February 19, 2007

16 Bean Adai!


I go through a lot of blogs and try out the recipes whenever I am bored with the routine food. Some of these recipes are familiar but not cooked, some are total strangers and these I never know if I got it exactly right. The only clue I have are the other photos and I keep checking to see if the end product looks similar. Most of the time, cooking from other blogs is a leisurely activity compared to the intensity involved in cooking one of the home recipes correctly, chronicling it and photographing it. So I hardly have any photos of other's recipes that I have tried.

Indonsungod's and Saffron Hut's adai is an exception as it had a high curiosity factor for me, being already fond of regular adai. It was a weekend morning and the sun was pouring through my windows when I made these for a late breakfast. So after the family ate, I ran to get some photos.

My mother's recipe calls for 1 cup of rice and 1 cup of assorted skinned lentils such as Massor, Chana, Tuvar,Moong and Urad. So I tried it first with the variety of skinned and unskinned lentils as in Indosungod and it came out delicious without losing any bit of its crunchy texture.

Then emboldened, I made it with 16 beans as did Saffron Hut. So does 16 beans make it a protein powerhouse? Yep! The 16 beans which she ingeniously used in the adai is originally a soup mix but anybody can make these adai with any assortment of beans or lentils. The color of the adai was greenish due to the presence of the beans with skins. The texture and taste is similar but a little rougher. The only issue was how to get rid of the natural bloating due to the beans. I did some of the tricks explained by Nandita here and would further welcome any suggestions that you all have to combat the indigestion.
Do refer to the saffron hut and indosungod's sites for their version of the recipe.

You will need:
16 bean soup mix or any assortment of lentils-1 cup
Urad dal-1/2 cup
White Rice-1 1/2 cup
Green chili-6-8 chopped
Ginger-1 inch
Curry leaves
Shallots-4-5 chopped finely
Cilantro-4 tbsp
Hing or Asafoetida-1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Soak the beans, rice and urad dal separately for 6 hrs or overnight.
2. Drain, wash the beans twice and grind them with the ginger, cilantro and green chilies to a semi fine paste with enough water..not too coarse. Add water as needed.
3. When it is ready, add salt, asafoetida , shallots and chopped curry leaves and mix. If you want to reduce the spice, the green chilies can chopped and added instead of grinding it.
4. Pour it and cook it as you would dosa or uttappam. Take care to cook both sides and add drops of oil as needed. Serve this with a spicy tomato chutney or coconut chutney .

Other 16 Bean Recipes:
Linda's 16 bean soup
Asha's 16 bean masala

34 comments:

Sri said...

Hey Shaheen 16 bean adai looks good. I tried them too..loved it.

J said...

I always make the regular adai at home. I just counted and realised I had only about 11 beans in my kitchen!! Still good enough for the adai isn't it?! :)

FH said...

I have two sixteen bean recipes at my Aroma blog!I love those beans and very nutrtious too.Love the Adai.

Bong Mom said...

Hey the Adai looks great

I too got know about using 16 Beans in Indian recipes from IndoSunGod

Nidhi said...

Hey, what a great way of having a great taste and Nutrition all together. 16 beans, its very interesting and I have to try it. Thanks a lot for sharing.

indosungod said...

Shaheen Adai looks perfect. What a great way to use all the leftover dals and beans. I added grated ginger the a little extra asfoetida and no complaints of bloating.

Anonymous said...

mmmmmmm..that does looks interesting.
i made hummus, ( i just used some channa, while mkaing regular channa)it tastes good. what a wonderful and simple recipe.
i don't think i get the beanmix here, so will have to stick to regualr one for the time being.
lov
ki

Hannah said...

This is a very typical kannada breakfast dish. Usually had with a tomato chutney. My neighbour who gets all her grocery supplies together - and this is also a convenient way to clear up they nearly finishing jars of lentils!
Keep up the good work! Will send some of my favourites to you sometime (soon, I promise :-))

Priya said...

I have been seeing this one on enough blogs to finally make a few for myself I think :-) Will try it out soon.

Shah cooks said...

Sri, I like to make it when I feel I am not getting enough protein!

Jyothsna, 11 beans is more than enough. Do try with that itself.

Asha, I went and checked out ur recipes. Will make ur 16 bean subji soon.

Sandeepa, I know Indo is going on and on about beans nowadays.:)

Nidhi, If you like variety from ur regular dosa, this is an interesting one.

Indo, I did add ginger and hing. I am thinking of soaking longer next time.

Ki, my family is hooked on hummus and pita and grilled meat or chicken..fool proof dinner!Channa is all you need,. the others are all variations.Ki, send me some chammandi recipes.

Asha, it is good to hear from u. I have no clue how ur life is now so this is a starting point. I look forward to ur recipes now.

Priya, U gotto to try this!

swapna susarla said...

Hi shaheen
adai is looking yummy!!!i had it once in a friend's house may be this time i can give a try..thanks for sharing..

swapna susarla said...

Hi shaheen
adai is looking yummy!!!i had it once in a friend's house may be this time i can give a try..thanks for sharing..

Anonymous said...

Shaheen, May be you shud try adding ginger garlic paste to it, to reduce indigestion...well..post the result if you solve t issue in any way!!

starry said...

never had 16 bean Adai.looks good.I am sure it is nutrtious too.

Viji said...

Ths adai looks great Shaheen. Viji

Unknown said...

Did anyone say this? 16 bean adai on a 16 colour plate????? Hugs!

Mrs. K said...

Last time at the grocery store, I spent a couple of minutes next to the dried beans aisle looking at the 16 bean pack....had a hard time deciding if I need it or not. Next time when I walk through that aisle, I know I just have to grab it! :)

Anonymous said...

I have my heart on making it ever since I saw it on Saffron hut. I even bought a pack, but ended up making some dal and soup. This inspires me again! great snap.

Anonymous said...

hey this looks good but dont we need to ferment it after grinding the mixture.. pls explain

Gattina Cheung said...

Shaheen, what a great review! You're always able to point out the details that I like to know :D

Shah cooks said...

Swapna, It is easier than dosa and nutritious too so can make it once in a while.

Yunus, I did add ginger but no garlic. maybe that will resolve the issue.

Starry nights, if you haven't had it, do try making it.:)

Vcuisine,Thanks!
Nandita.. Hugs to u too..:)

RP, i am collecting all the 16 bean recipes now..

hema, Soemtimes you ave to see it made to try it, right?so did u post ur soup recipe?

Anon, In case of adai, there is only one soaking needed, it is not as frothy as dosa and you don't need to ferment after grinding. the technical aspect of why.. I don't know.

GAttina..its all in the details..

Anonymous said...

Also, would this batter stay good for a couple of days(at least until the next day?) in the fridge like dosa/idli batter? the measurements sound like a lot of batter to me. :)

Anonymous said...

Looks very healthy and nutritious.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! The adai looks so crisp. I had never heard of adai till SH blogged about it. Then I finally made it, inspired by Anita of Mad Tea party. I loved it!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Shaheen -- who knew this little bag of beans could be made into such fabulous dishes! Adai looks awesome :)

Helene said...

I have just discovered your blog and I am just amazed by all the incredible recipes I have already bookmarked. Beautiful job!

Riot said...

It is late Sunday morning here. I wish wish wish that your adai could be teletransported. I could probably eat a million of them right now. I almost see myself dipping that adai in that delicious looking chutney :)

KF said...

Your Adai looks good! Try this soon..

Shah cooks said...

Hi Padmaja, Try it.
Gini, Glad you have already tried it.
Linda, it is a versatile bag of beans!
helene, welcome and hope you will try some recipes.

Anonymous said...

Wow .... Adai looks great Shaheen.
Good day!

Anonymous said...

Wow .... Adai looks great Shaheen.
Good day!

Anonymous said...

Shaheen, I make adais the same way but ofcourse with only 4 daals:) 16 beans sounds very interesting and more healthy. Will definitely buy that soup mix next time. Thanks!

Shaheen, my Mil makes it with tomatoes and garlic instead of green chillies and cilantro, curry leaves etc etc. It's very yummy too. Now I make her version very often. This is how we make now ...by soaking daals and rice together overnight and in the morning , grind the daal+rice mixture along with few cloves of garlic+tomatoes+shallots/Red onions+ few tsps of cooked rice(to make adai soft)+asafoetida+dry red chillies+ turmeric(optional)+salt. This tastes very good too. Do try it out.

Thanks again.

Rg.

Shah cooks said...

Bhargavi, thanks!
RG, next time, I will do it with ur recipe and add it to this post. Thanks for taking time and writing it.

Anonymous said...

I love the bean pic!