Why you should switch to this mung bean crepe or Peserattu for breakfast immediately!
Plant-based with a low GI, these healthy crepes pack quite a taste punch
It’s 8am. I jump into a rickety old auto rickshaw or three-wheeler and head off to school. Sitting in the open end of the vehicle, I smile and wave at the vegetable vendors setting up for the day. A typical routine for most children in the little beach town of Vizag, in Andhra Pradesh.
Breakfast at school is at 10am. I put away my books and settle with my steel tiffin box filled with peserattu or spiced mung bean crepes. Not a very happy moment.
These would be the days I’d go home to an irritated scolding from mum, for not eating what was in my tiffin. She wanted me to eat healthy food and my mother believed peserattu was nutritious.
The crepes in my tiffin were cold and a bit soggy from the moisture settling in. Not an ideal meal experience.
It never occurred to my young mind that to make something so nutritious and delicious out of simple ingredients was an art, which I discovered much later in life.
Peserattu when eaten fresh, hot and crisp is delicious! That was the turning point in my relationship with this bean-filled crepe.
Unwrapping the origin
Peserattu is a thin yet slightly spongy crepe that gets its green colour from ‘pesera,’ the Telugu word for mung beans. Like most crepes, it has a batter with a pouring consistency.
The genius of this dish is that it elevates normal ingredients like cumin seeds, ginger and whole mung beans that are rich in protein, making it a favourite among vegans and vegetarians.
However, before you make your own batch of peserattu for breakfast, you’ll need to prepare your taste buds. It takes a dash of acceptance that this green looking crepe is wholesome and does not have the ghee-roasted crispiness of a dosa.
However, once you get past that, it is a wonderful breakfast option.
When it comes to having a peserattu in a restaurant that serves Andhra cuisine, you are spoilt for choices. However, the mung bean taste of the peserattu is common to all versions. That’s why many people in Andhra Pradesh pair it with the strong nutty flavour of a peanut chutney.
It also works well with ginger, garlic and on some occasions, tomato chutney.
Dramatic varieties
The story of the peserattu is incomplete without making a stop in Hyderabad, the old city of Nizams or kings, which is dotted with restaurants that serve Mughlai food – a legacy of the Mughals who brought in influences from Iran and Central Asia into Indian kitchens.
It seems the city has introduced other variants of the peserattu. Maybe because Hyderabad was once the former capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Onions or upma and sometimes potatoes are the choice of stuffing. The most popular of all are the 70mm and the MLA peserattu.
According to Dubai-based expat, Chef Veerender Koram from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, there are different types of peserattus, depending on the kind of stuffing they have.
Onions or upma (stir-fried semolina with herbs and spices) and sometimes potatoes are the choice of stuffing. The most popular of all are the 70mm and the MLA peserattu.
What’s behind these quirky names?
Many believe that ‘MLA peserattu’ has a decades’ old origin in an eatery in ‘MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) quarters,’ a well-known locality in Hyderabad.
Just like an MLA, it represents a little of all the other variants and because of the grandeur of this dish, it literally is the MLA of all peserattus.
Karthik Reddy, managing director of Godavari Andhra restaurant and a Dubai-based expat who hails from Hyderabad brushes the legend aside.
“There’s a simple reason why peserattu gets this name. It’s the recipe. Just like an MLA, it represents a little of all the other variants and because of the grandeur of this dish, it literally is the MLA of all peserattus.”
The 70mm peserattu is about two feet long and it resonates with the movie buffs of Andhra Pradesh, Reddy explains.
Most people in Andhra Pradesh have a fervour for films. Back in the day, everyone would watch cinema in 35mm theatres and to celebrate Telugu films’ transition from small to big screens, restaurants began to serve 70mm dosas.
This includes the 70mm peserattu, which is about two feet in size. That’s twice the size of an ordinary peserattu.
My personal favourite is the homemade version: peserattu bursting at the seams with grated coconut (no, this isn’t the secret ingredient), shredded carrots and finely chopped cashew nuts roasted in ghee.
Arrange them all in the green crepe that is toasted just enough to a tawny colour and a crisp texture.
I did not like them earlier was because the peserattu would be cold and soggy by the time I’d open my tiffin box in class. The secret that makes peserettus perfect is that you must serve them hot.
With that in mind, go ahead and give this recipe a try.
Homemade Peserattu
Preparation time: 8 hrs 20 minutes
Cooking time: : 30 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients:
250 grams soaked whole mung seeds
½ tsp cumin
1 tbsp Oil or ghee
½ cup finely chopped onions
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped green chillies
Salt to taste
Method:
Soak the whole mung seeds overnight, for about 8 to 9 hours.
The next day, drain and mash the mung beans along with cumin, ginger, green chilli, some salt and enough water to bring the batter to a medium consistency.
Heat a flat pan and grease it with a few drops of oil.
When the pan is sufficiently heated, sprinkle a few drops of water, it should evaporate very quickly.
Pour the batter with a ladle or large spoon and from the centre spread it evenly to the edge of the pan. Like a think crepe.
Start sprinkling the onion and if it's an MLA peserattu, the grated carrot, coconut and cashews and some upma in that order.
Use the spoon or ladle to press the toppings onto the spread batter.
Dribble oil over the entire topping and let it cook.
Once the edges start to brown, flip the peserattu over, ensuring that the toppings don't fall off. It takes some practice to do it perfectly.
Let the side with the toppings roast until the onions are caramelised. Avoid overcooking the toppings.
Once done, bring a plate close to the pan and gently slide the peserattu onto it. You can leave it as is or you can fold it in half with the toppings intact.
Serve hot with ginger chutney.
Andhra ginger chutney
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
A lemon-sized tamarind ball soaked in water
1-inch ginger cut into small pieces
Dry red chilli, as per taste.
½ tsp asafoetida powder
¼ tsp mustard seeds
¼ fenugreek
1 to 2 tbsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp jiggery
For tempering:
A pinch of mustard seeds
1 sprig of curry leaf
2 tsp of sesame oil
Method:
In a wok, pour about 1 to 2 tablespoons of sesame oil.
Sauté the ginger along with the mustard, fenugreek and red chilli until golden brown, over a low flame.
Allow it to cool.
Once cooked, grind these ingredients with tamarind and jaggery to a smooth paste.
Add salt to taste and very little water to make a smooth paste.
For the tempering:
Heat two teaspoons of sesame oil in a pan.
Add a pinch of mustard seeds, a few curry leaves and allow to splutter.
Pour this onto the chutney and stir well.
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