Pesarattu - Green Moong Dal Dosa

Pesarattu or green moong dal dosa or crepe is made with green lentils, green chilies, and ginger. This is a great vegan, gluten-free, high protein & low carb breakfast dish.

This recipe has been passed on to me from my mother-in-law's best friend.I have been making it for the past 12 years.

I ate pesarattu dosa for breakfast every day during my nine months of pregnancy. The only vegetarian breakfast kept my blood sugar in the range.

According to the aunt whose recipe this is, it should always be served with peanut chutney. And I second that!

Personal story aside, Pesarrattu is a traditional Andra/Telangana recipe where the green Moong dal is soaked and blended into a batter with green chilies, salt, and asafetida. This batter is then used to make dosas or crepes. There is no need to ferment the batter.

The North-Indian version is usually made with yellow moong dal and is called Cheela. The process is the same.
It's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, high protein vegetarian cepe perfect for breakfast and a quick dinner too.

Why we love making Pessarattu

Here is why we love making pessarattu for breakfast

• It's easy to make
• Healthy Vegan Protein, fiber-rich option for breakfast that keeps blood sugars in check
• It goes very well with peanut chutney, which is always in our fridge.We are obsessed with it!

Besides pessarettu, we also make dosa from homemade femented batter, appams , and Ragi dosa on a weekly basis.

Ingredients

Here is all you need to make these Lentil dosas.

• Green Mung Dal
• Green Chilies
• Ginger
• Asafetida/Hing

Moong Dal

You can use whole, split, and sprouted green moong dal too. Yellow moong dal, which is same lentil but without the outer husk/ covering can also be used.

The reason I use split mung is because it needs lesser soaking time than whole moong plus it has more fiber than the yellow moong.

The batter from yellow moong dal will be silkier, and the dosa will be softer without the extra fiber. It will look bright yellow.

Rice Flour

This ingredient is completely optional. It helps make the dosa crispier.You can leave it out if you are trying to save on carbs or just don't have it on you.

I leave it out when I am trying to keep my blood sugar in check.

Flavors & Other ingredients

I have used only a handful of spices and aromatics here- Asafetida, Green Chilies, Ginger & Cumin.
You can use any version or combination of these. Red chilies, chili powder, no chilies, all of that work.
Add garlic or even garlic powder if you want.
In fact, you can add grated veggies to the batter to make it even more nutrient-dense.

How to make Pesarattu - Green Moong Dal dosa

Here is how to make our favorite no ferment dosa.

Step 1- Soak

Soak the Dal for 2-8 hours. I often do this overnight to have a fresh, hot breakfast in the morning.
Unlike other dosa recipes, pesarattu doesn't need to be fermented and can be made right after grinding it.

Step 2-Making the Dosa Batter

Drain the water from the soaked dal.

Grind the moong dal with the green chillis, ginger, salt & asafetida.If you want, you can also add 2 tablespoon of rice flour. It improves the texture of the moong dal dosa.

The dal would have soaked a lot of water. This will make the grinding easy but you may need to add some water. This will largely depend on how well you have drained the lentils. I usually add ¼ cup of water in 2-tablespoon increments.

You want a batter that's as thin as white dosa batter.

Step 3: Make the Dosa

You will need a ladle or a small steel bowl to spread the batter as shown below.

I have used a cast iron tawa, you can use non stick too. Add a dollop of batter to the heated tawa.

Start spreading the batter from the inside out in a circular fashion.Drizzle a bit of oil all around.

You can cover the dosa with a lid or flip it like an omelet.

Once the dosa turns brown and the top is cooked, your dosa or pesarattu is ready to be served.

Serving Pessarattu

I like to keep breakfast simple.I almost always serve this simply with chutney or podi.

My go-to chutneys are coconut chutney, peanut chutney, and green coriander chutney.

If you make the North Indian version with yellow moong, sweet and sour tamarind chutney, green chutney, and raw mango chutney, it also tastes great.

I sometimes add a filling of grated paneer in the middle especially when I am extremely hungry.

Shortcuts and Tips

1. When in a hurry, make the Moong Dal Chila with the yellow moong dal because this needs the minimum amount of soaking.
2. If you are using a cast iron tawa, add a little bit of oil to the tawa and spread it with halved onion. This simple trick makes the tawa nonstick!

Variations of Moong dal Dosa

Here are some common forms of moong dal dosa

Filled Pesarattu-You can add fillings and toppings like the south Indian potato curry and make it a masala pesarattu.
Chopped onions, chilies, and coriander are other popular topping options.

Veggie Loaded Moong Dal Dosa- Add grated bottle guard, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, or any other soft vegetable to make this dosa even more powder-packed.

Yellow Moong Chila- In northern India, a version of pesarattu is made with yellow moong dal. The crepes are called chillas, usually stuffed with grated paneer and served with sweet and sour tamarind chutney.

Sprouted Moong Dosa -This is the most nutritious and the best way to make this dosa.

The Pesarattu recipe is often suggested for people with diabetes and folks on diets. It's a great replacement for normal carb-heavy dosas.

Storing, Freezing & Refrigerating

Cooked Dosas are best served hot or warm when they are still crisp. They can be taken as a packed lunch or dinner, too. They become soft when cool, but they are still great healthy options.

Instead of making the dosas and storing in the refrigerator, I prefer storing the batter.

The batter will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it and thaw it the night before in the refrigerator. Make dosas as usual. The batter will become a bit more liquid, but it's still workable.

More Breakfast Recipes

Here are some more Indian Breakfast options and accompaniments.

Fudgy Ragi Chocolate Pancake|Finger Millet Recipe
Instant Ragi Dosa Recipe
Peanut Chutney for Idli & Dosa
Indian Raw Mango Chutney
Appam /Hoppers -Kerala Rice Pancakes

If you make this Moong dal dosa or Pesarattu with this recipe, do drop me a note. I would love to hear what you thought about it!

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