MLA Pesarattu

Ingredients

• 200 g whole green moong beans
• 2 tbsp raw rice
• 3 green chillies
• 2.5 cm piece of ginger
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 1/4 tsp salt, for the batter
• 1 small onion, very finely chopped
• 5 tbsp oil, for cooking
• 150 g coarse rava (semolina)
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 12 cashews
• 1 onion, chopped, for the upma
• 2 green chillies, chopped, for the upma
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 12 curry leaves
• 600 ml water
• 3/4 tsp salt, for the upma

Before you cook

• Rinse the moong beans and the raw rice together, cover them with plenty of water and soak for 5 hours.
• Drain the soaked moong and rice thoroughly in a colander.
• Grind the drained moong and rice with the green chillies, ginger, cumin, salt and about 150 ml of water to a batter the thickness of pancake batter, keeping a slight grain to it.
• Rest the batter for 15 minutes, then stir it once; it should fall thickly from a ladle.
• Chop one onion as finely as you can for scattering over the pesarattu.

Steps

1. Heat the ghee in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the cashews until pale gold.
2. Add the mustard seeds, chana dal and urad dal and fry for one minute, until the mustard pops and the dals turn golden.
3. Add the chopped onion, green chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves and cook for three minutes, until the onion softens.
4. Pour in 600 ml of water, add three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and bring it to a rolling boil.
5. Lower the heat and pour in the rava in a thin stream with one hand while stirring hard with the other, so no lumps can form.
6. Cover and cook on low heat for four minutes, until the upma pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pan.
7. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered so the upma stays soft.
8. Set a flat tawa or heavy frying pan over medium heat until a drop of water skitters across the surface.
9. Pour a ladleful of the moong batter into the centre and spread it outwards in a spiral with the back of the ladle, to a round about 20 cm across.
10. Scatter a spoonful of the finely chopped onion over the surface and press it in lightly with the ladle.
11. Drizzle a teaspoon of oil around the rim and cook for three minutes, until the underside is deep golden and lacy and the top looks dry.
12. Spoon a generous mound of the hot upma along the centre of the pesarattu.
13. Fold the crepe over the upma, press it once and slide it onto a plate.
14. Repeat with the remaining batter, wiping the pan between each one.
15. Serve straight away with ginger chutney.