Delicious, healthy, vegan and gluten free dosa (Indian crepe), pesarettu is made with whole moong dal is a wonderful hot breakfast idea. Tastes great when paired with a spicy peanut chutney!
One of our favorite ways to eat sprouted whole moong beans is in the form of salads, and a yummy pesarettu comes gives it a tough competition! Originating from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, this form of dosa is a popular breakfast nation wide. Team this delicious, gluten free and vegan Indian lentil crepe with some chutney for a hearty meal. My favorite with it is a spicy peanut chutney. However, you could team it up with any that you love. Now, lentils are high on protein, but when sprouted, like the moong dal here, they become a super food. Additionally, this recipe makes use of very little oil/ghee to make the pesarettu – so you save up on calories too! You could make these crepes using the petite, yellow lentils too – the skinless moong dal.
However, I recommend, that you use the greens ones only, as that’s what is traditionally used. Also, the skin on your lentils will mean more fibre in your food, which is always a great idea. And if you feel that the lentil’s skin might bother you while you eat the pesarettu – worry not! When you make the batter for it, you will be grinding the soaked beans, thus eliminating any chance of the skin interrupting you while you enjoy your dosas. The speciality of the pesarettu batter is that you don’t need to ferment it, unlike other dosa recipes. You, however, will need to pre-soak the moong dal, in water, so that they bloom and become soft. In it’s raw form, they are hard and inedible. Once soaked, you can use them to cook or even have them as is.
Some more moong dal recipes for you,
Potato filling for masala dosa
Moong dal idlis & tomato chutney
Bhaja moong dal (Bengali roasted moong dal)
Minimal ingredients
The pesarettu is not only a healthy and yummy meal option, but it’s recipe is also fuss free. The better comes together in no time and is flavored with fresh ingredients to make it more yum. I love adding fresh ginger, chilis, coriander leaves and even a little bit of cumin seeds. And just before making the crepes, I season it with salt and also add a pinch of hing or asafetida to the batter. This is something that maa always does, adding the hing. Her opinion is that, asafetida not only gives the pesarettu a subtle fragrance but also aids in digestion. Since these lentil crepes can be a tad bit heavy on the tummy, this helps. Even if you aren’t a fan of it, I’d suggest you go ahead and add a bit. You won’t even feel the hing in your crepe but it will weave it’s magic!
We love these lentil dosas so much that we can even have them for our main meals and nit just for breakfast! These quick to make persarettu taste best when made in ghee. Nonetheless, even oil works just fine. If you are planning to give these yummies a try sometime, I’d love to hear back from you. You can share your food pictures with me on Instagram. Alternately, you could also drop your feedback in the comment section below.
Eat hearty!
Pesarettu (green moong dal dosa)
Equipment
- Tawa (Indian skillet) or any skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cups green moong dal sabut moong
- 1 inch ginger roughly chopped
- 2-3 fresh chilis
- ¼ cup coriander leaves optional
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2-3 tbsp rice flour
- 1 tsp asafetida hing
- 1 tbsp salt to taste
- 5-6 tbsp oil/ghee for cooking
Instructions
- Soak the washed dal in water for about 6-8 hours. Remove them, transfer to another bowl and cover with a wet cloth and keep them aside for 4-6 hours more for them to bloom
- Add the bloomed beans along with the ginger, chilis, coriander, cumin seeds along with ½ cup of water to a mixer and grind them until smooth. Empty the pesarettu batter in a mixing bowl
- To this, add the salt and hing, mix evenly. The batter should be of pouring consistency, so add some more water if requires
- Heat your tawa or skillet and then turn the heat to low. Grease with a teaspoon of ghee (or oil) and add a ladle full of the batter right in the centre of it. Gradually spread it from inside out to form a dosa or a crepe
- Once the upper surface of the pesarettu dries out, add anther teaspoon of ghee around the it and some in the center. Gently nudge the edges and flip it over, and cook for a minute
- Remove the pesarettu directly on to the serving plate and serve immediately with some peanut chutney. Enjoy!
Notes
- When making for children, leave the chilis out
- 1 cup - 250 millilitres
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
