Pesarattu

Pesarattu ( Whole moong or moong dal dosa - Signature dish of Andhra Pradesh )

Makes: 8

Ingredients

1 cup ( 200 g ) whole moog ( green gram )
1/4 cup rice
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 onion , finely chopped
1/2 - inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Cooking oil ( sesame preferably ) or ghee

Method

1, Soak the moong dal and rice for four to five hours. Grind them together to a coarse paste to obtain a thick consistency. Set aside.

2, Mix the chopped onion , green chillies and ginger along with the cumin seeds and set aside.

3, Heat a thick, flat griddle. ( To check readiness, sprinkle a few drops of water on the pan , they should sizzle and evaporate immediately )

4, Smear a very tiny quality of oil all over the pan. Spread some of dal – rice batter on the pan to form a round shape. Since this is thicker than the normal dosa batter, it needs to be patted out carefully and slowly. Use the back of a ladle to spread it as thin as possible ( but slightly thicker than the normal dosa ).

5, Drizzle some oil ( or ghee ) all round the batter as well as on the top.

6, Spread the chopped pieces of ginger , onion and green chillies and the cumin seeds on the batter , ( so they get well – embedded in the batter , that is why you need to chop them so fine ).

7, Cook on medium heat till the underside become brown.

8, Flip carefully ( it’s normal for a few pieces of onions or ginger to fall off during this process ) and roast the other side.




9, Turn over again and roast for a few seconds more. Serve hot with coconut chutney , or a dip made with a mixture of fresh yogurt and Andhra mango pickles.

The popular version : Leave out the onions completely and instead , grind the ginger and green chillies with the dal and rice. When the dosa is being roasted , simply spread the cumin seeds on top. They easily get embedded in the batter. Plus , the ginger and chilli taste remains. This version is for those who find it difficult to cut the onions and ginger into fine pieces and then roast the pesarattu such that the pieces don’t fall off while roasting.

Tip : This can also be made with yellow moong dal.