By Elizabeth Herman | Posted: July 30, 2019
These light and delicious pancakes are easy to cook and eat. The ingredients naturally cleanse the system, according to ayurveda. Using mung beans and ginger together, with chilies and turmeric, provides anti-inflammatory and digestive benefits.
I learned this recipe from the Vegetarian Epicure cookbook, which I’ve been using for many years.
Ingredients
1 cup whole or split soaked mung dal, with green hulls still on them (soak overnight)
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger root, peeled
1 jalapeno (without seeds if you don’t want too much spicy flavor)
Cilantro leaves to taste
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
¼ tsp. Turmeric
¼ tsp. Baking soda
½ cup water
Oil for cooking
Directions
Place the chopped up piece of ginger and the pieces of chili in a food processor or blender. Mince them to a small size in the machine.
After draining the soaking water from the mung dal, add it to the food processor along with the ginger and chili, and blend until it forms a coarse paste.
Once these ingredients are coarsely ground, add the salt, water, turmeric, and baking soda and blend for 2 full minutes to make a pancake batter consistency.
Add some cilantro leaves or other fresh herbs to the batter and blend briefly.
Heat some oil over medium heat in a skillet. Once the oil is hot and spread all over the pan, drop about ¼ cup of the batter in the center of the pan, and spread the batter out into a larger, thinner circle with the back of a spoon.
Cover the pan. After about 1 minute, sprinkle some oil on the top side of the pancake, and turn the pancake over to cook on the other side. Cover the pan again and cook on the other side for about 1 minute.
After both sides have been cooked and are nicely browned to your preference, remove the pancake from the pan and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.
Repeat with the rest of the batter to make more pancakes.
There are many variations of these pancakes, also known as mung dal na poora. You can really be creative in filling them. The last time I made them I filled them with a fresh potato and cucumber salad. They are also great with warm potatoes and squash that have been cooked with butter and milk.
You can roll up the pancake around the filling and munch on it like a taco, or put in on a plate and use a knife and fork, or dip it into a dipping sauce, or smear it with a spread of your choice.
Any way you might like them, these balanced pancakes are quite delicious.
By Elizabeth Herman - PhD in English, with concentrations in Rhetoric and Composition, and Literature, she offers writing support to clients, teaches locally, lives in Boone, NC, and volunteers for a better world.
