Breakfast Item from Andhra - Pesarattu

 

Pesarattu - breakfast dish comes from vibrant Andhra. At home we speak Telegu. But mom says that we don’t have much connection with Andhra as our fore fathers migrated to Tamil Nadu long back. I still wonder what part of Andhra we originated from. The Telugu we speak is a mishmash of Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada…kind of southern integrity. Back to Pesarattu, I prepare this quite often. I like the way it tastes. A combination of crunchy moong daal, flavor of Hing (asafetida) onions, green chilies, and coriander and it’s fibrous, which makes it healthy. Usually hotels serve it with a scoop of upma and coconut chutney but I like it to dip it with tomato ketchup.

Ingredients

Raw Rice ½ cup

Whole Moong Daal (Green Gram) 1 cup
Salt to taste
Hing (asafetida)
Oil
Coarsely Chopped Onion 1

Ginger 2” piece

Green chilies 3

Coriander leaves 2-3 strands

Jeera (Cumin seeds) 1 tea spoon
Water 150 ml

Directions

Soak moong daal and rice in water overnight. For 1 ½ cups of rice and daal, you need 4 cups of water. Use raw rice. My friend did the mistake by using parboiled rice and it didn’t come out well. Next morning, drain water and grind the daal and rice along with green chilies, ginger, salt, onion, and water into a coarsely paste. When you touch the batter, it should feel grainy and not too watery. Add jeera seeds, a pinch of hing, and finely chopped coriander. Mix the batter thoroughly.

Making Pesarattu is as easy as making dosas. For those who are still trying their luck, I would suggest them to go for non-stick pan. I use a thick iron pan for making dosas. There are two ways of spreading batter on the pan. Inside out or outside in.
Heat an iron flat pan, drizzle 1 tsp of oil and spread it with a slice of bread or half peeled onion. This helps to keep the pan at the right temperature and helps Pesarattu to come off easily without sticking to the pan. The pan must be hot for Pesarattu. Sprinkle some drops of water to check the hotness of the pan. If it sizzles you can spread the batter.Pour one scoop of batter into the center of pan and spread it in a circular way from inside out into a thin round. Drizzle one tsp of oil around and wait for few minutes till the bottom gets golden brown, then reverse it, cook the other side similarly. Serve it hot with chutney on the side.