You need to soak the moong beans in half a liter of water approximately half an hour before you start cooking, so that they are a bit softer and easier to use further. You can wash and pick the coriander leaves in the meantime.

After this soaking time, take the moong out of the water but don’t throw the water away. Put the moong into a grinder and add a little bit of that water. You now need to grind it to a thick but smooth paste which does not flow down your fingers when you lift a bit of it. You will need to be able to drip little dots out of this paste into oil later. It may take some practice to get the right amount of water but if you feel they are dry, just add a bit more water.

Add the fresh coriander leaves and the halves of the coriander seed into the paste. Sprinkle salt over it and mix everything really well.

Now it is time to heat up oil for deep-frying in a wok or pot. Heat the oil up and then reduce it to medium heat for the process of deep frying. Take the bowl with the moong paste, take a handful of the paste and then drop a small ball of the paste into the hot oil. It will start sizzling and you can drop more of the mangodi in. Don’t fill too many at once, they should have space to swim without sticking to each other. Slowly stir a bit so that the hot oil touches the dough drops from all sides and it gets done.

Once the Mangodi are golden from all sides, you can get them out and lay them on a cotton kitchen towel that will soak up some of the oil. Now you just need some kind of dip, sauce or chutney and you can enjoy your Mangodi. Eat them in the afternoon as a snack, as most people do it or have it together with a meal, like us!