Crisp at the edges and tender through the middle, Mung Dal Fritters - Baked Moong Dal Pakoda is a vegan, vegetarian Gluten-free, Indian, Vegan snack made with moong dal, knob of ginger, and hot green chili in about 40 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Gluten-free, Indian, Vegan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup moong dal (petite yellow lentils)
  • 1 inch knob of ginger
  • 1 hot green chili (or cayenne to taste 1/4 tsp)
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp garam masala (or curry powder)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 3/4 to 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp oil
  • 1/3 cup or more water
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro (loosely packed)
  • 1 1/2 cup lightly packed finely chopped spinach (or rainbow chard loosely packed)
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion (heaped)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)

Method

  1. Soak the Mung dal in hot water for 15 minutes or 1 hour. Longer works best. Drain and add to blender. Add ginger, chili, garam masala, turmeric, salt, baking powder, oil and 1/4 cup water. Blend to a smooth thick batter. Add more water if needed. Keep the batter thick so it can hold its shape while baking. Thinner batter tends to flatten.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F / 220ºc.
  3. Add the chopped cilantro, greens, onion and garlic and fold in. Using a Tablespoon or ice cream scoop, drop spoonfuls of the batter on parchment lined baking sheet.
  4. Lightly spray oil on top. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes until golden on the edges.
  5. Add sprinkle of chaat masala on the fritters (optional). Serve with chutneys Mint Cilantro Chutney or tomato chutney or ketchup or add to kadhi (non dairy yogurt sauce) or curry.

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.