Meena's Taste Mantra

Elai Adai | Sweet Dumplings Steamed in Plantain Leaves

Elai Adai is a traditional SouthIndian Sweet. Amma says her Amma used to make the best Elai Adais ever. The Chakkai Thenga Purnam that Pershammai made was so delicious that each time the rice batter used to be left over as the purnam would have been gobbled up by then!

Amma follows the same method but for a twist - using Aval | Poha | Flattened rice instead of fresh coconut gratings! For me my Amma's Elai Adai is out of this world! Simply YUM! I cannot eat any other Elai Adais as I know what the best tastes like!

Elai Adai | Steamed Sweet wrapped in Plantain Leaf

INGREDIENTS
For Wrapper:
Plantain Leaves
For Rice Batter:
1 cup Rice, raw
A pinch Salt
For Chakkai Aval Purnam:

METHOD
Preparing Plantain Leaf:

Clean the plantain leaf well with water and then dry them with a soft cloth. Cut the plantain leaf into small squares. Place a tava on gas on high flame, when tava is hot reduce the flame to low. Place one cut square on the tava and with a kitchen towel gently press down across the surface of the leaf. This is called in Tamil as "Ellai Vaattal". This is done so that the leaves become soft and do not break when we fold them.

Amma says that as kids when they used to make it at home, they used to soften the plantain leaves by drying them under bright sun light! But in cities that has to be modified to this method!

Rice Batter:

Soak raw rice for 5 hours. Then drain and grind to a very smooth paste adding a pinch of salt. The consistency should be such that when you pour the batter, it will not flow out in any directions, but uniformly spread, gradually.
Chakkai Aval Purnam:

Chakkai Aval Purnam | Jackfruit Flattened Rice Sweet Mixture

In a thick bottomed kadhai, heat ghee. add jaggery. When jaggery begins to melt, add Chakkavaratti and Aval. Mix well. You need to mix continuously for 3 minutes on low flame. Switch off the gas and transfer Chakka Avval Purnam to a bowl.

Elai Adai:

Now that we have all the items ready, all we need to do is assemble them and make the Elai Adais. This is very easy. Place one softened Elai on top of a plate and then all you need to do is go as per suggestion mentioned here.

Gently pour little rice batter in the center and make a small round. Place a spoonful of Chakkai Aval Purnam in the center.

Fold the elai into half taking the bottom end to meet the top and then gently fold both the sides. Finally fold the top part of the elai. Turn to the other side. Gently flatten the elai so that the purnam spreads evenly and you get a flat prepared elai adai ready to be steamed. Similarly make the rest elai adais.

Place the Adai in a steamer. Ensure to keep spaces between 2 Adais so that they get steamed properly. Add sufficient water as you need to steam the Elai Adais for 30 minutes. In case you are making just 4 to 5 at one go, steam for 20 minutes. As you increase the number of Elai Adais to be steamed in one go, the steaming time also increases.

Remove the steamed Adais and keep to cool. Once cool, serve them. To relish this wonderful Elai Adai, gently uncover the plantain leaf and keeping that as the platter, enjoy the sweet delight!

Elai Adais can be made any time of the year provided you have made Chakkavaratti during the Jackfruit season, These can be consumed as a snack. Now a days one finds this being served even in marriage luncheons though the inside sweet purnam may be this or just that made of coconut and jaggery!

About C R Meena

(c) 2014 - 2016, Meena's Taste Mantra is the result of my ardent desire to share my recipes, with all who appreciate and celebrate food. These recipes are as a result of 60 years of cooking experience, influenced by tradition and exposure to various concepts, new recipes/ingredients and a passion for cooking - adapting to healthier alternatives.