Pesara Garelu

Wooden bowl with a stack of mung bean fritter

These are delicious Andhra style moong dal vada. Pesara vadalu or garelu are easy to make with just a handful of ingredients. Great to make for festivals or even as tea time snacks.

Author: Pavani

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Soaking Time:: 4

Total Time: 4 45

Course: Snack

Cuisine: andhra

Servings: Garelu

Ingredients

1 cup Whole moong dal, rinsed and drained
2~3 Green Chilies, adjust to taste
2-inch Ginger piece, coarsely chopped
To taste Salt
1 tablespoon Cumin seeds
1 Small Onion, finely chopped, optional
3 tablespoons Cilantro or Curry leaves, chopped
As needed Oil, for frying

Instructions

In a medium size bowl, soak moong dal in water for at least 4 hours or overnight. Make sure that the water covers the beans by at least 1~1½ inch.
Once soaked, drain the water completely and transfer the beans to a food processor or blender. Add ginger, green chilies, salt and grind to a coarse batter. Transfer the batter to a medium size bowl and add cumin seeds, chopped cilantro, curry leaves and onions, if using. Mix well. Batter is ready to make vada.
Heat oil in a medium size pan on medium-high heat for deep frying. Test if the oil is hot enough by dropping a bit of batter. If it sizzles and comes up to the surface, it is ready to go. Take about 1 tablespoon of batter and flatten it. Place it either on slightly damp plastic Ziploc bag or your palm. If you want to make garelu, then make a small hole in the middle with your finger. To make vada, leave it as a patty.
Gently slide the batter into the hot oil. Fry the vada until golden brown on both sides, about 2~3 minutes per side. Depending on the size of your pan, you can fry multiple vada at a time. Remove fried vada using a slotted spoon onto a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot with any chutney.

Video

Notes

While soaking the beans, make sure that the water covers the beans by at least 1~1½ inch. This will ensure evenly tender beans.
Try not to add too much water while blending the beans. This will make the pesara garelu batter thin and it is will be difficult to shape the vada. Add just enough water, so that the blades of the grinder/ food processor can move smoothly.
If the batter gets too watery, then stir in some rice flour or chickpea flour into the batter. The flour will absorb some of the moisture and you will be able to shape the vada and fry without problems.
You can make this recipe using split moong dal as well. Soak split mung beans for about 2 hours and then just follow the recipe as written.
For added flavor, you can mix in chopped curry leaves, onions, cilantro into the batter. You can also add chopped scallions or green onions or even cabbage.
If you want to make masala pesara garelu, then grind 2~3 garlic cloves along with the mung dal. Add chopped mint leaves into the batter along with onions.
Leftover vada can be stored at room temperature for a day. Warm in a microwave or air fryer before serving.
For longer storage, freeze the vada in freezer-safe ziploc bag. Reheat in a microwave or air fryer.

Nutrition

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