The mung or moong bean (also known as green gram or golden gram) is the seed of Vigna radiata, native to the Indian subcontinent, and mainly cultivated in India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos  and Cambodia, but also in hot and dry regions of Southern Europe and the Southern United States. It is used as an ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes. It is known by other names such as pasi payaru in Tamil, cherru payaru in Malayalam, Hesaru Bele in Kannada and pesarlu in Telugu.
 In South India there is evidence for evolution of larger-seeded mung beans 3500 to 3000 years ago.[7] By about 3500 years ago mung beans were widely cultivated throughout India. Cultivated mung beans later spread from India to China and Southeast Asia.

The mung or moong bean (also known as green gram or golden gram) is the seed of Vigna radiata, native to the Indian subcontinent, and mainly cultivated in India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos  and Cambodia, but also in hot and dry regions of Southern Europe and the Southern United States. It is used as an ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes. It is known by other names such as pasi payaru in Tamil, cherru payaru in Malayalam, Hesaru Bele in Kannada and pesarlu in Telugu.
 In South India there is evidence for evolution of larger-seeded mung beans 3500 to 3000 years ago.[7] By about 3500 years ago mung beans were widely cultivated throughout India. Cultivated mung beans later spread from India to China and Southeast Asia.