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Mung Dal Fritters – Baked Moong Dal Pakoda

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Mung Dal Fritters – 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

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Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com

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.  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. 

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. Most are deep fried. 

Make these moong dal pakoda for a change from chickpea flour fritters. Serve with Mint Cilantro Chutney or other chutneys of choice or with 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!

Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com

More Indian Snacks from the blog

Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com

Crunchy on the outside and soft inside. 

Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com

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4.74 from 15 votes

Mung Dal Fritters - Baked Moong Dal Pakoda

Mung Dal Fritters - 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 Makes about 16 to 18 fritters
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Gluten-free, Indian, Vegan
Servings: 6
Calories: 61kcal
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (192 g) 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 (0.5 tsp) turmeric
  • 3/4 to 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp oil
  • 1/3 cup (83.33 ml) or more water
  • 1/2 cup (8 g) finely chopped cilantro loosely packed
  • 1 1/2 cup (45 g) lightly packed finely chopped spinach or rainbow chard loosely packed
  • 3/4 cup (105 g) finely chopped red onion heaped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced

Instructions

  • 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 / 220ºc.
  • 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 Chutney or tomato chutney or ketchup or add to kadhi (non dairy yogurt sauce) or curry.

Notes

Make these in aebleskiver/appe pan: Drop ladlefull of batter in a greased pan over medium heat. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, flip and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
For chickpea flour batter: Use 3/4 cup chickpea flour, 1 tbsp rice flour, 2 tbsp non dairy yogurt, 1/3 cup or more water to make a thick batter. Add minced ginger, minced green chile and spices from above. Fold in the cilantro, spinach, onion and other vegetables if using. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.
Make Moong Dal chilla/pancakes: Spread the batter on a skillet over medium heat. drop a few drops of oil on the edges. Cook until golden, flip and cook for a few mins and serve with ketchup or chutneys.
Nutritional values based on one serving

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Mung Dal Fritters - Baked Moong Dal Pakoda
Amount Per Serving
Calories 61 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Sodium 324mg14%
Potassium 260mg7%
Carbohydrates 8g3%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 795IU16%
Vitamin C 4.4mg5%
Calcium 53mg5%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Mung Dal Fritters - 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 | VeganRicha.com



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  1. in the ingredients it says the lentils should be soaked and in the instructions it says to soak them in hot water… is that a double soak? if so, how long should i soak them?

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    I can’t easily (as in I can’t get it anywhere close to me) get the yoghurt in South Africa. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    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

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    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!

    Reply

  11. I’ve always avoided these kinds of fritters because of the deep-frying methods, but I was awestruck by how these look like they were deep-fried even though they are baked! This is amazing, I have to try them out!

    Reply

  12. 1 star
    This was a disaster. The “batter” almost broke my high tech power blender. I added extra water and still got warnings messages from my blender. I had to transfer to the “batter” my food processor and I still ended up with a dough. I was reluctant to add much more water than I already had because the recipe says to keep the batter thick. Between the fine chopping, the mess and doughy not very tasty baked balls I ended up with, I have to say this was not easy, nor was it worth my time. Vegan Richa has never let me down before. I think some pictures of the batter may have been helpful, but I can’t figure out why this went so badly.

    Reply

    • Hmm, I am not sure what happened. I use both a Nutribullet which is a small blender and Blendtec which is a high powered blender without issues. Many people also made this on Instagram with almost similar looking results.
      Maybe you used a different lentil? Did you use Moong Dal? Or maybe the lentils were really old and did not soften on soaking. With harder lentils or things which take longer to cook such as whole lentils, whole chickpeas, split peas etc. The beans dont soften enough to blend and might jam up under the blender blades. I will add pictures of the batter in a day or so. I think the flavor and texture was doughy because of the blending issues. Can you message me (on social media) or email me the pictures if you have them so I can troubleshoot better.

      Reply

      • Thank you for your response. I didn’t take any pictures. I used a high-powered blend tech and I bought the correct lentils recently from a bulk bin. I am thinking the lentils could have been old, but I soaked them for an hour and my “batter” wasn’t gritty.

        Reply

        • i’ll add photos tomorrow so you can compare. Maybe the lentils needed a bit more water or they were pretty old. The above points are what I can think of for the issue. even with less water the mixture is generally a smooth slightly stiff batter.

          Reply

  14. 5 stars
    This is an awesome recipe Richa. Super yummy! My husband and my son want these for breakfast every morning now with tomato onion chutney. I added diced potato to fill them up more so they wouldn’t eat them so fast, and actually, the potato makes a nice addition. Thanks very much for the recipe. A new staple in our house!

    Reply

  17. mmm these look yummy, just what I have been looking for to take with me on a weekend away for snacks. can’t wait to try them. Susan

    Reply

  18. 5 stars
    Wonderful Recipe!! It turned out awesome! So easy to make. Very nice instructions.
    Very tasty with the least oil possible.

    Thank you Richa!

    Reply

  19. all your food looks good. i hope you can help me with my question.
    i am not indian nor do i have mixie nor grinder. i;m american and i always take
    the easy road.
    its so hard to find recipes thats use the ingredients already ground and store bought.
    do you know any websites that use the flours vs. beans?
    or is there a way to convert your recipe suing mung bean flour and lentil flour which is just sitting.
    thank you

    Reply

    • the flours work in some recipes and dont work in some recipes. You can make a thick muffin like batter with the flour, ad the salt, spices, onion and greens and bake it. The fritters will bake a bit faster so check earlier. Mung dal flour is not easily available while the beans are. If you have flour available then you an generally use it in similar recipes.

      Reply

      • 5 stars
        thanks for reply but you use a cup of the lentils how would that translate into how much flour i could use? or in general when i see ground batter

        Reply

        • Use the same amount of flour and add water a few tbsp at a time to make a thick batter. If the batter gets too thin, just add more flour. You might also want to add a bit more baking powder (1/2 tsp more)

          Reply

  21. 5 stars
    I made these over the weekend as a snack to bring camping. They are so delicious, and so easy! I used a 1/4 cup scoop for bigger fritters. I also made the cilantro mint chutney as you suggested – also amazing! I want to put it on everything! Initially I found the chutney to be a bit too thin (I’m wondering if it would have been better to use the food processor) so I added quite a bit more cilantro (probably an entire bunch), some spinach, and yogurt. It was the perfect snack to have on the road and in our camper!

    Reply

  22. Hey, new to this whole thing but I’m a student and we don’t have a blender or food processor in our uni house. Is there a way to make the batter without the use of those appliances?
    Thank you

    Reply

  23. This looks like an interesting recipe. I don’t care for the taste of spinach. Would these still turn out okay if I omit the ingredient?

    Reply

  24. 5 stars
    Made your other pakoras multiple times and they turned out GREAT!

    Can I use mung chilka daal vs mung daal?

    Thank you,

    Preeti

    Reply

  25. 5 stars
    Finally got around to making these fritters. As with all of your recipes, it is super easy, very easy to prepare, and absolutely delicious! We made some jalapeño mango chutney to go with them.

    Reply
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