Ingredients

The following ingredients have 12 Servings
  • 1 cup Split Moong with husk ( husked moong dal also works)
  • 6 Green Chilies
  • 1 tbsp chopped Ginger
  • ¾ tsp Cumin Seeds
  • ¼ cup chopped Onion
  • 1 Scallion chopped
  • ½ cup chopped Cilantro
  • 1 tsp Salt (adjust to taste)
  • ¾ tsp Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
  • 2 tbsp chopped Methi ~ Fenugreek Leaves (opt)
  • 4-6 Curry Leaves (chopped (opt))
  • Spinach Leaves chopped (I did not use and it is optional)
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 1 - 2 tsp Coriander Powder (I did not use it)
  • Oil for deep frying

Instruction

  • Soak split moong in water for at least 6 hours or overnight.
  • Wash the moong and discard most of the skin. If moong is well soaked, the skin will peel off from split moong when rubbed between fingers. I discarded ⅔ – ¾ of the skin.
  • Transfer moong to a colander or a strainer and let the water drain.
  • Meantime, grind together chilies, ginger, salt and cumin seeds. Onions can also be ground but I forgot and used chopped onion instead. This step is optional. These can be ground with moong dal as well but to get a fine paste, I usually tend to grind these separately in a mini grinder.
  • Transfer ground paste to a food processor or a blender. I would recommend a food processor for garelu or vada as it would not require too much water when grinding. Then add washed and drained moong dal, keeping aside ¼ – ⅓ cup of dal.
  • Grind everything to a paste. It need not be a smooth paste. If necessary, add about 1 – 2 tbsp water and no more than that. I used 1 tbsp. water. Also, if onion is ground, water is not required and moisture from ground onion is sufficient to grind the dal.
  • Transfer ground dal to a bowl, add chopped onion (if not used in previous step), scallion, cilantro, methi leaves, spinach if using, and chili powder. Add the moong dal that was kept aside and mix well.
  • Taste the dal mixture and adjust chili powder and salt to taste.
  • Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
  • Take a Ziploc bag and place small lime sized dal mixture on it. Press it into a disc using fingers and make a hole in the middle using the index finger.
  • When oil is hot, gradually drop the garele in oil. 4 – 5 garelu can be deep fried at a time, depending on the size of the pan.
  • Deep fry on medium to medium high heat until garelu are light brown and cooked inside.
  • Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
  • Repeat the process with rest of the dal mixture.
  • Serve garelu with butter.