Rinse and soak 1.5 cups water with regular rice or idli rice, chana dal, urad dal, tuvar dal, and dry red chilies (byadagi or kashmiri) for 2 to 3 hours.

You can also store it overnight.

Drain the water and combine the rice, lentils, and red chilies in a grinder jar.

Add the chopped ginger and hing as well. You can also add 1 green chili and 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds at this point.

Mix in 3/4 cup water to make a semi-coarse, medium-thick batter. Make sure the batter is not too fine.

Put the batter in a mixing bowl. Cover and set aside for at least 20 minutes, or up to 1 to 2 hours.

Finely chop the onions (or pearl onions or shallots), coriander leaves, and curry leaves. Grated coconut can also be added.

As needed, season with salt. Mix thoroughly.

Warm a cast iron skillet or tawa with a little oil.

Pour the batter onto the tawa with a ladle full of batter. Spread the batter quickly into a round circle.

Make a small dent or hole in the center with the back of a spoon. This aids in the even cooking of the adai.

Drizzle some oil in the center and around the edges.

Cook until the adai is crisp and golden on medium-low to medium heat. Then flip them over. You can also cook it with a lid on top.

Cook the adai on the second side until it is well cooked with golden brown spots. Then flip and serve. This method allows you to make adai in batches.

Protein-rich adai can be paired with white butter, jaggery, idli-dosa podi, or avial. It goes well with coconut chutney, tomato chutney, or tomato-onion chutney.