Pesaru Garelu & a Mini Thali

Pesaru garelu are moong dal vada, a spicy green gram deep fried fritters. A popular snack and a breakfast in some parts of South India.

What are Pesaru Garelu?

Pesaru garelu or vada is one of the common preparations in the region I hail from, in fact these are prepared more often than the urad dal vada. Pesaru garelu are prepared for breakfast, for an evening snack, on special occasions and for festivals as well.

Texture of the garelu depends on how smooth the dal is ground to and usually it is kept coarse to give it some crunch.

What is it served with?

It is usually served with homemade butter and I tell you, that is one of the best combinations I have ever tasted. Pesara pappu garelu are so common and do not require any accompaniments to serve it with except butter.

Theme for this week is meal ideas. It can be a one pot meal, combo meal or any combination that makes a meal complete. Couple of weeks ago when I saw Sandhya’s lunch menus and Rajani’s thali, I was tempted to do one as well.

Last month was my mother-in-law’s death anniversary ceremony and I prepared a mini thali. Most of the food on the menu are some of her favorites and some are just a customary preparations for the ceremony.

As I was browsing through my iPhone photos, I came across those thali pictures from a month ago. That got me thinking. Instead of cooking a thali again, I can use that picture, give the links to the recipes on the menu and share the recipe of garelu as well.

The thali picture at the beginning of the post is the Instagram picture showing all the items I prepared that day, which is a complete special occasional meal.

Since the garelu were the only item on that menu that has not been update on this space, I made them again day before yesterday to take some pictures.

Thali has:
Pesaru Garelu – Recipe follows
White Rice
Nimmakaya Pulihora
Royyala Kura
Mushroom Bell Pepper Kura
Tomato Potato Lima Beans Shorva – Follow the recipe and add potatoes as well
Semiya Payasam
Homemade Yogurt

Pesara Garelu Recipe

Yields: 12 (depends on the size and I usually tend to make small garelu)

Pesaru Garelu

Pesaru garelu are moong dal vada, a spicy donut shaped fritters with green gram.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: After School Snack, Breakfast

Cuisine: South Indian, Telangana Cuisine, Telugu Cuisine

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Soaking Time: 6 hours

Servings: 2

Author: Usha Rao

Equipment

• Colander or a strainer
• Food Processor, Blender or a Mixie
• Pan for deep frying
• Slotted Spoon
• Knife & Cutting Board

Ingredients

• 1 cup Split Moong with husk husked moong dal also works
• 6 Green Chilies
• 1 tbsp chopped Ginger
• ¾ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ¼ cup chopped Onion
• 1 Scallion chopped
• ½ cup chopped Cilantro
• 1 tsp Salt adjust to taste
• ¾ tsp Chili Powder adjust to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped Methi ~ Fenugreek Leaves opt
• 4-6 Curry Leaves chopped (opt)
• Spinach Leaves chopped I did not use and it is optional
• ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 – 2 tsp Coriander Powder I did not use it
• Oil for deep frying

Instructions

• Soak split moong in water for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Wash the moong and discard most of the skin. If moong is well soaked, the skin will peel off from split moong when rubbed between fingers. I discarded ⅔ – ¾ of the skin.
• Transfer moong to a colander or a strainer and let the water drain.
• Meantime, grind together chilies, ginger, salt and cumin seeds. Onions can also be ground but I forgot and used chopped onion instead. This step is optional. These can be ground with moong dal as well but to get a fine paste, I usually tend to grind these separately in a mini grinder.
• Transfer ground paste to a food processor or a blender. I would recommend a food processor for garelu or vada as it would not require too much water when grinding. Then add washed and drained moong dal, keeping aside ¼ – ⅓ cup of dal.
• Grind everything to a paste. It need not be a smooth paste. If necessary, add about 1 – 2 tbsp water and no more than that. I used 1 tbsp. water. Also, if onion is ground, water is not required and moisture from ground onion is sufficient to grind the dal.
• Transfer ground dal to a bowl, add chopped onion (if not used in previous step), scallion, cilantro, methi leaves, spinach if using, and chili powder. Add the moong dal that was kept aside and mix well.
• Taste the dal mixture and adjust chili powder and salt to taste.
• Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
• Take a Ziploc bag and place small lime sized dal mixture on it. Press it into a disc using fingers and make a hole in the middle using the index finger.
• When oil is hot, gradually drop the garele in oil. 4 – 5 garelu can be deep fried at a time, depending on the size of the pan.
• Deep fry on medium to medium high heat until garelu are light brown and cooked inside.
• Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
• Repeat the process with rest of the dal mixture.
• Serve garelu with butter.

Notes

• Green Chilies – Only green chilies can be used. If using only green chilies add more chilies and do not add chili powder.
• Onion – ground onion paste or chopped onion or ½ ground and ½ chopped onions can be used. I prefer chopped onions or a combination of ground onion paste and chopped onions.
• Dal – I used split moong with skin but regular yellow moong dal can also be used. Whole moong can also be used though that needs to be soaked for at least 24 hours.
• Substitute – Bobbarulu or black eyed peas can be used instead of moong dal.