Mixed dal Punugulu

Pesara punugulu is one of my fav items and they were one of the fav recipes one of my great aunts would make during the month of Ramadan. The green gram fritters (punugulu) once eaten, you will not feel hungry for some time. I don't know what it is but they will make you feel full for a long time. So during Ramadan fasting they are one of the best things to eat.

But today I made punugulu with 1/2 green gram and 1/2 black gram. They are quite delicious and they flew off the counter pretty fast.

Mixed Dal Punugulu (Black and green gram fritters)

Pesara Minapa Punugulu

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup each of urad dal and green moong dal (green gram and split black gram)
2. Oil for deep frying
3. 3/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, ajwain (carom seeds)
5. 1 green chilli chopped fine
6. 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped ginger, baking soda (optional)

Soak both the dal separately overnight. Take the skins of as much as possible.

Grind them with as little water as possible. Mix all the ingredients together and set aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Drop spoonfuls of batter and fry for 5-6 minutes. Flipping 3-4 times. Drain and serve with coconut chutney

Pesarattu Upma Punukulu

This whole dinner items for today have to be planned a day ahead. On Sunday my cousin and his family were coming for brunch. So I made some very Andhra Special breakfast for them...Upma Pesarattu. I have the recipe for it here but I forgot to take a picture of the same. So no pic :(.
              With some of the leftover batter (made for pesarattu) I made punukulu and made them into Pulusu and I made Arvi Magazdaar.

Pesarattu (Indian crepes made with batter of split green grams)

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups split green gram soaked over night
2. 1/2 cup onions finely chopped
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. finely chopped green chillies, cumin, finely chopped ginger, finely chopped cilantro, red chilly powder for garnish
5. oil for frying

Soak the green grams over night and by morning they would have dowbled in volume. Lightly crush them between your hands and the skin will come off. Move the vessel round and round and the skins will float. Remove the skins of the dal and grind it to a smooth paste with a little water. Add salt. Set up all the items for garnish. Heat a griddle. Take a laddle full of batter and spread it on the hot griddle like a crepe. Garnish with onions, chilli pieces, cumin, ginger pieces, red chilly powder. Add oil on the edges of the pesarattu and fry till the edges tun brown. Add some oil on top of the 'attu' and turn it. Fry it for 2-3 minutes. Remove from griddle and serve hot with Upma

Upma

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups upma ravva (sooji)
2. 2 tablepsoons oil
3. 1 teaspoon cashew pieces and peanuts each
4. 1/4 teaspoon cumin, mustard seeds, and chana dal (soaked in 1/4 cup water), toor dal each
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 2 red chillies and few curry leaves and fresh coriander for garnishing

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the peanuts for a couple of minutes. Now add the cumin, mustard seeds, toor dal and chana dal and for a couple of minutes more. Now add chopped red chillies and curry leaves and fry till the seeds stard to splutter. Now add 3 cups of water and the salt and let it come to a boil. Add the sooji and cover and simmer till all the water escapes. Garnish with Cilantro and serve with Pesarattu or as is.

You might also want to try a variation of Upma the Kaaju Upma

Punukulu (Split green gram fritters)

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup pesarattu batter (a little thicker than used for pesarattu)
2. 1/2 teaspoon salt,
3. 1 finely chopped green chilli
4. 1/4 teaspoon cumin, baking soda each
5. oil for deep frying

Mix all the ingredients together except oil and set aside for a 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and drop batter with a teaspoon. Fry till golden brown and serve with Chutney

Punukula Pulusu (Punukulu in cooked tamarind juice)

Ingredients:

1. 12-15 cooked punukulu
2. 1 cup chopped onions
3. small lemon sized tamarind (juiced using 2 cups warm water)
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt, red chilly powder
5. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they become tender. Now add all the ingredients except the punukulu, close the cooker and cook for 2 whistles. Let all the steam escape, open the cooker, add the punukulu and simmer for 5 minutes. garnish with cilantro and serve with white rice