Photo: Gannu03 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kerala · Breakfast

Ada

Steamed parcels of spiced, sweetened rice-coconut paste wrapped in banana leaves — the result is a soft, slightly chewy, intensely aromatic parcel where the banana leaf imparts a distinctive grassy fragrance during steaming. Ada is both a breakfast item and a Vishu/Onam festival food. The sweet version (sweet ada) contains coconut and jaggery; the savoury version (ada pradhaman's cousin) contains rice and coconut.

🧺 Ingredients

• 1 cup (120 g) rice flour (fine, raw — not roasted)
• ½ cup (120 ml) boiling water
• ¼ tsp (1.5 g) salt
• 1 tsp (5 ml) coconut oil
• 1 cup (100 g) freshly grated coconut
• 80 g jaggery, grated
• ¼ tsp (0.5 g) cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp (15 g) chana dal, soaked 2 hours (optional for texture)
• 4 large banana leaves, cut into 25×20 cm pieces, lightly heated over flame to soften
• The rice paste layer must be thin (3 mm) or it will not cook through; thick ada is gummy inside.

👩‍🍳 How to make Ada

1. Mix jaggery with coconut and cardamom.
2. If jaggery is hard, warm briefly.
3. Add soaked chana dal if using.
4. Set aside.
5. Combine rice flour, salt, and coconut oil.
6. Add boiling water and mix to a soft, smooth dough.
7. It should be softer than puttu dough but firmer than idli batter — like thick paste.
8. Wipe banana leaf pieces with a damp cloth.
9. Smear 2 tbsp of rice paste on one half of each leaf, spreading into a thin rectangle (15×10 cm, about 3 mm thick).
10. Place 2 tbsp filling in the centre.
11. Fold the other half of the leaf over to enclose, pressing edges lightly to seal.
12. Secure with a toothpick or fold tightly.
13. Layer ada in a steamer without overlapping.
14. Steam over high heat for 18–20 minutes until the leaf darkens and the paste feels firm.
15. Peel banana leaf when cool enough to handle.

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