Route · 10 stops · 55 min
17.3850° N, 78.4867° E · Hyderabad, Telangana
Pesarattu (green gram dosa)
Vigna radiata · Green gram, whole (pesalu)
Pesarattu is the Telugu breakfast that needs no fermentation and no planning beyond soaking a cup of pesalu the night before. Whole green gram is ground with ginger, green chilli and cumin into a thick green batter and spread thin on a hot iron tawa; chopped onion is pressed into the wet top so it fries into the crust. The edges go crisp, the middle stays soft, and it is eaten folded with allam pachadi — ginger chutney — which is not optional in any house we know.
In Andhra cafés it is served as "MLA pesarattu", with a spoon of upma folded inside, a combination named for the politicians who supposedly ate it at the Vijayawada assembly canteen. At home it is plainer and better. This is a millet-week breakfast because it is a whole-pulse breakfast: nothing is polished, nothing is refined, and it comes off the tawa in ten minutes once the batter is ground.
- Servings
- 4
- Prep time
- 25 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
Before you start
- Green gram, whole (pesalu) · 250 g
- Rice, raw milled (biyyam) · 30 g
- Ginger, fresh (allam) · 15 g
- Green chilli · 3 pieces
- Cumin seeds (jeelakarra) · 2 g
- Onion (ullipaya) · 120 g
- Sesame oil (nuvvula noone) · 40 ml
Adapt
- 250 g Green gram, whole (pesalu)
- 30 g Rice, raw milled (biyyam) · optional
- 15 g Ginger, fresh (allam)
- 3 pieces Green chilli
- 2 g Cumin seeds (jeelakarra)
- 120 g Onion (ullipaya)
- 40 ml Sesame oil (nuvvula noone)
Plan
6 h 26 min planned · 6 h 29 min if done one after another
26 min at the stove
- Stop 1 · 0:00–6:00:00
- Stop 2 · 6:00:00–6:01:30
- Stop 3 · 6:01:30–6:16:30
- Stop 4 · 6:01:30–6:04:30
- Stop 5 · 6:16:30–6:18:00
- Stop 6 · 6:18:00–6:19:30
- Stop 7 · 6:19:30–6:21:30
- Stop 8 · 6:21:30–6:22:30
- Stop 9 · 6:22:30–6:24:00
- Stop 10 · 6:24:00–6:25:30
Route
Stop 1
Rinse the green gram and rice three times until the water runs clear, then cover with double their depth of water and soak for six hours or overnight.
Timer · 6 h
Stop 2
Drain completely, then grind the beans with the ginger, green chilli, cumin and a teaspoon of salt, adding water a little at a time, to a slightly grainy batter that pours like thick cream.
Stop 3
Rest the batter, covered, for fifteen minutes while you chop the onion and make the ginger chutney.
Timer · 15 min
Stop 4
Heat an iron tawa on medium-high until a drop of water dances and vanishes, then rub it with a cut onion dipped in oil.
Timer · 3 min
Stop 5
Pour a ladle of batter (about 120 ml) into the centre of the tawa and spread it outward in a spiral with the back of the ladle, thin at the edges.
Stop 6
Scatter a spoonful of chopped onion over the wet surface and press it in lightly with the ladle, then drizzle a teaspoon of oil around the edge.
Stop 7
Cook until the edges lift and turn golden and the top looks dry, about two minutes.
Timer · 2 min
Stop 8
Flip with a flat spatula and cook the onion side for one minute until the onion is browned at the edges.
Timer · 1 min
Stop 9
Fold in half and slide onto a plate; serve at once with allam pachadi and, if you like, a spoon of upma inside.
Stop 10
Stir the batter, lower the heat slightly, wipe the tawa with the oiled onion, and repeat for the next pesarattu.