Ada (food)
Encyclopedia
Ada or Ela Ada, is a 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's a snack made out of raw rice flour
, sugar
or jaggery
and grated coconut
. It is usually prepared on Onam
.
Poovada, is prepared in the tip end of the plantain leaf as the Nivedyam
for Onam
, into this ada goes, with the coconut
filling, a sprinkling of the Thumbapoo(a white flower(Leuca Indica)), making it more auspicious. Sometimes banana
is also added in the filing which is coconut-jaggery-banana filling. Spicy Ottada is a unique breakfast with maida
and rice flour
as the main ingredients. It can be also made without maida
, but using the rice flour
alone and it is not steamed instead cooked on Tava
or flame. Sometimes the fillings inside ada would be Chakkavaratti (Jackfruit Jam). Ada is also given as Prasad
am (Sacred Food) to devotees
at temple
s in Kerala
.
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
delicacy, consisting of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
parcels encased in a dough made of rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....
, with sweet fillings, steamed in banana leaf
Banana leaf
Banana leaf is the leaf of the Banana plant. It is used for various functions, such as for decorative elements, wrappings, plate mat, and employed in cooking method....
and served as an evening snack or as part of breakfast. It can be seen even in parts of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
as well.
Grated coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
and rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....
are the two main ingredients. It's a snack made out of raw rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
or jaggery
Jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
and grated coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
. It is usually prepared on Onam
Onam
Onam is a Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. It falls during the month of Chingam and lasts for ten days...
.
Poovada, is prepared in the tip end of the plantain leaf as the Nivedyam
Naivedhya
Naivedhya is a Sanskrit word which refers to offering of food to God, before eating it. As such, tasting during preparation or eating the food before offering it to God is forbidden. The food is placed before a deity and prayers are offered. Then the food is consumed as a holy offering.Pronounced...
for Onam
Onam
Onam is a Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. It falls during the month of Chingam and lasts for ten days...
, into this ada goes, with the coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
filling, a sprinkling of the Thumbapoo(a white flower(Leuca Indica)), making it more auspicious. Sometimes banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
is also added in the filing which is coconut-jaggery-banana filling. Spicy Ottada is a unique breakfast with maida
Maida flour
Maida is a finely milled and refined flour of wheat, closely resembling cake flour, and used extensively in making Indian fast food and Indian bakery products such as pastries and breadand sometimes in making traditional Indian breads such as paratha and naan. It is made from the endosperm of the...
and rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....
as the main ingredients. It can be also made without maida
Maida flour
Maida is a finely milled and refined flour of wheat, closely resembling cake flour, and used extensively in making Indian fast food and Indian bakery products such as pastries and breadand sometimes in making traditional Indian breads such as paratha and naan. It is made from the endosperm of the...
, but using the rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....
alone and it is not steamed instead cooked on Tava
Tava
A tava, tawa, saj, or sac is a large, flat or convex disc-shaped griddle made from metal, usually sheet iron, cast iron, sheet steel or aluminium. It is used in south, central, and west Asia for cooking a variety of flatbreads and as a griddle for meat...
or flame. Sometimes the fillings inside ada would be Chakkavaratti (Jackfruit Jam). Ada is also given as Prasad
Prasad
Prasād is a mental condition of generosity, as well as a material substance that is first offered to a deity and then consumed...
am (Sacred Food) to devotees
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
at temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
See also
- Kerala cuisineCuisine of KeralaThe cuisine of Kerala is linked in all its richness to the history, geography, demography and culture of the land. Kerala cuisine has a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry and meat.-Ingredients:...
- PlantainPlantainPlantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
- OnamOnamOnam is a Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. It falls during the month of Chingam and lasts for ten days...
- PooramPooramPooram is an annual temple festival held in central Kerala after the summer harvest. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated elephant being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple precincts...
- Sadya
- BreakfastBreakfastBreakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
- NambiarNambiar-Communities:The name Nambiar applies to several Hindu communities from South India:-Kerala:*Nambiar - the Royal families and the subdivision within the Nair caste from the North Malabar region of Kerala....
- ഓണം