ELA ADA

Ada or Ela Ada is an Indian sweet and traditional Kerala delicacy, consisting of rice parcels encased in a dough made of rice flour with sweet fillings, steamed in banana leaf and served as an evening snack or as part of breakfast. It can be seen even in parts of Tamil Nadu as well. Grated coconut and rice flour are the two main ingredients. It is usually prepared on Onam. In this recipe, I used chakka varatti/ jackfruit preserve for filling, instead of jaggery.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw rice - 2 cup

Ghee

Salt

Chakka varati - 1 cup

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Plantain leaves

METHOD:

Prepare the dough:

       Soak the rice for 2 hours. Grind the rice to a fine paste and the consistency should not be very runny or very thick. Add ghee and pinch of salt to the batter.

Prepare the filling:

       Mix the chakka varati, cardamom powder, ghee and grated coconut and heat it in a low flame for 5 mins.

Prepare the banana leaves:

           Wipe the leaves with a moist cloth. Then place one leaf at a time on the gas flame for about, flipping and turning the leaf so that the leaf is slightly wilted. This step helps in making the folding easy.

Prepare the Ada:

            Take the plantain leaves. Pour a spoonful of the prepared rice batter and spread like a small dosa. Should not be very thin. Place 2 to 3 tbsp of jackfruit filling in the center and fold the banana leaf from the opposite side. Fold both the sides and the open side as well so as to make a closed parcel. Steam this in a steamer for 30 mins.