Karthigai Vella Adai Recipe

Vella Adai is a sweet and tasty adai made using rice and lentils especially for Karthigai Deepam. The batter is mixed with jaggery and then cooked like soft utappam. This is usually made during festivals, but many times it is prepared for evening tea time snack also. 

The taste is mild and comforting, and jaggery gives nice sweetness without being too much. Cardamom flavor comes slightly and it smells really good while cooking. It tastes too good when served hot with butter. I make this adai when I want something sweet but not too heavy.

Jump to:

• About Vella Adai
• Vella Adai Ingredients
• How to make Karthigai Adai Step by Step
• Expert Tips
• Serving and Storage
• FAQS
• 📖 Recipe Card

About Vella Adai

Vella Adai is a sweet dish made with rice and different lentils together so it is healthy too. Rice and lentils are grinded in to a batter, then mixed with jaggery syrup and cooked on tawa. The batter consistency is thick so the adai comes out soft in the center. I keep making it often as everyone in my home enjoys this adai so much.

The texture of this adai is soft and little fluffy, not crispy like dosa. Since jaggery is added, the adai gets golden brown faster while cooking so cook in low medium flame. Coconut adds mild richness and cardamom gives that nice traditional smell. Cooking in low flame is important for this recipe.

You can slightly change the taste by adding ghee instead of oil or by adding few chopped nuts. Some people like it more sweet, so jaggery quantity can be adjusted. Making it thick gives better texture, thin batter will not give that soft feel. This recipe needs bit planning to soak the rice and lentils, but once the batter is ready cooking is easy.

I usually make this adai during festivals or on weekends when there is enough time to soak rice and dal.

Vella Adai Ingredients

• Raw rice - I used as base for this adai. It gives body and structure once cooked. I soaked it well so grinding becomes easy and batter turns smooth.
• Mixed dals (toor dal, chana dal, moong dal, urad dal) - I added these dals for protein, nuttiness and filling texture. You can skip one dal if not available but using mix of dals gives best flavor.
• Jaggery - I add to sweeten the adai. I just make the syrup and strain it to remove impurities. It adds natural sweetness and gives nice color.
• Coconut - I have used grated coconut for richness and flavor. It gives soft bite in between. You can add more if you like more coconut taste.
• Cardamom powder - I add it for aroma and flavor. It gives that festival sweet smell and nice taste.

Why This Recipe Works

• It is a simple traditional sweet that uses basic ingredients only.
• Jaggery gives natural sweetness and nice golden color.
• This has thick batter, it makes the adai soft and fluffy in center.
• Cooking on low flame helps adai cook evenly without burning.
• It works well as festival dish or evening snack also.

Similar Recipes

• Karthigai adai
• Thinai appam
• Wheatflour appam
• Karupatti pori urundai
• Chocolate pori urundai
• Nel pori urundai

How to make Karthigai Adai Step by Step

1.First prepare jaggery syrup. Mix jaggery with water and heat it up for few minutes until it is slightly thick (no consistency needs to be checked). Heat it up until jaggery gets dissolved. Strain the jaggery syrup to remove impurities.

2.Strain the syrup and then, collect it in a bowl. Heat it up and cook for few minutes to make the syrup thick like honey in consistency.

3.Measure and take raw rice along with other dals. Soak together in water for 2 to 3 hours, Set aside.

4.Rinse it well, then add it to a mixer jar. Add water as little as possible and grind into a slightly coarse thickish batter.

5.It should be this thick. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add jaggery syrup.

6.Mix well to form a flowing batter slightly thicker than dosa batter. Add coconut and cardamom powder.

7.Finally heat a dosa tawa. Take a ladle full of batter and pour it on the tawa ,spread it slightly. Drizzle oil. Cook in low medium flame.

8.Flip to other side for cooking and cook till golden brown and the ends start turning crisp. Similarly repeat to finish the batter.

Karthigai adai ready. Serve hot with butter!

Expert Tips

• Batter consistency - I grind the batter thick by adding very little water. If batter is runny, adai will spread too much.
• Jaggery syrup - I added jaggery syrup slowly and mixed well. If batter becomes thick after adding syrup, add little water only.
• Cooking flame - I cooked the adai in low to medium flame. Since jaggery is there, it browns fast if flame is high.
• Oil or ghee - I used gingelly oil while cooking for nice aroma. You can use ghee also, it gives very good flavor.
• Tawa choice - I used iron dosa tawa for best results. Thick adai cooks evenly on iron tawa.

Serving and Storage

Serve Karthigai Vella Adai hot with butter on top. This can be served for breakfast or dinner. It goes well with tea or coffee also. Best taste is when served fresh and hot. Store leftover in airtight container and finish on that day itself and reheat lightly on tawa before serving.

FAQS

1.Can I make without jaggery?

You can use sugar, but taste will not be same. Jaggery gives traditional flavor.

2.Is soaking really needed?

Yes soaking rice and dals is important for soft batter and smooth grinding.

3.Can I make adai thin like dosa?

You can make it thinner, but thick adai tastes better and stays soft.

4.Can I add in nuts?

Yes, you can just chop and add some nuts for the crunch.

5.Which oil is best for this adai?

I prefer gingelly oil, but ghee also works very well for flavor.

If you have any more questions about this Karthigai Adai do mail me at sharmispassions@gmail.com. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook,  Pinterest, Youtube and Twitter .

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