Adai Recipe | How to make Adai Dosa

ByDassana Amit Updated
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Adai is a nutritious South Indian breakfast made with rice, mixed lentils, herbs and spices. Also known as Adai Dosa, these thick savory pancakes are protein-rich and filling when served with sambar and chutney. It is especially popular in Tamil Nadu. Since the ingredients are plant-based, this Adai recipe is naturally vegan.

About Adai Recipe

Adai recipe is made from a spiced batter of soaked rice and lentils that is ground to a slightly coarse, medium-thick consistency.

Unlike regular Dosa, the batter for adai is not fermented. These pancakes are cooked on a skillet and turn out thicker, more hearty and filling than plain dosa.

adai stacked and served on a green plate with butter cubes on top and bowls of chutney and sambar kept in the background and text layovers.

Each household has its own combination of lentils and spices. In this adai recipe, I use chana dal, urad dal and tuvar dal along with rice. You can also add greens or vegetables to make the adai more wholesome.

Since the batter does not require fermentation, adai dosa is quicker to prepare compared to traditional dosa batter. The mix of rice and lentils makes it rich in protein and fiber, helping you stay full for longer.

While plain dosa or Masala Dosa are lighter and thinner, adai dosa has a denser texture and a more robust flavor. It is usually served with jaggery, white butter, idli-dosa podi, Avial, coconut chutney or tomato chutney.

How to make Adai Dosa (Step-By-Step)

Soak Lentils & Rice

1. Rinse and soak the following listed ingredients in 1.5 cups water for 2 to 3 hours.

  • ½ cup regular rice (or idli rice)
  • ¼ cup chana dal, ¼ cup urad dal
  • ¼ cup tuvar dal
  • 2 dried red chilies (byadagi or Kashmiri, seeds removed)

You can also soak these ingredients overnight.

soaking rice, chana dal, urad dal, tuvar dal and dried red chilies for making batter for adai dosa.

2. Later, drain all the water and add the rice, lentils and red chilies in a grinder jar or a high-speed blender.

Also add 1.5 teaspoon chopped ginger and 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing). At this step, you can also add 1 green chili and ½ teaspoon cumin seeds.

drained rice, lentils, red chilies, chopped ginger and asafoetida added to grinder jar for making batter for adai dosa.

Make Adai Batter

3. Add ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind to a semi-coarse batter. Do not make the batter fine.

ingredients ground to a semi coarse batter.

4. Take the batter in a mixing bowl. Cover and keep aside for a minimum 20 minutes or till 1 to 2 hours.

You could opt to ferment the batter and then make adai dosa. Set aside the batter for 3 to 4 hours to ferment or as needed. Just make sure that the batter must not become too sour.

batter added in a bowl.

5. Now, add the below listed ingredients:

  • ⅓ cup finely chopped pearl onions (or onions or shallots)
  • ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
  • 2 teaspoons chopped curry leaves or 8 to 10 chopped curry leaves

You can also add ¼ cup grated fresh coconut.

chopped onions, chopped coriander leaves and chopped curry leaves added to batter.

6. Add salt as required.

salt added to batter.

7. Mix very well.

ingredients mixed well in the batter for adai recipe.

Make Adai

8. Heat a cast iron skillet or tawa and spread a bit of oil on it. Use a skillet or tawa which is well seasoned, or else the adai will stick on it.

oil spread on hot taw for adai recipe.

9. Take a ladleful of the prepared batter and pour on the hot tawa.

pouring ladleful of batter on hot tawa for adai recipe.

10. Quickly spread the batter to a circle.

spreading batter to a circle for adai recipe.

11. Make a neat round pancake.

batter spread into a circle for adai recipe.

12. With the back of a spoon, make a small dent or hole in the center. This helps in cooking the adai evenly.

making hole in the center of the circle for adai recipe.

13. Drizzle some oil in the center as well as on the sides.

drizzling oil in the hole.

14. Cook on medium-low to medium heat till it is crisp and golden from the base. You can also cover with a lid and cook.

cooking dosa.

15. Then, flip this lentils and rice pancake.

flipping dosa with a spatula.

16. Cook on the second side till its cooked well and has golden brown spots.

cooking dosa from other side.

17. Flip and then serve. Make remaining adai in batches this way.

cooked adai.

18. Serve protein rich adai Dosa with some white unsalted butter, jaggery, Idli Podi or Avial. You can also pair it with Sambar, Coconut Chutney, Kara Chutney or Onion Chutney or Tomato Chutney.

adai stacked and served on a green plate with butter cubes on top and bowls of chutney and sambar kept in the background and text layover.

Dassana’s Recipe Tips

  • Soaking lentils: You can soak the lentils for 2 to 3 hours or even overnight.
  • Rice: You can use either a regular variety of rice or parboiled rice.
  • Batter: While grinding the batter, you can add some green chilies or cumin seeds too. This is optional and can be skipped as well. The asafoetida can also be skipped, if you wish to. Also, make sure to make a semi coarse batter and not a fine one.
  • Fermentation: You can also ferment the batter to make delicious adai dosa. So, if you want to make it, then ferment the batter for 3 to 4 hours or as required and then use it to make the dosa.
  • More add-ins to the batter: Herbs and spices can be added less or more, as per your requirements. You can also add some grated fresh coconut in the batter, mix and then use it to make these pancakes.

Step by Step Photo Guide Above

adai recipe, how to make adai recipe, adai dosa recipe

Adai Recipe | How to make Adai Dosa

Author: Dassana Amit
5 from 21 votes
Adai, also called Adai Dosa, is a protein-rich South Indian pancake made with rice, mixed lentils, herbs and spices. The Adai recipe involves soaking rice and lentils, then grinding them to a semi-coarse batter. Unlike regular dosa, the batter is not fermented.
Print Rate
Prep Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings4
CourseBreakfast, Main Course, Snacks
DietVegan
CuisineSouth Indian, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

For soaking

  • ½ cup regular rice or idli rice or parboiled rice
  • ¼ cup chana dal (split and husked bengal gram)
  • ¼ cup urad dal (split and husked black gram)
  • ¼ cup tuvar dal (tur dal, arhar dal, pigeon pea lentils)
  • 2 dry red chilies – byadagi or kashmiri, seeds removed
  • 1.5 cups water – for soaking

More ingredients

  • 1.5 teaspoons chopped ginger
  • 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing)
  • 1 chopped green chili – optional
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds – optional
  • ⅔ to ¾ cup water – for grinding or add as required
  • ⅓ cup onions (finely chopped) or finely chopped or pearl onions or shallots
  • 2 teaspoons curry leaves (chopped finely) or or 8 to 10 curry leaves, chopped
  • ¼ cup coriander leaves (chopped)
  • ¼ cups grated coconut – optional
  • salt as required
  • oil as required

Instructions

Soaking rice and lentils

  • Rinse and then soak regular rice or idli rice, chana dal, urad dal and tuvar dal and dry red chilies (byadagi or kashmiri) in 1.5 cups water for 2 to 3 hours.
    You can also keep overnight.

Making adai batter

  • Later drain all the water and add the rice, lentils and red chilies in a grinder jar.
  • Also add chopped ginger and hing. At this step you can also add 1 green chili and ½ teaspoon cumin seeds.
  • Add ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind to a semi coarse medium-thick batter. Do not make the batter fine.
  • Take all the batter in a mixing bowl. Cover and keep aside for minimum 20 minutes or till 1 to 2 hours.
  • Now add finely chopped onions (or pearl onions or shallots), chopped coriander leaves and chopped curry leave. You can also add grated coconut.
  • Add salt as required. Mix very well.

Making adai

  • Heat a cast iron skillet or tawa and spread a bit of oil on it.
  • Take a ladle full of the batter and pour the batter on tawa. quickly spread the batter to a round circle.
  • With a back of a spoon make a small dent or hole in the center. This helps in cooking the adai evenly.
  • Drizzle some oil in the center as well as on the sides.
  • Cook on medium-low to medium heat till the adai is crisp and golden. Then flip them. You can also cover it with a lid and then cook.
  • Cook the adai on the second side till it is cooked well and has golden brown spots. Flip and then serve. Make adai in batches this way.
  • You can serve protein-rich adai with some white butter, jaggery, idli-dosa podi or avial. You can also pair it with coconut chutney or tomato chutney or tomato-onion chutney.

Dassana’s Notes

  • Feel free to subtract any of the add-ins to the batter like onions, green chillies, spices and herbs etc if these are not available to you.
  • You can also ferment the batter for 3 to 4 hours or as needed. Just take care that the batter does not become too sour.
  • Do not omit any of the lentils or even rice from the recipe, as the flavor and texture will change.
  • Scale the recipe to make a smaller batch or for more servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 325IU | Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 0.04mg | Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 0.03mg | Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 57mg | Vitamin B6: 0.1mg | Vitamin C: 102mg | Vitamin E: 4mg | Vitamin K: 4µg | Calcium: 72mg | Vitamin B9 (Folate): 597µg | Iron: 2mg | Magnesium: 18mg | Phosphorus: 53mg | Zinc: 0.5mg

Adai recipe from the archives was first published on December 2017.

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Dassana Amit

I am Dassana Amit, a vegetarian chef and baker with decades of experience, professionally trained in Indian and continental cooking and baking. I’m also a certified pastry chef, trained at Le Cordon Bleu in plant-based patisserie. For over 16 years, I’ve shared trusted, strictly vegetarian recipes with step-by-step photos, expert tips, and practical guidance. Bringing together tradition, technique, and a love for honest, soulful vegetarian cooking.

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24 Comments

  2. After adding onion and coriander can you keep the dough in frige and use it for another day? Or it is better to add onion only on the portion of dough that will be used in a day?

    Reply

  4. the adai dosa i couldn’t spread it like dosa. reason i could not make out i keep medium flame while doing adai. proportion is the same

    Reply

  5. Liked this recipe. Your blog is really very helpful. And thanks for all the wonderful recipes. Tried many of them.5 stars

    Reply

  7. Hi Dassana,

    With this adai is it possible to decrease the amount of rice and increase the amount of one of the dals to make up the difference? (Is this also possible in other things like roti or dosa?) My husband has health concerns so I try to serve more complex carbohydrates like pulses.

    Thanks so much.

    Reply

    1. hi sarah, you can definitely decrease the amount of rice and increase the amount of any of the dals. in dosa also you can decrease the rice proportion. in roti, rice flour is not added, but you can certainly add lentil flours. welcome and i hope these suggestions help.

      Reply

  8. Thanks for your wonderful and easy to follow recipes. I am your loyal follower.
    I experimented with this recipe with foxtail millet instead of rice. It came out quite good. Just wanted to let you know.5 stars

    Reply