This GREEN ADAI DOSA with BROWN RICE and QUINOA is a multi-lentil, no-ferment savory Indian pancake/crepe with nutritious spinach leaves. Make it thick or thin and enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or even dinner with a side of chutney and/or sambar. Sharing here my version of adai with all the helpful notes and options you have before making a delicious south Indian type adai!
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Indians, especially south Indians almost always start their day with a plate of hot dosas (savory lentil-rice crepes), idlis (savory steamed rice-lentil cakes) or maybe some piping hot, ghee laden upma/savory semolina pudding chockfull of veggies along with their favorite “kapi” or coffee for breakfast! We rarely are a cereal or toast kinda people although nowadays with hectic schedules, some do indulge in these, what with the variety of nutritious breakfast cereals and breads available all over as well as exposure to global cuisine via social media and internet! People from here, especially the ones from Tamil Nadu or Karnataka are known for their myriad of dosas and idlis be it thin dosa like rava dosa or thick one like an uttapam or even an Instant idli like Rava Idli or the regular fermented rice-lentil idli.
NOW, WHAT IS ADAI DOSA?
Most dosas, sometime called dosais or even dose (pronounced like “dhosey”) like we call it in Karnataka (southern India) have a blend of rice and lentils in them and need a bit of fermentation before they can be spread on a hot griddle to make these delicious savory version of crepes albeit super crispy! But adais (which again originate from the southern Indian state of Tamilnadu) are multi-lentil thick pancakes which need no fermentation at all. All you need to do is soak a bunch of lentils with rice for a few hours, blend and make adai dosas or as they are called adais. Traditional adais have some dry red chilies to spice up the dosa which impart that red color or you could use green chilies/jalapenos instead too but if you are not a big fan of spicy heat, feel free to omit it. These are just soaked and blended to a thick paste before making hot and delicious adai dosais! Also, adai batter is so versatile; you can make the traditional thick adais, or super thin too like a crepe by diluting the batter a bit! We are more in love with the crispy thin kind of dosas, so here I am sharing the thinner crepe like adai dosa. Optional ingredients are ginger and cumin seeds which are the other aromatics and spice we love to flavor adai with. Either chop or grate ginger and add along with cumin seeds to the batter or blend them in. Any garlic lovers?? Feel free to blend that in too if you like. You can check out my basic adai recipe here.
MAIN INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS GREEN ADAI DOSA :
Like I mentioned, as for a traditional adai, you need a bunch of lentils: Urad dal or split white lentils or black gram dal; here you can use the split white one or the ones you get whole deskinned too. Whole urad with skin works good too! Chana dal or split Bengal gram dal Whole green mung beans – traditionally, we use split yellow mung bean dal but to pump in more nutrition in my adai, I love to use my favorite whole green mung beans! They do make adais a tad green which I love! Other ingredients needed are: Rice – this is a must to add structure to the adai and give it that crispy edge. I love using brown rice in my dosas sometimes, so here too, it is brown rice. You could substitute with white rice instead and any that you have; does not affect the texture of dosa. Quinoa – now this is a favorite grain I love to add in my pulaos, desserts and dosas like in my Quinoa Payasam! So feel free to stir in some here too but again, if you do not have them, you can leave it out. Spinach leaves - this is again optional, but I am so in love with the green color of the batter/dosa it’s addition creates not to mention the added hidden nutrition, I do sometimes sneak in spinach leaves in my batter while blending like I have here. Why, you can easily slip in some fresh salad greens in these dosas and your family would never know they are eating them! Sneaky, isn’t it? Then lastly of course some oil and/or ghee (avoid ghee if vegan) for roasting the adai dosa and salt to taste. Just wash and soak the ingredients for a few hours except spinach and blend along with spinach to a smooth paste.
Keep the batter thick and make traditional thicker adais or dilute a bit and spread thin to make crispy or soft super thin dosas the way my husband loves! Serve piping hot with some chutney or sambar.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Made thick or thin, these adai dosas are always enjoyed dipped in a fresh homemade coconut chutney! Our favorites are Hing Coconut Chutney , Coconut Chutney with Onions, or Peanut Coconut Chutney and/or a delicious lentil sambar or even a quick and instant No- Dal Tomato Sambar! This time, we thoroughly savored this green dosa with our favorite Spicy Onion Chutney. I have no idea how many times I have made this but my kids always, always insist on only this chutney to dip their idlis or dosas in!
If you do not have those, just use a homemade or store bought dry lentil chutney powder like Molaga Podi or even a homemade or store bought Indian pickle! Make a thick and slightly coarse batter to make thick adais or make it smooth and diluted a tad to enjoy thin crepe like dosas! Any way you make it, you are going to enjoy this super easy, super nutritious Green Adai Dosa with Brown Rice, Quinoa and Spinach again and again like I have been in my house!
UPDATED JUNE 17, 2021:
Adai being my favorite dosai and also so nutritious, no ferment version of dosais and easy to make not to mention delicious, I made green adai again using whole black gram dal with the skin!
Of course, rest of the ingredients are the same; whole green moong beans, quinoa, dals, brown rice etc. with a handful of green spinach leaves which were losing their freshness.
Enjoy Foodies and Happy Eating! If you do happen to try this, please do share your thoughts and comments in the box below (rating it would be wonderful!), on my Facebook page or even on Instagram using @curryandvanilla16.
A big fan of dosas? Then must check out these too:
Healthy Brown Rice and Quinoa Dosa (with fermentation) Surnali Dosa Ragi Rava Dosa
Now, let’s see how to make this beautiful Green Adai Dosa :
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