ULUNDU ADAI/ MINAPA PAPPU ADAI/ BLACK GRAM (BLACK MATPE BEAN) PANCAKE

              This is a different version of adai (a type of pancake staple to South Indians) and is made of black gram. The usual adai is made with rice, split pigeon peas (toor dal) and bengal gram dal (chana dal). Minapa pappu adai is an authetic recipe from Andhra (although not very familiar).


             The batter is made with soaked rice, dry black gram (not soaked), dry red chilly and coconut with a dose of spices like pepper and cumin. Asafoetida and curry leaves add extra aroma to the pancake. Unlike idli or dosa batter, the batter is not grounded to a fine paste. It has a coarse texture. 

               The use of black gram (black matpe bean) ensures no loss in vitamins as the outer bran is not removed. The ingredients used make the dish highly nutritious and is easily digestible. This is best paired with inippu chutney (sweet chutney) made from shallots and jaggery. This is a great option for a healthy breakfast. It can also be had as a after school healthy snack.
               Black gram (black matpe bean) can be seen in various forms in Indian households. Whole black gram (used for dishes like amritsari dal), split black gram, whole black gram with the skin removed (used for making idli, medhu vadai etc) and split black gram with the skin removed (generally used as a tempering agent)

Ingredients in other languages
1. Rice - Chawal in hindi, arisi in tamil, ari in malayalam and biyyam in telugu.
2. Black gram (black matpe bean) - Kali urad in hindi, karuppu ulundu in tamil, uzhunna parippu in malayalam and minapa pappu in telugu.

3. Dry red chilly - Sookhi lal mirch, Kaaindha milagai or vara milagai in tamil, unakka mulaku in malayalam and endu mirapakaya in telugu.
4. Coconut - Naariyal in hindi, thengai in tamil, thenga in malayalam and kobbari in telugu.
5. Peppercorns - Kali mirch in hindi, milagu in tamil, kuru mulaku in malayalam and miriyaalu in telugu.
6. Cumin seeds - Jeera in hindi, jeeragam or seeragam in tamil, jeerakam in malayalam and jeelakara in telugu.
7. Curry leaves - Kadi pattha in hindi, karivepillai in tamil, karivepilla in malayalam and karivepaku in telugu.
8. Asafoetida - Hing in hindi, perungaayam in tamil, kaayam in malayalam and inguva or ingumo in telugu.

BLACK GRAM PANCAKE/ MINAPA PAPPU ADAI RECIPE

Cuisine - Andhra

Category - Main

Preparation time - soaking time - 1 hr, grinding time - 15 minutes

Cooking time - 5 minutes

Yields - 15 to 16 pancakes

INGREDIENTS

Idli rice (par boiled rice) or Regular rice - 1 cup (Soaked for one hour)

Black gram (black matpe bean) - 1/2 cup 

Dry red chillies - 7 to 8 (or as per taste)

Coconut (scrapped) - 1/4 cup

Peppercorns (whole pepper) - 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 2 stalks

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

METHOD

1. Soak the idli rice for about an hour prior to grinding. Drain off the water and grind the rice in a mixie jar with the dry red chillies to a coarse paste. The reason to grind the chilly alone with the rice is that the chilly seeds has to be grounded well.

2. Now, add black gram, peppercorns and cumin seeds and grind again to a moderately coarse paste. Add water little by little. The black gram shouldn't be soaked. They have to be washed just before grinding. 

3. Curry leaves can be added to this batter either chopped or can be grounded wit the black gram in the last step. Both way they lend a great flavour.

4. Add asafoetida and necessary water to make the batter of pouring consistency. Mix the scrapped coconut at this stage. You can even chop the coconut to pieces or grind them along with the batter.

5.  Take a laddle full of the batter and pour it in a circular motion on a hot tawa. Add oil genourously and cover with a lid. When the top portion is cooked, flip the adai and cook the other side. This side has to be cooked open.

6. Cook till crisp. Serve hot with coconut chutney or sweet chutney (made of shallots n jaggery) .

Note

  1. If black gram is not available it can be substituted with the white urad dal (black gram without skin). Rule is the same, the lentil shall not be soaked.

2. Allow the batter to stand for an hour before preparing adai. 

3. This batter doesn't need the fermentation process.
4. I used 3 cups of water altogether. Make a comparitively thin batter. It thickens on standing anyway.