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Mung Dal Fritters โ Baked Moong Dal Pakoda. Petite yellow lentils (split and skinned mung beans) soaked and blended to a batter to make pakoda/Bhajji with onions and greens. Use red lentils or chickpea flour for variation. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe
These easy fritters use moong dal / Mung dal which are split and skinned green moong beans. Moong Dal is often used to make dishes where chickpea flour is used, such as pancakes, fritters /pakora etc. ย Moong Dal is often called petite yellow lentils in grocery stores like whole foods. See Dal names and photos here. Mung Dal makes soft nutty fritters. Add just onions and greens or add shredded veggies of choice to this versatile batter. You can use red lentils (split red lentils) to make these fritters as well. Red lentil batter does not hold its shape as well.ย
There are many kinds of pakoda/ pakora/bhajji/fritters in Indian cuisine. Some use besan(gram flour), chickpea flour, other bean or pea flour, some others use soaked moong dal or urad dal to make the batter. Some are simple spiced with cumin, mustard or carom seeds, some use have a tempering with curry leaves, and some others use spice blends.ย Most are deep fried.ย
Make these moong dal pakoda forย a changeย from chickpea flour fritters. Serve with Mint Cilantro Chutney or other chutneys of choice or withย Kadhi (spiced yogurt sauce). You can also use the batter to make thin pancakes like chickpea flour pancakes and serve for snack or breakfast. Let me know in the comments how they turned out!
More Indian Snacks from the blog
- Baked Masala Vada with split peas and lentils.ย GF
- Baked Popcorn Okra
- Samosa Pinwheels.ย
- Baked Mung Dal Samosas
- Baked potato rice crackers โ gluten-free
- Baked Maida Papdi โ Cumin seed Crackers
Crunchy on the outside and soft inside.ย
Mung Dal Fritters - Baked Moong Dal Pakoda
Ingredientsย ย
- 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
Instructionsย
- 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.
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F / 220ยบc.
- 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.
- Lightly spray oil on top. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes until golden on the edges.
- Add sprinkle of chaat masala on the fritters (optional). Serve with chutneys Mint Cilantro Chutneyย or tomato chutneyย or ketchup or add to kadhi (non dairy yogurt sauce) or curry.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my goodness these look so good!
just made a double batch of those ( fried โฆ) and they came out great !
Canโt wait to try this. Just ordered your first book, Indian Cooking. Canโt wait to get it next week!
Awesome!! Thanks!
Made these for dinner and they were great! Used red lentils and soaked for about 35 mins/cooked for 20 and they turned out excellent. I had some leftover vegan tzatziki sauce which was a perfect accompaniment. Thanks, Richa!
Awesome!
so good!
thanks!
Hi Richa,
This recipe sounds reeeeally delicious. We want to prepare it at the weekend. Is it possible to freeze the Baked Moong Dal Pakoda or would they lost the taste or consistency?
Hugs and Kisses
Trixilie & Bea
try to freeze a few to see. the texture should be ok, but in general a reheated pakoda will be dryer.
okay, we will try it ๐ Dryer would be okay, that means we โneedโ more mint chutney ๐ Thanks for your fast answer. Have a nice day ๐
I canโt easily (as in I canโt get it anywhere close to me) get the yoghurt in South Africa. Any suggestions?
you can serve it with chutneys.
Would it work in an air fryer?
it should work fine. The texture might be slightly different.
I have moving call flour can I use that?
Oops moong dal flour
yes
I cooked moong pakora in an appe pan it turned yummy just like the fried ones. Baked one looks good.
yes appe pan works too!
in the ingredients it says the lentils should be soaked and in the instructions it says to soak them in hot waterโฆ is that a double soak? if so, how long should i soak them?
Oh yes, its soaked only once. I removed it from the ingredients. soak for atleast 15 minutes and if you have time then for an hour.
can i make the batter the night before?
Yes, but keep the veggies (onions, greens) separate. Mix when ready to bake.
Perfect! Thank you so much Richa. Iโm looking forward to making fritters. If the dish turns out well, iโll tag you in my post on instagram