1 cup rice
1/3 cup urad dal
1/3 cup chana dal
1/3 cup yellow split peas
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red chili powder
1 large onion (opt)
1 carrot (opt)
1/4 cup coconut, grated (opt)
Directions
Mix rice, chana dal, urad dal, and yellow split peas in a large
vessel. Soak in a lot of water for about 2 hours.
Grind the soaked mixture with chili powder and salt coarsely, without
adding much water.
Ferment for about 3 - 4 hours, then refrigerate or freeze. In cold
weather, the fermenting process might take longer, and it might be a
good idea to ferment in an oven (the pilot light will keep the
mixture warm).
Add either onions (finely cut), carrot (grated) or coconut before
preparing.
Freezing Notes
If freezing, only ferment for about an hour. The mixture will have
to be left out for a while before being ready to use.
Rajeev Krishnamoorthy, rajeev@twain.EE.CORNELL.EDU
Servings: 6 servings
Adai Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Indian
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to trace the history of written cooking instructions back into the distant past, at least as far back into history as ancient Egypt, and maybe even further. In practice though, generally, these ancient records were just simple pictorial instructions for meal preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to historians is a series of ancient tablets in Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel blissful and exhilarated. As we move into Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a few scripts detailing recipes enjoyed by the Romans. In his scrolls, Apicius recounts how the meals were separated into hors d`oeuvre, main meal and desserts, a style of dining still practiced today. This early Roman chef recounts how the cooks of his times made use of many spices and herbs, including a few you will know such as basil, mint and asafoetida. Moving on, there were a couple of recipe books which were published in the 1300s : one book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, these are unconnected to the spicy food that is popular today, but instead accounts of the types of meals enjoyed by the rich people of those days. Later, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and spices from middle-east cuisine, such as parsley, basil and rosemary. These new culinary innovations prompted an eruption in cookery books, many of which are now in private cookery archives. By the advent of the 1900s, cookery books were highly popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, more free time and having more money. |
We hope you enjoy this Adai recipe.
