Cheelas are my favorite for a lazy weekend breakfast or brunch. They taste great and are quite filling. For best experience serve them with Green Mint Coriander Chutney. If I remember ahead of time, I soak moong dal overnight and use that instead of besan, which makes it even more healthy.
| Preparation Time: | 35 minutes |
| Servings: | 4 cheelas |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Ingredients
| Besan (Chickpeas flour) | 1 cup |
| Water | 5/8 cup |
| Salt | 3/4 tsp |
| Red chilli powder | 1/2 tsp |
| Asafoetida Powder | A pinch |
| Achaar masala available in Indian stores (optional) | 1/2 tsp |
| Ground dry mint leaves or finely chopped fresh mint leaves | 1/8 tsp |
| Finely chopped tomatoes | 1/4 cup |
| Finely chopped onions | 1/4 cup |
| Chopped fresh coriander leaves | 1/4 cup |
| Finely chopped capsicum (optional) | 1/8 cup |
| Finely chopped green chillies (optional) | 2-3 |
| Vegetable oil | 3 tbsp |
Method
- Chop all the vegetables finely.
- Seive besan in a large bowl to get rid of the lumps in besan, if any. Add salt, red chilli powder, asafoetida, achaar masala and mint powder.
- Slowly add about 5/8 cup of water while whisking the mixture. Once a smooth batter is formed,
- Add rest of the ingredients except oil and mix.
- Heat a large nonstick pan. Coat the pan with a few drops of oil.
- Pour a spoonful of batter in the middle of the pan.
- Gently spread the batter with the help of the ladle. Try to make it as thin as possible. It will not be extremely thin because of the vegetables and that’s okay. Keep the heat on medium.
- Add a few more drops of oil on top and on the sides for it to cook. Check to see if the bottom is a little brown. If done, flip the cheela. Add a few more drops of oil and cook this side also. Keep pressing it with spatula for even browning.
- Remove from the pan when it is evenly cooked on both sides.
- Serve Besan Cheela hot with tomato ketchup or Green Mint Chutney.
Notes:
- Please do not blend the vegetables because that will remove the crunch from the cheela.
- I like the Cheelas crisp. Use spatula to press it while cooking to make it crispier. You may also need a little more oil.
- If you plan ahead of time, you can replace besan with dhuli moong dal. Just soak it overnight and then blend it to a smooth batter. Add all the spices and vegetables and prepare the Cheelas as described above.
- Feel free to replace and add any vegetables of your choice.
- These can be made ahead of time but heat them in pan before serving.
Summary
Recipe Name
Besan Cheela
Author Name
Ruchi Garg
Published On
Total Time
Average Rating
Based on 2 Review(s)