is done. Some people let the grains have an even more coarse texture, but I prefer mine to be ground until it reaches semolina consistency for a little more softer adai.

Add salt to taste and asafoetida powder and mix well. You can refrigerate this batter for a few days and use it as required. At the time of making adai, take out the batter and mix it well. Then remove the quantity you think you would use in a separate bowl and add finely cut red swiss chard leaves and stem to it and mix well. I added 1 cup packed leaves + stem for every 3 to 4 cups of batter that I used.

Heat a heavy tawa/ flat pan/ griddle , when hot pour a little batter on the center and quickly spread into an even circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the adai and a couple of drops on top of it. Allow it to cook until the lower side is evenly golden, then flip over and cook the other side until it has brownish spots on it.
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Remove and serve hot with molaga podi / chutney of choice / vellam(jaggery) /aviyal:-)

Yield will depend on the size and thickness of each adai.

Notes:
The reason I added the swiss chard leaves just before making the adai was because I did not want the leaves to lose their crunch, this way there was a slight crunch from the leaves and stems that added a little something extra to the adai :-)

In case you do not find all the ingredients for this adai, you can also make the batter like this more traditional adai, then add swiss chard and proceed as described above.

If you do not find red swiss chard in your area, but you get drumstick leaves (muringa elai ~ moringa leaves) then you can just wash and add those leaves to the batter and proceed as described above. You can read more about drumstick and drumstick leaves in this wiki article

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Cracked Wheat and Oat Adai ~Dalia Dhal Dosa ~ Vegan Savory Indian crepes ~ With Video Clip

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After my last post, a lot of you left comments and sent me emails saying that you would like to see how I made the paneer. I haven't had the chance to respond to each of you yet, so I just wanted to let you all know that I read your comments. Unfortunately the last time I made paneer, I did not take pictures, so I was not able to update that post with the recipe. I will post very soon on how I make paneer along with the pictures, so watch this space for it :-)

Moving on, Adai is a type of spicy savory crepe that originates from south Indian cuisine. One of the nicest things about adai, is the addition of three different types of lentils in it. It is a great way to get some protein in a vegetarian diet.  In the past I have played around with using quinoa and oats and barley in adai successfully.

 

This time I wanted to try and make adai minus the rice and substituting it with cracked wheat and oats. For those of you who are not able to get brown rice, this is a great way to make the traditional adai a bit more healthy. This adai turned out fabulously, I was a little worried at first about not having any rice in it, but from the softness, taste and texture angles the rice was not missed at all :-)

 


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Ingredients and Method to make Cracked wheat and oat adai
1 cup cracked wheat (Broken wheat/ dalia/ fada/ lapsi)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup split yellow pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
1/2 cup split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)
1/2 cup split black gram lentil (udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)


1 inch piece ginger
5 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or according to taste)
7 dry red chilies (or according to taste)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (hing) (optional but recommended)

a little sesame oil (or any other flavorless oil ) to shallow fry the adai

Place the first five ingredients in a large container. Add water to it, swirl with your hand a few times and drain water. Fill with fresh water and soak all the five ingredients in sufficient water for two hours.

Grind in batches along with ginger, green chilies and red chilies to make a thick batter adding water as required. The lentils/ grains need not be ground until completely fine, they only need to ground until they feel a little like coarse, thick semolina texture.

Update: Added a pic of the batter that might give you an idea of the consistency and texture of the batter. Not a great pic I know, will try and update with a better pic soon :)

To the batter, add salt to taste, hing and mix well.
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Heat a heavy flat pan/ tawa/ griddle, you know the tawa is ready when a few drops of water splashed on it makes the water dance and pearl up. Pour a ladle of this batter on the center of the tawa and quickly spread into as thin or thick circle as you like. Thinner ones are crisper than thicker ones. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the edges of the spread out batter, when the lower side gets to a golden brownish color, flip over and cook the other side until it get a few brownish spots on it.

Update: Have added a video clip to explain this process better. Take a look.....



Remove and serve hot with a chutney podi like this flax chutney powder or molaga podi, any chutney or avial or jaggery/ honey.

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Quinoa Oat Adai ~ Dhal dosa ~ Savory Indian crepes

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Adai, a savory crepe made with rice and lentils originates from southern Indian cuisine. Traditionally adai is made of rice and three to four different lentils, you can find the traditional recipe for adai here.Unlike the traditional dosai, adai batter has the benefit of not needing to be fermented, making it quicker to make. In addition the spices and lentils lend a wonderful flavor to this crepe making it delicious without any additional side dishes or chutneys if you want to have it that way :-)

In the past I have made adai with oats and barley, but for quite a while now I have not experimented further with this crepe. Recently when I planned to make adai, I thought it would be nice to see how quinoa works in adai. This adai turned out soft and delicious and the lentils, quinoa and oats give this adai a great flavor  and texture.If someone in your family does not care for the taste of quinoa then this is a great way to sneak it in as the quinoa does not have a very pronounced taste in this dish.

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Quinoa Oat Adai
1 cup brown rice (or white rice) (chawal/ pachai arisi)
1/3 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
1/3 cup yellow mung lentils (yellow moong dhal/ mung dhal/ pasi parappu)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup quinoa (see notes)
soak together for two to three hours

5 dry red chilies  (or to taste) (lal mirch/ molaga vathal)
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste) (hari mirch/ pachai molagai)
ginger 1 inch piece (adrak/ inji)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing) (optional but recomended)

a few tsp of sesame oil to shallow fry the adai

In a large bowl, mix all the grains well. Fill with water, swirl with your hand a couple of times and drain water.

Fill the bowl with enough water of about an inch above the grains and let the grains soak for about 2 to 3 hours.

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Drain the grains, and grind along with red chilies, green chilies and ginger in batches using a blender. Use water as required while grinding. The batter should be of pouring consistency but not too runny, a little on the thicker side.

Traditionally lentils for the adai batter are ground very coarsely and you can see some of the lentils visible in the batter, that is supposed to be part of the appeal of adai. But I prefer my adai a little softer and smoother so I grind adai batter a little like dosa batter only slightly thicker and very slightly coarser. When I take a little batter between my thumb and finger,  the grains feel a little like semolina / rava. Having the grains ground to a semolina/ rava like texture gives you a crisper adai/ dosai , smooth texture gives you softer adai.  

When the batter is ready, add salt and asafoetida and mix well.

Heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa and when hot, pour a small quantity of batter in the center and quickly spread in a thin circle. Add a few drops of sesame oil on top and around the batter.

Let the adai cook, until the lower portion begins to brown to a goldenish color, then flip the adai and cook the other side. Remove when the other side begins to get a few pinkish/ brownish spots on it.

Serve hot with chutney of choice or molaga podi or jaggery. Remaining batter can be stored in the refrigerator and used within the next 2 to 3 days.

Yields approximately 16 to 17 adai

If you want to see a pic of the consistency of the batter and a video clip of how it is made, please check out this post . It is not of this same adai/ dosai but the texture and consistency of the batter should be the same and the process of making it is the same too :)

Notes
If quinoa is not available,  you can increase either or both the lentils to make up the difference, that is use 1/2 cup more of 1 lentil (dhal/ parappu) or increase both by 1/4 cup each.

 If you are looking for Quinoa recipes, here are a few more

Quinoa Khichdi ~ Peanut flavored quinoa

Quinoa mung dosai ~ Savory crepes

Quinoa Cashew Kheer ~ Indian pudding

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Oat Barley Adai ~ Dhal Dosa ~ Savory Indian Crepes made with oat, barley and mung bean

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Barley is a type of grain that contains high levels of dietary fiber and selenium (which is a type of anti oxidant ). A cup of cooked barley provides 52 percent of the daily value of selenium.Selenium is an essential component of various metabolic functions like thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems and the immune function. In addition studies have shown that a diet high in barley helps in lowering LDL cholesterol (the bad one) and lowering high blood pressure.It may also help in stabilizing blood glucose levels.

After learning how much barley really benefits us , I felt very guilty that this super healthy grain does not appear in my recipes as much as it should. This got me thinking that maybe I should use barley in something like adai. Adai is a traditional savory crepe made with rice and three types of lentils and it belongs to cuisine from southern India. You will find the traditional recipe of adai here

I used the basic idea of adai and included both oats and barley in this recipe. We loved the final result of this experiment. For those of you familiar with adai the inclusion of barley and oats does not change the basic taste of adai very much and it still tastes a lot like the one with three lentils.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make  Barley Oats Adai

1 cup brown rice (or white rice) (chawal/ arisi)

1/2 cup split mung bean (Moong dhal/ pasi parappu/ paitham parappu )

1/2 cup quick cooking barley or pearl barley (jau/ vargodumai)

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

Thai green chillies (6-7) ( or according to taste) (hara mirch/ pachai molagai)

Dry red chillies (4) ( or according to taste) (lal mirch/ molagai vathal)

curry leaves (7-8 ) (optional ) (kadi patha/ karvapillai)

1 tsp chopped ginger ( optional )(adrak/ inji)

1/8 tsp Asafoetida (hing) (optional but recommended)

salt to taste (namak/uppu)

Few teaspoons of sesame oil (til ka tel/ nalla ennai) 

In a large bowl mix the first four items. Wash and drain these four grains together.

Soak these grains in sufficient water for about 3 hours.

Drain water and grind these grains in a blender/ mixer with the curry leaves, ginger if using, green chilies and red chilies with some water to help in the grinding process. 

This does not have to be ground very smooth, the grains could be of the texture of coarse semolina/ rava. 

The batter should be of pouring consistency but not too thin and runny. When in doubt err on the side of thicker batter, you can always add water later if needed to achieve correct consistency. 

Add asafoetida and salt to taste and mix well.

Heat a flat pan / griddle / tawa on medium high heat. When the griddle is hot pour a ladle full of batter and spread quickly and evenly to create a thin circle.

Pour a few drops of sesame oil on the side facing up. When the lower side is slightly browned, flip it over and cook the other sides for a few seconds.

When the other side has a few pinkish/ brownish spots, it can be removed.

Proceed with the rest of the batter in the same manner.

Yields approximately 15 crepes/ adais

Serve hot with spice powder or a little plain yogurt spiced with spice powder or just plain honey.

Notes:

In case of leftover batter,it could be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two and used as required

Do keep in mind that different green chillies and red chillies vary in their levels of spiciness so do adjust the quantity of green and red chillies according to taste

Related Recipes

Instant Oats Dosai (savory Indian crepe with oats and wheat flour)

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Adai ~ Dhal Dosa ~ Savory Rice and lentil crepes

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Adai is a savory crepe made with rice,lentils and spices and is a time tested recipe made in a lot of south indian homes.I have made it numerous times and always enjoy the dish.This is not only very tasty but also extremely nutritious, it provides a good source of protein since it contains three different type of lentils.I tried substituting brown rice instead of white rice recently and was blown away at the results.The final dish was indescribably soft and delicious.I have since used only brown rice in this dish.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and method to make Adai

1 cup long grain brown rice ( or white rice ) (chawal/ arisi)
1/2 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
1/2 cup split black gram lentil ( udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)
1/2 cup split chick pea lentil (channa dhal / kadalai parappu)
6 small Thai or Indian green chillies (or according to taste) (hara mirch/ pachai molagai)
6 whole red chillies ( or according to taste) (lal mirch/ molagai vathal)
1 tsp chopped ginger (adrak/ inji)
1 stalk curry leaves (kadi patha/ karvapillai)
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam)
salt to taste ( I use about 3 tsp )

sesame oil (til ka tel/ nalla ennai) a little to shallow fry the adai

Soak the rice and the dhals for a minimum of 2 hours.Grind finely in batches with the curry leaves,green chilies,red chilies and ginger reasonably fine.For this particular dish it does not need to be ground very fine,the lentils and rice should look a little like medium rava ( semolina).Pour water while grinding.The batter should be not too thick not too thin.Should be about dropping consistency.

Place a tawa (griddle) on the stove.Heat.Pour small amount of batter and spread,spread thin if you like thin and crispy style pancake or a little thicker if you like softer ones.Pour about 1/4 tsp of sesame oil on the side facing up.Let the bottom brown slightly,then turn and cook the other side.Serve hot with honey.

The balance of the batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a period of 4-6 days easily and the adai can be made fresh and hot as needed.

It surprises a lot of people to partner honey with this dish,but in our home we have always had adai with honey and it goes very well together,the sweetness of the honey a good counterpoint to the spices in the adai itself.

Yields approximately 20 medium sized adai's

Notes :
With these proportions this pancake is about medium spicy.
Do note though that different green chillies and red chillies impart different levels of spiciness so do use the spices according to individual tastes.

 If you are looking for Adai/ Dhal dosa recipes, here are a few more

Barley oat Adai ~ Dhal Dosa with barley

Cracked Wheat and Oat Adai ~ Dalia Dhal Dosa

Keerai Oat Barley Adai ~ Palak Dhal Dosa

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