besan chilla

Besan Chilla or Besan ka Cheela is a savory Indian pancake recipe made with gram flour (besan), onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices. You can add your favorite grated vegetables to make these more nutritious, and serve as a quick breakfast, brunch, or even as a late-night snack.

Besan Chilla Recipe (Besan ka Cheela)

besan ((gram flour) - 100 grams)

onions

tomatoes (or 1 small tomato)

coriander leaves

green chilies (or serrano pepper)

ginger (or ½ inch peeled ginger)

carom seeds ((ajwain))

turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))

red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)

water (or add as required)

salt (as required)

oil (as required)

Take the gram flour in a mixing bowl.

Add the onions, tomatoes, ginger, green chillies ground spices, carom seeds, coriander leaves and salt.

First add ½ cup water and with a wired whisk begin to mix.

If the batter looks thick, then add 1 to 3 tablespoons more water. Depending on the quality and texture of besan, you can add less or more water.

Mix to a smooth flowing consistency in the batter. Break lumps if any while mixing batter.

Making chilla batter

Heat a frying pan or a skillet on a low to medium-low heat. You can use an iron skillet or a non-stick pan. If using iron skillet or tawa, then spread a bit of oil on it.

Let the pan become medium hot. Then take a ladle full of the batter and pour on the pan

Gently with the back of the ladle, begin to spread the batter.

Spread lightly and gently so that the cheela does not break.

On a low flame cook the chilla till the top begins to look cooked.

Then drizzle ½ to 1 teaspoon oil on the chilla at the edges and all around.

Continue to cook till the base gets light golden.

Flip and now cook the other side.

Cook this side until you see golden spots on the besan chilla.

Fold and serve chilla hot or warm. Besan chilla are best had hot. But if you are not able to serve them hot, then place them in a roti basket or casserole. They remain warm and can be served later.

Cooking besan chilla

Enjoy besan chilla as it is or with a side dip of coriander chutney or mint chutney or any chutney of your choice or with tomato ketchup. You can serve it with plain curd (yogurt) or raita.

We also like to have it with roti or bread. I sometimes make simple sandwiches stuffing the chilla between two bread slices spread with some coriander chutney and butter. You can make the besan chilla sandwich with toasted bread if you like.

Serving suggestions

Besan Chilla are best served hot and crisp as soon as they are made. They taste good when they become warm too.

If I plan to serve them later in the day, I stack them in a steel box or a roti box which keeps them warm and moist.

Make these as needed. I do not suggest to make a large batch for storage. On refrigeration the chilla becomes dry and lightly dense. Reheating them does not bring up the original flavors and they taste kind of dull.

Storage

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Besan cheela is a savory and tasty pancake made with gram flour (besan), spices and herbs. Grated veggies can also be added to make the chilla recipe more nutritious.

Besan Chilla Recipe

Make this quick and easy Besan Chilla (or cheela), a savoury Indian pancake recipe made with chickpea or gram flour, onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices. It makes for an easy and balanced lunch/breakfast!

Besan Ka Chilla

Besan (Gram flour) (sub with chickpea flour)

Water

Red onion (diced) (you can also use yellow onion

½ Tomato (diced)

Green chilli peppers (chopped) (adjust according to taste)

tsp Red chilli powder

(adjust

3-4 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro

½ tsp Carrom seeds/Ajwain (Optional)

Sift the besan/chickpea flour through a sifter to prevent lumps (you can also skip to save time).

Add the rest of the ingredients except water and oil and mix well. Then add water to the mix and form a loose batter (not too thick or thin. Adjust water,according to feel).

Season a skillet with a thin layer of oil. Bring it to about medium heat.

Pour 1/3 cup full of the batter on the skillet and with the back of the spoon, spread it a little to form a roughly round shape.

Cook for until the top looks about cooked and then flip. You can also cook the pancake on one side on low flame until the top looks cooked through and remove from the skillet without flipping.

Serve chilla/pancake hot or warm with a side of Indian pickle, mint coriander chutney, ketchup or a simple yoghurt sauce.

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Besan Chilla Recipe (Besan ka Cheel...

Besan Ka Chilla

Top 2 besan chilla recipes from across the web

The most viewed besan chilla recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Besan Chilla Recipe (Besan ka Cheel...

Besan Ka Chilla

The most viewed besan chilla recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine