Moong Dal Dosa

Ingredients

• 1 cup moong dal (skinned yellow mung dal)
• ¾ to 1 inch ginger (peeled)
• 1 to 2 green chilies
• 2 dried red chilies (optional, for color and flavor)
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera)
• ⅓ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• 1 to 1¼ cup water (refer notes)
• 2 tablespoons Ghee or oil to cook

Steps

Preparation

1. Give the moong dal three rinses and pour off the water. Leave the dal to soak for 15 to 20 mins, using warm water if the lentils are too old.
2. Pour off the soaking water and rinse the lentils thoroughly. Put them in a grinder jar with the salt, ginger, green chilies, red chilies, cumin and 1 cup water. Reduce the water if the lentils have soaked longer.
3. Grind until the batter is smooth and thick while still pourable and easy to spread. If it is too thick, add more water and blend again. The author uses ¼ cup more water.

How to Make Moong Dal Dosa

1. For a cast iron pan, heat it well before drizzling in a few drops of oil. Carefully spread the oil around the hot pan with a cut onion or kitchen tissue. Once the pan is smoking hot, sprinkle it with a little water and lower the heat to low. For a non-stick pan, heat it only until medium hot, without letting it get smoking hot.
2. Pour a full ladle of batter into the middle of the pan. Spread it in circles to form a thin moong dal dosa.
3. Drizzle a little ghee near the edges and cook over medium-high heat until golden. The edges will lift from the pan on their own when the dosa is cooked.
4. Flip the moong dal dosa and cook the other side for a minute or 2. Flip it back and cook over low heat for a minute, until crisp. Fold it and lift it onto a serving plate.
5. Make sure the pan is medium hot before starting the next dosa. Excess heat makes the batter clump in the center so it cannot be spread, so be sure to lower the heat during the last 2 mins of cooking the previous dosa.
6. Bring the moong dal dosa to the table while hot, with a chutney of your choice.