About Punugulu

Punugulu originated in the coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh and pretty much made in every Telugu speaking home. The traditional way is to soak and grind the lentils & rice to make a thick batter. This is fermented and spiced with green chilies, cumin seeds and ginger to impart a bunch of flavors. To add flavor and texture fresh cut onions are also added. Portions of the thick fluffy batter is then dropped gently to the hot oil. The batter fries up to round crispy balls that are extremely delicious and addictive. Punugulu are served with a chutney. However these can be made instantly with leftover idli dosa batter. A lot of Telugu speaking people usually make these with leftover over-fermented idli-dosa batter as they taste tangy. While Punugulu can be made with lentils & rice or with just white flour (refined flour), the traditional and the standard version is made with urad dal and raw rice. The maida version is similar to Karnataka Goli Baje & Mysore bonda with a few differences. At home we also make these with green gram (mung beans) and also only with urad dal using the Medu vada batter. Each of these taste so much different. If you are making these for the first time, read my pro tips below. More similar recipes,Aratikaya bajjiMixed dal vadaMirapakaya bajjiGareluAlasanda vadaOnion pakoda

How to make Punugulu (Stepwise Photos)

  1. To make these you will need either 2 cups leftover thick idli or dosa batter or you have to make fresh batter. If you are using leftover batter, scroll down and start from step 4. If you want to make fresh batter, rinse & soak ¼ cup urad dal and ¾ cup raw rice for a minimum of 4 hrs.
  2. Rinse the dal well and add it to a grinder jar. Also add half teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 to 2 green chilies. If you make these for small kids, you can also skip the chilies or add them chopped later. Pour 3 tablespoons water. Grind this to a smooth thick batter. Transfer this to a bowl.
  3. Rinse the soaked rice and drain the water. Add the rice to the same grinder. Grind to a slightly coarse batter. Mix it with the urad dal batter thoroughly. Add salt as required to taste. If you want you may ferment this batter for 4 to 6 hours.
  4. Check the consistency now, the batter should be thicker & of dropping consistency. Refer the pic below. This is the right consistency. OPTIONAL STEP : If you feel the batter is runny, powder 2 tbsps of poha / attukulu and mix well with the batter to make a lump-free batter. Set side for 10 mins. Alternately you can add 2 tablespoons of semolina or rice flour to thicken the batter. But the ones made with poha are really light and crunchy. Now adjust the consistency of batter, if required add very little water. Check by making 1 to 2 punugulu, if they are hard need to add little water.

Fry the Punugulu

  1. To the batter, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (skip if you added to the batter while grinding). If you want add half cup chopped onions, chopped green chillies and ¾ teaspoon ginger to the batter. Mix and taste test for salt.
  2. On a medium flame, heat oil in a kadai for deep frying. Test if the oil is hot enough by dropping a quarter teaspoon batter. It should sizzle and come up to the surface. This is the right temperature. Shape the batter to round balls with your fingers and drop them gently in the hot oil. Do not disturb them for a few minutes. Then later stir with a slotted spoon and fry them until golden and crisp. Remove punugulu to a cooling rack or steel colander. Serve punugulu hot with chutney. We served it with Garlic chutney. Coconut chutney, Ginger chutney and Tomato chutney also go well.

Pro Tips

There are no specific measurements followed to make the batter. But it must be thick and not runny. Punugulu can be made with fresh ground batter or with leftover fermented idli dosa batter. Usually many people love them making with sour batter as the fritters taste slightly tangy. Most times I make them with the fresh batter. They can be made plain just with some cumin and green chilies added. I prefer to add chopped onions, chilies, cumin and coriander leaves. The right consistency of the batter is the key to making punukulu that are crispy and not oily. Not too thick and not too thin. Thick batter makes your fritters rock hard, while the thin runny batter, makes them oily and soggy too. If the batter turns runny, many people add few spoons of rice flour or semolina. But my personal experience – they turn hard when additional rice flour is added. With semolina the fritters turn flat and do not absorb the moisture in the batter. So I usually use poha or atukulu. Just powder and add a bit to the batter to bring it to consistency. They turn out super crunchy and light. Related Recipes

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