Kara Adai dosa is a delicious protein-packed South Indian snack recipe. The batter for adai dosa is made with mixed dal or lentils and rice. No fermentation is required!
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What is kara adai
Adai is an extremely popular South Indian delicacy. I call it the healthier cousin of Dosa. Kara means spicy in Tamil. The kara adai dosa batter is prepared with mixed dals or lentils and rice. It resembles a thick pancake. It's a very filling meal due to the ingredients used. Adai Dosa is considered to be very nutritious, rich in protein, and satiating. These protein-rich pancakes are served for breakfast or as a snack. Each family has its own recipe for making adai dosa. The lentils used could be slightly different, or the proportions could vary. Even the spices added could differ.
Difference between adai and dosa
Adai is a type of dosa. Talking about the similarity, they both are prepared using a batter made from lentils and rice. Both are spread like a pancake on the pan. But they both are also very different. For starters, the ingredients used in adai recipe are slightly different than that for dosa. Even the proportions of rice and lentils vary. No fermentation is required for the adai batter. The batter is ground semi-coarse and is not very smooth. Plus the lentil batter is thicker than the dosa batter, yet pourable. Dosa is spread thin whereas adai is thicker.
A family favorite
Sunday dinner was always adai in our house when we were growing up. Mom would make the batter by Sunday afternoon and then make adai for all of us for dinner. Mom would also make Adai dosa during Karthikai Deepam. This is a Tamil Brahmin-style adai recipe and I still make it the same way my mom did.
Why make this
- It's naturally vegan
- Make it gluten-free by skipping asafoetida
- Very healthy, nutritious, and filling
- The batter can be made ahead of time
- Uses brown rice instead of white rice
- Has a crisp texture and spicy flavor
- It's kid-friendly
Ingredients needed 🧾
Lentils - This adai recipe calls for more than one variety of lentils. I use chana dal and tur dal to make adai dosa.
Rice - Normally, white rice is used to make the adai batter (maavu). I keep swapping between white and brown rice. You can also mix them up.
Spices and herbs - curry leaves, cilantro, asafoetida, and dried red chillies will give the lentil pancakes an aromatic flavor.
Onions, shallots, or pearl onions can also be used. They give a nice mildly sweet flavor. You can also skip adding them.
Cooking oil - Mom would always use ghee when making dosa or adai. But if you are vegan, you can use dairy-free ghee. Be liberal when using it though!
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How to make it 🔪
- Rinse and then soak rice (brown/white) for 3 hours in a vessel. Soak tur dal and chana dal in another vessel for 3 hours.
- Drain the water and transfer the rice to a blender jar. Grind it to a very smooth paste by adding ¼ cup of water. It should not be coarse.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Similarly, drain the water from the lentils and add to the same blender jar without rinsing the jar, along with asafoetida, salt, curry leaves, and dried red chillies. Grind this coarsely by adding ¼ cup of water.
- Transfer this to the same mixing bowl.
- Add chopped onions and cilantro to the bowl.
- Now add the required salt and mix it all together. Add water if needed to get the desired thick pouring consistency. I didn't need to add any additional water. There is no need to ferment the batter and you can make adai immediately. You can also let it rest for an hour at room temperature before you make adai. Chef Tip - You can also prepare the batter the previous night, refrigerate and use it the next morning to make adai.
- Heat a skillet and pour a spoonful of batter and shape it like a pancake. Make a small hole in the center. Drizzle ghee around it adai and also in the center. Cook it on medium flame till it turns crisp and golden. Flip to the other side only when it loosens from the edges. Then flip and cook the other side the same way.
Serving suggestions 🍽
Adai is served immediately while it's still crispy. It's popularly paired with avial, ghee, and jaggery. But I like to serve it with molagapodi and/or Andhra chutney. But it will taste great with any type of chutney, thokku, or pickle. Sambhar or rasam can also be served with it. You can also enjoy it as is. It tastes really good by itself. Serve them for breakfast, as an evening snack or you can also make it a full meal and serve it for lunch or dinner since it is very filling. Leftover kara adai dosa batter can also be used to make something similar to Kuzhi Paniyaram.
Top recipe tips 💭
The adai dosa batter should be slightly coarse and not very smooth. It should still have a thick pouring consistency. When making the adai, do not spread them thin. Keep them thick. Onions can be skipped if you want to. You can add keerai (Drumstick/Moringa leaves), coconut, cabbage, or chow chow instead. Greens can also be added. Make one first and check the salt. Adjust as needed, then make the rest. Making Adai is similar to making dosa and requires a bit of practice. Keep trying.
Recipe FAQs 📖
I have used Brown Basmati rice. Instead of that, you can also add any variety of white rice of any variety. You can also mix them both equally.
Alternatively, instead of rice, you can also make a batter by soaking and grinding 1 cup quinoa, ½ cup bulgur wheat, ½ cup tur dal, ½ cup chana dal, and ½ cup moong dal.
Some other options are idli rava or idli rice instead of rice. Soak it separately for 4-5 hours and then grind it. You can also use 1 cup of rice flour instead of rice.
To give this mixed dal kara dosa a different flavor and color, you can also add chopped or pureed greens like spinach, kale, or beet leaves.
Pumpkin puree can also be added to the batter. While grinding, add coconut, fennel seeds, or/and cumin seeds if you want.
Store the batter in the fridge for 3-4 days. When ready to make, add a couple of tablespoons of water if it's thickened. If doing so, then also check salt accordingly.
The batter can also be frozen for 1-2 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and then take it out. Let the cold batter come to room temperature first, then use it.
If you have some leftover adai, store them in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or on a tawa. It will not regain the initial crispiness but still taste good.
You can totally play around with the lentils. Use what you have like masoor dal or moong dal. You can add a variety of mixed dals to make this kara dosa.
In fact, you can also skip one of them from the recipe if you don't have one. If that's the case, double the quantity of the other lentil.
More interesting snack recipes
Recipe 📖
Kara Adai Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup tur dal
- ⅓ cup chana dal
- 10 dried red chillies
- ½ teaspoon asafoetida
- 10 curry leaves
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 cup chopped onions
- salt
Instructions
- Rinse and then soak rice (brown/white) for 3 hours in a vessel. Soak tur dal and chana dal in another vessel for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Drain the water and transfer the rice to a blender jar. Grind it to a very smooth paste by adding ¼ cup of water. It should not be coarse.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Similarly, drain the water from the lentils and add to the same blender jar without rinsing the jar, along with asafoetida, salt, curry leaves, and dried red chillies.
- Grind this coarsely by adding ¼ cup of water.
- Transfer this to the same mixing bowl.
- Add chopped onions and cilantro to the bowl.
- Now add the required salt and mix it all together. Add water if needed to get the desired thick pouring consistency. I didn't need to add any additional water.
- There is no need to ferment the batter and you can make adai immediately. You can also let it rest for an hour at room temperature before you make adai.
- Heat a skillet and pour a spoonful of batter and shape it like a pancake. Make a small hole in the center. Drizzle ghee around it adai and also in the center.
- Cook it on medium flame till it turns crisp and golden. Flip to the other side only when it loosens from the edges. Then flip and cook the other side the same way.
Jyotika Patel says
can i steam this mixture like idli?
Priya Lakshminarayan says
Hi Jyotika, yes, leftover batter can be steamed like idli and used to make https://cookilicious.com/lentil-rice-noodles-paruppu-sevai/ or https://cookilicious.com/kothavarangai-paruppu-usili-indian-cluster-beans-curry/ Hope this helps. Thank you.
Shilpa Golikere Shirur says
Hi Priya, I tried the dosa this morning turned out great. My 3 year old who wants dosa everyday loved it too! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Priya says
Thank you so much. It means a lot to me. I am so happy to know your child enjoyed it. 🙂
Jasmine says
Hi Priya
Can I skip the rice to reduce the carbs?
Priya says
Yes, you can. It will be like lentil pancakes. You can also add 1/4 cup of urad dal.