Besan Chilla

Besan Chilla or cheela with vegetables is a very tasty, vegan, and gluten-free savory pancake from India. These chillas can be served as breakfast and also be enjoyed as a healthy snack. It's made with chickpea flour, vegetables, and spices.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian, North Indian

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 6

Total Time 16

Servings medium chilla

Calories 135kcal

Author Vandana Chauhan

Equipment

Knife and chopping board
mixing bowl
Whisk or spoon to mix the batter
Non stick pan with a lid
Spatula

Ingredients

1 cup chickpea flour besan
1.25 cups water adjust to get the required consistency
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup bean sprouts
½ cup finely chopped spring onion
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
½ teaspoon grated ginger
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 green chili finely chopped
¼ teaspoon carom seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon cooking oil of choice or ghee

Instructions

Put chickpea flour in a mixing bowl. Add salt, black pepper, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and carom seeds. Mix.
Add water, ¼ cup at a time, and mix until you get a smooth batter with a pouring consistency. Mix well to make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
Add all the vegetables, herbs, ginger, garlic, and green chilies. Mix. If the batter is too thick, add more water.
Heat a non stick pan. Brush it with a little oil.
Take around a ladle full of batter and pour it into the pan. Evenly spread the batter with the backside of the ladle to make a medium-sized pancake.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium heat for around 4 minutes or until the bottom side of the chilla turns golden brown.
Flip the chilla with the help of a spatula and cook the other side for around 2 minutes or until that side also gets golden brown spots and the chilla is nicely cooked.
Take out on a plate and serve with your favorite chutney, dip, raita or just a cup of tea.

Video

Notes

Don't add all the water in one go, start by adding ¼ cup of water at a time and then a few tablespoons at a time until you get the desired consistency.
You can also add the puree of any blanched vegetable like spinach, beetroot, or peas to the chilla batter.
Non-vegans may also add grated paneer to the batter. Vegans may add grated tofu.
Instead of water, you can also use leftover dal to make chilla batter.
Some people don’t like the taste or smell of chickpea flour. If you slightly roast the chickpea flour in a pan before mixing it with water, that raw taste of chickpeas will go away.
To flavor the cheela batter, you can also add other spices like cumin seeds, red chili powder, or garam masala.
Make sure not to overheat the pan before pouring the batter. If the pan is very hot, the batter will get cooked as soon as you pour it on the pan and then it will be difficult to spread it.
More recipe tips and tricks are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.

Nutrition