Pesarattu or Moong Dal Dosa with step by step photos. Pesarattu are crispy crepes made from ground whole mung lentils batter. These healthy crepes are a popular breakfast recipe from Andhra Pradesh.
The telugu word ‘Pesarattu’ is derived from two words “pesara” and “attu”.
– Pesara means mung lentils or moong dal.
– Attu means dosa.
Thus Pesarattu literally means Moong Dal Dosa. Pesarattu is also called as pesara dosa in telugu language.
Pesarattu is a healthy & nutritious Dosa variety. They are Vegan as well as Gluten-free.
They are very easy to make. Just soak the lentils and then grind them. No need of fermenting the batter. You can use the batter straightway after grinding.
Pesarattu dosa can be made with whole moong beans or split yellow moong lentils. I usually make Pesarattu dosa with both whole green moong dal and the split husked yellow mung lentils.
The dosa made with yellow moong lentils has a texture similar to the North Indian Moong Chilla. Whereas the ones made with whole moong beans taste a bit different. But both are delicious.
Pesarattu Dosa is served with Upma. The dosa can be served with coconut chutney or allam chutney (ginger chutney). They also taste good with a simple coriander chutney.
I have compiled below some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and a few tips from the comments section where readers have asked me queries.
FAQ on Pesarattu
1. Can rice be added instead of rice flour?
Yes absolutely. For 2 cups of moong dal, add ¼ cup of rice.
2. Can I use leftover cooked moong dal to make dosa?
No, pesarattu dosa cannot be made with cooked moong dal.
3Can I use any other flour instead of rice flour?
Yes, you can use chickpea flour (besan) or any flour like ragi or jowar flour. But note that these flours will contribute their taste in the pesarattu.
4. Can I skip rice flour?
Rice flour gives a crispy texture to the dosa. But you can skip rice flour in the recipe.
5. What is the soaking time for whole green mung beans vs split yellow mung beans?
Soak the green moong beans for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. The split yellow moong lentils can be soaked for 1 hour to 3 hours. Less time taken for soaking results in a more crisp texture.
6. Can i use moong sprouts to make dosa?
Yes, you can easily make moong sprouts dosa. Grind the mung sprouts to a fine batter with the other ingredients mentioned in the recipe.
7. Can I add cream of rice instead of rice flour?
Yes, you can add cream of rice (idli rava) instead of rice flour.
8. Reader suggestions:
Instead of raw onions, add half fried onions on the top of the dosa and this enhances the taste of pesarattu. In hotels, they follow this method and fry the onions with ghee. Some cumin seeds can also be added while grinding the batter.
How to make Pesarattu or Moong Dal Dosa
1: Firstly, rinse the moong lentils a couple of times in water. Then soak the moong dal for 4 to 6 hours or overnight in enough water. Drain all the water. Below photo is of the soaked and drained moong beans on the next day.
2: Grind it into a smooth paste in the morning with the green chilly, ginger, coriander leaves, salt with some water (add water as required). Add the rice flour and stir well.
3: On a griddle, smear a little oil or ghee. With a big spoon, pour the dosa batter on the griddle and use the same spoon for spreading the moong dal dosa batter into a round shape. Sprinkle some of the finely chopped onions, green chilies and coriander leaves.
4: Drizzle oil at the sides and in the center.
5: Flip the dosa a couple of times until both sides are well cooked and browned.
6: Make all Pesarattu this way. Serve Moong Dal Dosa hot or warm with upma accompanied with coconut chutney. Or just plain with some coconut chutney or coriander chutney.
Some more Indian Dosa varieties
Pesarattu | Moong Dal Dosa
INGREDIENTS
For Pesarattu batter
- 2 cups green moong beans
- 1 green chilly - chopped
- ½ inch ginger - chopped
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) - optional
- ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves - optional
- salt as required
- 3 tablespoons rice flour - optional
Toppings and other ingredients for Pesarattu
- 1 medium-sized onion - finely chopped
- 1 green chilli - finely chopped, optional
- few chopped coriander leaves
- oil or ghee for frying the dosa - as required
Serving suggestions
- upma - as required, optional
- coconut chutney - as required
- coriander chutney - as required
- ginger chutney - as required
INSTRUCTIONS
Making Pesarattu Batter
- Firstly, pick and rinse the moong beans.
- Then soak the moong beans overnight in enough water.
- Drain and add the moong beans along with ginger, green chilies, asafoetida, coriander leaves and salt in a grinder jar.
- Add some water and grind into a smooth batter.
- Remove the batter in a bowl or pan.
- Stir in the rice flour and mix well. The consistency should be similar to a dosa batter.
Making Pesarattu
- On a griddle or flat pan, spread a little oil or ghee.
- With a ladle, pour the dosa batter on the griddle and use the same spoon for spreading the moong dal dosa batter into a round shape.
- Pour some oil on the sides and in the center of the dosa.
- Sprinkle the finely chopped onions, green chilies and coriander leaves.
- Press these with the spatula so that they get stuck to the batter which is getting cooked.
- Flip and cook both sides a couple of times till crisp and browned.
- Serve the Moong Dal Dosa or Pesarattu hot with Upma and Coconut Chutney.
NOTES
- This Pesarattu dosa can also be made with spilt green gram or sprouted moong.
- If using yellow moong, then you can soak the lentils for 1 to 3 hours.
- Instead of adding rice flour, you can also grind both soaked rice and green moong beans together.
- The moong dal dosa can be had plain too.
These dosas are really healthy and nutritious.makes for a wholesome breakfast.loved it.
thanks winnie. definitely, these moong dal dosa are healthy as well as tasty too.
Will be trying this out tomorrow for breakfast. Just soaked the moong. You are my go to website for all things veg.
thank you safia. hope you like the pesarattu recipe.
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hi neelu, thank you very much. felt so good to read your comment and these words have definitely encouraged me. for the app, i will see if we can have it again. thanks again and i wish you all the best.
I tried this recipe and came out well. But I faced problem in spreading the batter as the batter was very fluffy and airy. Please suggest some tips to spread it
usually, pesarattu batter is not fluffy and airy. did you ferment the batter? for a fluffy and airy batter, just mix it with a spoon a couple of times and some of the air pockets in the batter will break. other than that you can add some water in the batter.this will help the batter to spread easily on the tawa. hope this helps.
Can v use cooked left over rice instead of raw rice….
i am not sure, how the texture of pesarattu dosa will be if cooked rice is added. it will be like experimenting, but you can try.
Made this recipe last night and even though I need way more practice making the batter thin, the crepes were still really delicious!
thanks andrea for the positive review. with more practice, the moong dal dosa will have a better texture. happy cooking.
Tasty
What should be the proportion of rice and dal for making dosa ? Can this dosa be made with leftover moong dal? If yes, how ?
for 2 cups of moong dal, you can use 1/4th cup of rice. by leftover moong dal if you mean cooked moong dal, then this pesarattu dosa cannot be made.
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Suvarna
Mysore
thanks a lot suvarna. glad to read your comment. homemade food is always the best. happy cooking.
Hi,
Could you please tell me if rice flour can be substituted with some other flour? Thank you so much for your recipes. They always turn out great!
thanks. yes you can use besan or any flour like ragi or jowar flour. but these flours will contribute their taste in the pesarattu. you can even skip rice flour altogether. or soak 2 to 3 tablespoons of raw rice with moong and then grind together.
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thank you purna for this beautiful comment and your best wished ????. so glad to read and am happy that the website has helped and is helping you. thanks again and happy cooking. do comment whenever you can ????
Loved the images, I am drooling and craving this now!
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Thanks Sridevi for your positive feedback. Will Keep on adding more recipes with stepwise photos.
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Tried today..
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Welcome Jayachandran.
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Welcome Savitha. Glad to know this. Thanks for sharing positive feedback on recipes.
Hi,
I forgot to soak Moong daal overnight. Is it ok if I will soak it for 3 hrs. before making this dosa?
yes you can easily soak for 3 hours.
Made it yesterday.very soft and tasty.thank you
welcome renu
Made this recipe today and it turned out super delicious. Had it with upma and Allam Pachadi. Wonderful combination.
Thanks Ritu for sharing your positive feedback.
This dosa came out awesome. I loved the crispiness and the flavor!
Thanks Pallavi
Hello Dassana,
I made dabeli yesterday and a lot of potato stuffing is still left. can i use that stuffing in this dosa? i read somewhere that dabeli stuffing goes well with moong dosa.
rajshree, you can use the stuffing in dosa. you can even make some sandwiches with it or make batata vada (aloo bonda) with it. will taste good.