Bhajiyas/ pakoda made with moong dal, spices, herbs and onions. These make for a good evening snack and can be served with green chutney or any sauce.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup moong dal ((split mung lentils))
  • ¾ cup onions (sliced & halved (1 medium))
  • 2 green chilies (chopped (use as needed))
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds ((jeera))
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 dried red chilies ((skip if you don't have))
  • 3 sprigs curry leaves ((or 2 tablespoons pudina - mint leaves chopped))
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves ((fine chopped))
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt ((or as needed))
  • 1½ tablespoons ginger garlic paste ((or 1 teaspoon each chopped))
  • ¾ to 1 cup oil ((or as needed for frying))
  • ½ teaspoon chaat masala (for serving)

Method

Preparation

  1. Add moong dal to a large bowl and rinse them well thrice. Drain and soak in fresh water for 60 mins. For softer pakoras soak for 2 hours or soak them in slightly hot water for 1 hour.
  2. Drain the water completely and leave the dal in the colander for a while until the water drains completely.
  3. Add it to a blender jar along with red chilies.
  4. Pulse the dal a couple of times in the blender until you get a coarse mixture. If you prefer soft moong dal pakoda, splash some water and blend it to a smooth yet thick batter.
  5. Transfer this to a mixing bowl.
  6. Next add in onions, ginger garlic paste, green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, jeera, garam masala and salt.
  7. Mix the dough and taste it to check the salt and spice. If required add more.

How to Make Moong Dal Pakoda

  1. Heat oil in a deep pan.
  2. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small portion of the batter to the oil. It should sizzle and rise to the surface without turning brown. This is the right temperature.
  3. Take small portions of the pakora mixture and drop bite sized portions to the hot oil.
  4. Do not disturb the bhajiyas until they rise up. Fry them stirring on a medium high flame until golden and crisp.
  5. Drain them to a steel colander or kitchen tissue. Continue to fry the pakoras in batches.
  6. Sprinkle chaat masala as desired. Serve moong dal pakora hot with green chutney or sauce.

Air frying

  1. If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat it at 350 F or 180 C for at least 10 minutes.
  2. Place small flat portions of the mixture on the greased rack and air fry for 11 to 13 minutes at 350 F or 180 C. Adjust the timings as needed depending on the size of your pakoras. Air fry them until crisp and golden.
  3. After air frying I brush the hot pakoras with ghee instead of spraying oil. Sprinkle chaat masala or serve them with chutney or chai.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.