I had published this as a guest post for Sangee of Spicy Treats earlier this year. During my recent trip to India, my MIL made this thavala adai for dinner. That was the first time I was tasting it and completely fell in love with the adai. The one thing that I forgot to ask was the reason behind the name. It certainly sounds funny, but the taste is unbeatable. Why didn’t I make this earlier was what I kept asking myself as I savored each bite patiently 
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I also purchased the aapam pan from India and it worked perfectly for this adai. The grinding can be done in the mixie itself since it has to be very coarse and no need to deal with the big grinder or pausing between grinds to allow the mixie to cool. That is a big time saver for me. Off to the recipe.
Thavalai Adai
Protein packed Indian pancakes (adai).
Ingredients:
- idli rice - 1 cup
- raw rice - 1/2 cup
- urad dal - 3/4 cup (ulutham paruppu)
- toor dal - 1/4 cup (thuvaram paruppu)
- cumin seeds - 1 tsp (jeeragam)
- For Seasoning
- oil - 1 tsp + needed amount for cooking the adai
- mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
- urad dal - 1 tsp (ulutham paruppu)
- curry leaves - a few
- green chilly - 2 - chopped
Instructions:
Soak the rice and dals separately overnight. Grind them separately to a very coarse and thick batter. Allow to ferment overnight similar to idli.
Before making adai, season the batter with mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and green chillies. Add cumin seeds to the batter. Mix.
Heat a concave vessel (kadai) and pour 1/2 tsp of oil in it. Pour a ladle or two of the batter and pat it to form a circle. Add 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and cover and cook for a few minutes. Then flip over and pour 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and cover and cook again until the adai is cooked. It took 3 minutes on each side for me.
Server warm with chutney of choice.
1. A concave vessel needs to be used for this adai because it has to be thick in the middle.
2. The batter has to be very coarse. Think of rice upma sandwiched between two crispy layers. I will grind my batter much coarser than this the next time.
3. The adai has to be covered and cooked to enable the center part to get cooked.
4. Heat should be on a medium or lower than that to allow the adai to cook slowly.
1 year ago: Paruppu Urundai Rasam
Pictorial
1. Soak the dals and rice separately overnight.
2. Grind using a blender to a very coarse and thick batter.
3. Add salt.
4. Mix well and ferment overnight. The batter needs to be thick.
5. For seasoning, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add urad dal, curry leaves and green chillies.
6. Add the seasoning and cumin seeds to the fermented batter.
7. Mix. Remember that the batter has to be very thick unlike regular dosa or adai batter.
8. Heat a concave vessel (kadai). I used my aapam pan. Pour 1/2 tsp of oil first. Then pour a ladle or 2 of the batter. The heat should be medium or slightly lower than that because the adai needs to cook thoroughly in the center.
9. You do not need to spread the batter like regular adai or dosa. Just pat it a little here and there to get a circle. Pour 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and close with a lid.
10. After a few minutes the bottom will be cooked. Can you see the adai browning around the edges. Time to flip over.
11. Flip over and pour 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and close with a lid.
12. When both sides have a nice brown color, the adai is done. Serve with chutney.
Can you see the crispy outer layer and a soft interior? Adai tasted yummy and we had it with a side of coconut chutney and sambar.
Enjoy!Linking to CWS – Dal.
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Awe. Some.
I so miss these Iyer style dishes, now out of favour with my hubby and kids.
very inviting dish..super clicks
Super crispy and spongy adais.
perfect outcome..lovely clicks too..
Looks delicious Vardhini. Just have a query do you by raw rice mean the ordinary rice that we eat? i know it’s a silly question but the google answers are not satisfying.
We say “pacharisi” in tamil and that is the normal rice at home for us.
Looks great;something different for protein
Super delicious and so tempting!!!
Looks amazing. I like the thick adais with tomato and onion chutney. mmmmmm!