Begin your day with these healthy crepes made from green mung beans. Known as Pesarattu these are crisp crepes made with a lightly spiced mung bean batter and are a speciality breakfast from the Andhra cuisine.
So let me break it down for you. What doe the word Pesarattu mean?
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.
So if it is difficult for you to pronounce the word “Pesarattu” – just call these crepes as Moong Dal Dosa.
Pesarattu are protein rich and vegan as well. If you skip the asaofetida in this recipe, you get a gluten-free version.
They are very easy to make. Just soak the mungs beans in water for 4 to 6 hours and then grind them with some herbs and spices.
There is no need of fermenting the batter. You can use the batter straightway after grinding.
Pesarattu recipe can be made with whole moong beans or split yellow moong lentils. I usually make Pesarattu with both whole green moong dal and the split husked yellow mung lentils.
The pesarattu recipe 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 is served with Upma and Allam Pachadi (Ginger Chutney). You can serve with Coconut Chutney also.
How to make Pesarattu
Learn to make crispy and wholesome Pesarattu with my detailed step by step photos listed below.
Making batter
1. Firstly, rinse ½ cup whole moong beans and 2 tablespoons rice a couple of times in water. Then soak the moong beans and rice for 4 to 6 hours or overnight in enough water. Drain all the water. The below photo shows the soaked moong beans and rice.
2. In a blender or mixer-grinder, add the moong beans and rice after draining all the water. You can even rinse the moong beans and rice before grinding.
Add 1 green chilli (chopped), 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves, 1 inch ginger (chopped), ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 pinch asafoetida (optional), salt as per taste and ⅓ to ½ cup water. Skip asafoetida for a gluten-free moong dal dosa.
3. Grind or blend to a smooth batter. The batter consistency is similar to that of a regular Dosa Batter.
Tip 1: If the batter looks thick, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons more water.
Tip 2: If the batter looks thin, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons rice flour. You can even add gram flour (besan).
Making pesarattu
4. On a cast iron tawa or skillet , smear some oil or ghee with a paper towel or with half of an onion. Keep the heat to low or medium-low when spreading the pesarattu batter.
With a big spoon, pour the pesarattu batter on the griddle and use the same spoon for spreading the batter into a round shape. For a non-stick tawa or pan, do not spread oil on it.
5. Sprinkle some finely chopped onions, chopped green chilies (optional) and coriander leaves (optional). I have not added green chillies and coriander leaves when taking these photos.
Press these with the spatula so that they get stuck to the batter which is getting cooked. Drizzle oil at the sides and in the center.
6. Flip and cook the second side for a half a minute or a minute. This will just lightly cook the onions.
7. Fold and serve moong dal dosa.
8. Make all pesarattu this way with the rest of the batter. Serve pesarattu hot or warm with upma accompanied with ginger chutney or coconut chutney. Or just plain with some coconut chutney.
I have compiled below some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and a few tips from the comments section where readers have asked me queries.
Tips + FAQs
Yes absolutely. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons 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 recipe.
Rice gives a crispy texture to the pesarattu. But you can skip adding rice in the recipe.
You could skip them completely. Or as one of our readers have suggested – sauté onions until softened or light golden, top them on pesarattu once it is cooked. In some hotels, they follow this method and even sauté the onions in ghee (clarified butter).
No, pesarattu recipe cannot be made with cooked moong dal.
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.
Yes, you can easily use moong sprouts to make pesarattu. Grind the mung sprouts to a fine batter with the other ingredients mentioned in the recipe.
Yes, you can add cream of rice (idli rava) instead of rice flour.
You can refrigerate the batter, but the texture and taste changes when you make pesarattu.
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Pesarattu | Moong Dal Dosa
Ingredients
For the batter
- ½ cup whole moong beans
- 2 tablespoons rice – optional
- enough water – for soaking
- ⅓ to ½ cup water – for blending
- 1 inch ginger – chopped or 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 1 green chilli chopped or 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) – optional
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- salt as required
Toppings
- 1 green chilli – finely chopped, optional
- ¼ to ⅓ cup finely chopped onions
- 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves – optional
- oil or ghee, as required
Serving suggestions
- upma – as required, optional
- coconut chutney – as required
- coriander chutney – as required
- ginger chutney – as required
Instructions
Making Batter
- Firstly, pick and rinse the moong beans and rice.
- Then soak the moong beans and rice for 4 to 6 hours or overnight in enough water.
- Drain and add the moong beans and rice together with ginger, green chilies, asafoetida, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and salt in a grinder jar.
- Add water and grind into a smooth batter.
- Remove the batter in a bowl or pan.
- The consistency should be similar to a regular dosa batter.
Making Pesarattu
- On a griddle or flat pan, spread a little oil or ghee with paper towels.
- With a ladle, pour the pesarattu batter on the griddle and use the same spoon for spreading the batter into a round shape.
- Drizzle some oil on the sides and in the center of the pesarattu 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.
Video
Notes
- This pesarattu recipe 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, you can also add 2 to 3 tablespoons rice flour to the batter.
- The moong dal dosa can be had plain too with a simple coconut chutney or ginger chutney.
Nutrition Info (Approximate values)
This recipe post is from the archives (August 2009) and has been republished and updated on 12 November 2020.
I follow your recipes almost blindly and you are my first preference when selecting the recipe. Thank You so much for helping people like us.
Thank you so much Trina for the trust. So glad to read your lovely comment. Most welcome.