Onam Ada

Banana leaves -2
Rice flour -1 cup
Boiling water -2cups
Salt
Grated coconut -1 ½ cup
Jaggery - ½ cup
Water -4tbsp
Cardamom powder- ½ tsp

In a bowl put rice flour and sprinkle some salt.
Make a well in the middle and pour boiling water
little by little, while mixing with a spoon. Pour
as much water to get a smooth dough.

On a low flame in a wok , pour water and put jaggery.
As the jaggery melts, add grated coconut and cardamom
powder. As it turns thick, yet juicy, turn off the flame.

Wash and wipe the banana leaves.Tear the leaves into
rectangular pieces. Apply a drop of oil in each piece.
Dip your fingers in water, take a lemon sized dough,
keep on the rectangular leaves and lightly press
backward and forward to get a paper - thin look
on the leaves. On the half of the thin dough on the leaves,
put the coconut in jaggery and fold the leaves and press
it on three sides. In a steamer ,keep these
ada and steam for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Paper thin ada is ready. Have it hot,
it almost melts in the mouth.

Tips-
You can also roast the adas on a frying pan.
Which will give the ada a firm texture;
but will have a different flavour of the roasted banana
Leaves.
Youcan make variations in stuffing ,by adding sliced and boiled
ethapazham (Kerala banana) with grated coconut and jaggery.

In different parts of Kerala ada has different adjectives.
Onam ada –made on onam for breakfast, ela- ada as
it is made on Leaves, poovada as it is
soft and beautiful as a flower.

During festivals , from Maharashtra to south, ada is made in
different shapes with stuffings. In Karnataka ,
it is made in jack fruit leaves or turmeric leaves.
During Ganesh festival , it is modak and
in Kerala among Christians ,
it turns kozhukatta during kozhukatta-perunal.
With any shape or stuffing, ada is a healthy snack.