Thavala adai recipe, thavala adai ready mix

Thavala adai with a easy ready mix that you can prepare ahead and just mix with hot water to make delicious evening snack or a special dinner. Full video recipe.

Another recipe which I have heard a lot and wanted to try for a long time. I was so happy and have no words to thank Pavithra vijayaraghavan who shared her mom’s way of making thavala adai. She even sent a picture of the end product on how it turns out. It is really tempting just by it looks and the procedure of making the adai.

Recently I posted a picture of rice upma adai in my instagram, how much many of us love it. If you are one of them then you must try this too. Even if this is new to you, it’s definitely worth a try. Such a traditional dish which I wish I have learnt from the elders from our family. Nevertheless, I am so glad I could try this out from my reader friend.

I was asking my mom if she had made, she said she haven’t, but told she have heard about the making. In Tamil, thavalai means a water pot. May be they used it in some way to make the adai or because of its looks? If anyone knows how it is made traditionally and how it got the name thavalai adai, let me know in the comments please 🙂🙏🏽.

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Thavala adai

Thavala adai with a easy ready mix that you can prepare ahead and just mix with hot water to make delicious evening snack or a special dinner. Full video recipe.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Resting time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 7 adai

Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)

• Kadai
• ladle
• knife
• chopping board
• Food processor or blender

Cup measurements

Ingredients

• 1 cup idli rice
• 1/2 cup toor dal/ thuvaram paruppu
• 1/4 cup chana dal/ kadalai paruppu
• 1 tbsp moong dal/ payatham paruppu
• 5 red chilli
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Salt as needed
• Oil as needed

To temper

• 2 tsp Oil
• 1/2 tsp Mustard
• 1 tbsp ginger chopped
• 1/8 tsp Asafoetida
• 1 Sprig curry leaves

Instructions

• First powder red chilli, black pepper and salt* coarsely.
• Add cumin seeds, rice, toor dal, chana dal and moong dal. Grind until coarse, rava like texture.
• Transfer to a bowl. Pour boiling hot water to the mixture and mix to make thick batter.
• Keep aside for 1 hr. Temper with Mustard, asafoetida, ginger, curry leaves.
• Add grated coconut and mix well. Adjust the consistency with more hot water as it would have become thick after resting 1 hr.
• The batter should be thicker than the regular adai batter.
• Heat a heavy bottomed pan/ kadai, preferably iron.
• Spread a thick adai over greased kadai.
• Pour 2 tbsp of oil around and cook covered in lowest flame for 3 mins approx.
• Open the lid and carefully flip and cook again for 2-3 more mins. Drizzle oil around again while cooking.
• If needed, poke holes here and there for even cooking. Longer you cook in low flame, more crispier. But never be stingy over oil.  Transfer to serving plate carefully.

Video

Notes

• If storing for later use, you can skip salt, add later.
• This adai needs more oil for perfect crispy, tasty results. You can use oils with healthy fat such as sesame oil or coconut oil.
• make sure to powder evenly as coarse rava texture. Do not powder to fine flour.
• When texture of the ground mixture is right, while adding hot water, there will not be any lump formation.
• The mixture should be almost half cooked while you add hot water. 

Thavala adai method:

1. First powder red chilli, black pepper and salt* coarsely.
   
2. Add cumin seeds, rice, toor dal, chana dal and moong dal. Grind until coarse, rava like texture.
   
3. Transfer to a bowl. Pour boiling hot water to the mixture and mix to make thick batter.
   
4. Keep aside for 1 hr. Temper with Mustard, asafoetida, ginger, curry leaves. Add grated coconut and mix well. Adjust the consistency with more hot water as it would have become thick after resting 1 hr.
   
5. The batter should be thicker than the regular adai batter. Heat a heavy bottomed pan/ kadai, preferably iron. Spread a thick adai over greased kadai.
   
6. Pour 2 tbsp of oil around and cook covered in lowest flame for 3 mins approx. Open the lid and carefully flip and cook again for 2-3 more mins. Drizzle oil around again while cooking. If needed, poke holes here and there for even cooking. Longer you cook in low flame, more crispier. But never be stingy over oil.  Transfer to serving plate carefully.
   
7. 💡You can heat a tawa side by side and flip the adai over it to avoid breaking and fast the process as you can cook 2 simultaneously.

Serve with idli milagai podi the best as she suggested. Can also have it with chutney, sambar.