Ada (Kerala rice flakes for payasam)
अडा · അട
Rice & Grains
Small flat squares of steamed rice batter, cooked into milk or jaggery for palada and ada pradhaman. They thicken the payasam as their starch comes out.
What to know
Packet ada is boiled first and then rinsed in cold water until the water runs clear. Skip the rinse and the payasam turns gummy and the pieces glue together.
- Choosing it
- Pale, dry, evenly cut squares. Yellowed ada has been on the shelf too long and stays chewy however long it is cooked.
- Storing it
- Airtight; cooked ada keeps a day in the fridge under water.
- If you cannot get it
- Sold as ada or palada in Kerala shops and by South Indian grocers abroad. Vermicelli is not a substitute — it is a different grain, cooks in a fraction of the time and gives a payasam with no body.
Measures
- 1 cup ≈ 110 g
Cups here are the Indian 200 ml cup, not the 240 ml US cup — a common reason a recipe does not work. Weigh where you can; the grams are the figure we cook to.
Recipes using ada
None published yet.