Pesarattu, this savoury, crispy, but not flaky Green Moong Dal Dosa or Green gram Dosa comes to you from Andhra Cuisine. It is a well-known protein-rich vegetarian Breakfast. But I often go back to this recipe from those days when I was looking for my low-prep and fast meal recipes for brunch, lunch, or dinner.
Why do I call Pesarattu or Green Moong Dal Dosa a low-prep dish?
For prep work, all I need to do is wash and soak the lentils for a minimum of four hours to make a batter. That’s it!
What if The Lentils are soaking for a longer time than four hours?
Your Dosa won’t be crispy!
When I say crispy, I don’t mean flaky like a regular Dosa. I mean not soft like a crepe. Longer soaking time causes beans to absorb more water and become soft.
To make them crispy, you can add rice flour, semolina, or soaked Poha to the batter. Alternatively, instead of Pesarattu, you can cook mouthwatering Kolkata-style Tadka dal😁 or Indian spice-flavoured Green Moong Dal. It's a win-win situation, isn’t it?
Mung Bean after soaking for 4 hours
No fermentation or leavening agent is required.
It’s 2021, and by now, the world has explored that Dosa is a crispy, savoury crepe from South Indian cuisine. But this is not the typical Dosa that Indian restaurants sell in Western countries or you find in any local South Indian restaurants in big Indian cities. We need fermented rice and lentil batter to make Dosa. But, here in this recipe, no fermentation or leavening agent is involved in making this Greem Gram Dosa or Pesarattu.
What goes in it?
Ingredients for Pesarattu or Green Moong Dal Dosa
Mung Bean, Green gram, or Moong Dal – Pesara means Mung bean or Moong bean in Telugu, and Attu means Dosa! Hence it is called Pesarattu, and It is also known as Green Moong Dal Dosa. No, I don’t know Telugu. I got this information from this blog😁 ! These whole Moong dals or Mung beans or Green gram are small, round, olive green colour beans. Since the husk is not removed, the green colour is retained. Moong Dal is one of the primary sources of vegetarian or vegan protein in Indian meals. We need to soak it for four hours. If you want to fasten the soaking process in half, then soak it in hot water for two hours.
Ginger, Green chillies, and cumin seeds– These are the essential aromatics in Indian vegetarian cooking.
Hing- An aromatic that hugely grows in Afghanistan and Iran but is massively used in Indian vegetarian cooking. We often buy it from an Indian shop.
Ghee- In my opinion, it is the best fat for Indian dishes, especially for vegetarian dishes.
Alternatively, you can use coconut oil to make a vegan diet.
Onion, Coriander leaves - Chopped red onions, coriander leaves, and green chillies are always great toppings. But when we pierced a thick chunk of onion with a fork and then used it as a brush to spread ghee on the pan, it released an exquisite flavour.
How to make Pesarattu or Green Moong Dal Dosa?
How to make the Batter?
Put soaked Mung beans, green chilies, ginger, and cumin seeds into a blending jar, gradually add ¾ cups of water, and make a smooth paste. Then transfer the batter into a mixing bowl, add Hing, salt, and maybe ¼ cups of water, and mix well. The consistency of the batter should be pourable and spreadable. However, it is difficult to spread thick batter! If it is too thin, the Dosa will tear when you flip it.
Pesarattu batter
Consistency of the batter
It is best to use the batter immediately, but you can store it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days if you want. However, the batter's colour will change.
You need to add either semolina or rice flour afterward to make crispy Dosa.
But make sure to bring the batter to room temperature before you make Dosa or Pesarattu.
Let’s talk about the skillet or Tawa!
You can make Dosa on a non-stick skillet. But I prefer to make my Dosa or Chilla on a cast-iron skillet. So, if you are new to using Cast iron skillet or Tawa for making Dosa, I have written a detailed post about how you would know if your skillet is well heated for making Dosa or “ How to season a cast-iron skillet or Tawa for crepes, Chilla or Dosa? Please check the post for Moong dal Quinoa Chilla.
How to make the Dosa?
Process of making Green Moong Dal Dosa
First, heat the skillet over medium heat. Then add ½ tsp of Ghee and spread it to the Tawa or skillet. Next, reduce the heat to low before pouring the batter into the skillet. Then pour ½ cup of batter and quickly swirl to spread it.
Drizzle melted Ghee all around the Dosa. Over medium heat, cook the Dosa until the top side dries. If there is no moisture left on the top side, you don’t need to flip and cook the other side. All you need to add is toppings. But if there is moisture left on the top side, then flip it and cook until both sides are dry out.
Chopped onion, green chillies and coriander leaves are the best Dosa toppings. Fold the Dosa and serve right away with your favourite chutney.
Pesarattu or Green Moong Dal Dosa
What should you do if the Dosa sticks to the skillet?
There are a couple of reasons that your Dosa can stick to the skillet.
Your skillet is not hot enough, or it is extremely hot.
Your skillet is not well seasoned.
So make sure your pan is well seasoned and well heated.
Pesarattu or Green moong dal dosa
I uploaded this recipe video on YouTube a few years back; then, I cooked them in a non-stick skillet. You can check this video here for a recipe tutorial. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Here is the detailed recipe.
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