When I don’t have spinach at home, I make with cilantro or whatever greens I have handy!
So, what is Pesarattu?
It’s a specialty breakfast dish from Andhra Pradesh. The mung beans are soaked and blended to form a smooth puree. The batter is typically flavored with ginger, fresh green chili and evenly spread on a medium hot skillet. It’s similar to crepe and dosa except, it’s doesn’t have eggs like the crepe batter and the batter doesn’t need fermentation like the dosa batter. So, in a way, Pesarattu is unique on its own. It’s very nutritional, gluten free and can be a lovely canvas to add greens or spices to suit your palate. I often like to add greens like spinach or kale along with some ginger and cumin seeds. While making the pesarattu, I also sprinkle some idly podi (I use store bought, easily available in any Indian store). Adding the podi just adds an extra dimension of flavor to the whole dish. However, you could just avoid the podi and enjoy pesarattu with just the aloo masala.
Key tips on cooking the Pesarattu:
Let the batter rest for 15 minutes. You could also make the batter previous night and it will still remain gorgeous green. However, the fresh batter definitely tastes better.You need to keep the skillet at medium heat for evenly cooking the batter. This will crisp it up and retain the color to some extent If you cook it in higher heat, the pesarattu will turn into a slight brown color.When preparing the pesarattu, spread the batter evenly in circular motion with the back of a ladle. Since the batter will not be as runny as crepe, swirling the pan won’t help.Once the top looks dry, you should know that the bottom is cooked evenly. The edges should start releasing on its own, making it easy to flip. If you are using a cast iron pan, you have to release the bottom with a little effort but it should still come out very easily.
If you never had this nourishing, healthy, easy to make meal, it’s time to buy some green mung and give it a go. Do share with me your experience by tagging me in Instagram or any social media @playfulcooking Find more BREAKFAST recipes here!
