Moong dal pakoda recipe – Quick, crunchy and tasty pakora made with moong dal or skinned split green gram. Pakora or pakoda is one of the most enjoyed tea time snack in Indian sub continent. There are many kinds of pakoras made across India. Undoubtedly Onion pakoda is the king of pakoras. But there are so many more varieties that taste very delicious and are very flavorful.
These moong dal pakoda are one of them. These are extremely flavorful, crunchy and tasty. A generous sprinkle of chaat masala over these pakoras is what makes these the best.
These can be served alone with a cup of Masala tea or coffee. It can also be served with Green chutney or Schezwan sauce.
More Snack Recipes
Vegetable pakora
Dahi kabab
Bread pakora
Corn pakoda
Moong dal pakoda recipe
Moong dal pakoda recipe | Moong dal pakora
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup moong dal or split & skinned green gram
- ¾ cup onions sliced & halved
- 2 green chilies chopped (use as needed)
- 1 tsp cumin or jeera
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 red chilies
- 3 sprigs curry leaves or ¼ cup pudina or mint chopped
- handful coriander leaves
- ¾ to 1 tsp salt or as needed
- 1½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
- oil as needed for frying
- ½ tsp chaat masala or as desired
Instructions
Preparation for moong dal pakoda
- Wash and soak moong dal in a large bowl for 60 mins. For soft pakoras soak for 2 hours.
- Drain the water completely and leave the dal in the colander for a while until the water drains completely.
- Add it to a blender jar along with red chilies.
- Pulse the dal a couple of times in the blender until you get a coarse mixture. If you prefer soft moong dal pakoda then blend it to a smooth batter.
- Transfer this to a mixing bowl.
- Next add in onions, ginger garlic paste, green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, jeera, garam masala and salt.
- Mix the dough and taste it to check the salt and spice. If needed add more.
Making moong dal pakoda
- Heat oil in a deep pan.
- Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small portion of the mixture. The mixture sinks and then comes up without browning quickly. This is the right time to make pakoras.
- Take small portions of the pakora mixture and drop bite sized dough to the hot oil.
- Do not disturb them until they rise up. Fry them stirring on a medium high flame until golden and crisp.
- Drain them to a kitchen tissue. Continue to fry the pakoras in batches.
- Sprinkle chaat masala as desired.
- Serve moong dal pakora hot with green chutney or sauce.
Nutrition
Preparation for moong dal pakora
1. Wash moong dal a few times until the water runs clear. Then soak it just for 60 minutes. If you like soft pakoda then soak for 2 hours.
2. Drain it and leave in colander for some time for the water to drain completely. There should be no dripping water left.
3. Next transfer it to the mixer jar along with red chilies. Use more for more spice. I used bydagi chilies which are less spicy.
4. Pulse this a few times to get a coarse mixture. If you like soft pakoras and not crunchy then you can blend to a smooth paste.
5. Transfer this to a mixing bowl.
6. Next add in sliced onions, ginger garlic paste and jeera.
7. Add garam masala and salt. Do not reduce the amount of ginger garlic paste and garam masala otherwise the pakoda will taste bland.
8. Next transfer chopped green chilies, coriander leaves and curry leaves. You can add mint leaves in place of curry leaves.
9. Mix everything well. The mixture must moist and not too dry. Check salt and add more if needed.
How to make moong dal pakora
10. Heat oil in a kadai. When it is hot, drop a small amount of batter to the oil. It will sink and then rise slowly without browning. This is the right temperature.
11. Drop bite sized portions of the moong dal mixture to the hot oil. Do not disturb them till they come up.
12. Keep stirring and fry on a medium high flame and not too high or too low. Moong dal pakodas turn hard if fried in low flame.
13. When they are golden and crisp remove them to a kitchen tissue. After making the first batch, you can adjust the texture of pakoras. If you want soft, then just sprinkle handful of water to the batter and mix.
14. Similarly fry all the pakoda in batches and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle a generous amount of chaat masala.
Serve moong dal pakoda hot or warm.
Hannah says
Tried this recipe, it turned out really well. It turned out good even after I refrigerated the batter for more than a day.
swasthi says
Hi Hannah
Thank you so much. Glad to know they turned out good.
Vanitha says
Moong dal pakoda turned out awesome. Lovely crunch and delicate flavors. Thank you so much
swasthi says
Hi Vanitha
you are welcome.
Thanks for trying