Moong Dal Chilla Recipe (With Spinach)
Moong Dal Chilla is a healthy, vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan Indian Pancake made with split yellow lentils, spinach and spices. These egg-free savory pancakes taste delicious when served with chutney and tomato ketchup. Serve as breakfast, pack for kids lunch box or serve as after school snack.
Servings 6
Equipment
- Mixer Grinder or High Speed Blender
- Non-Stick Pan or Griddle / Tawa
- Bowls, Spoons, Whisk, spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup Moong Dal
- 1 ¾ cup Water Read Notes below
- 2 tablespoon Rice Flour
- 1 Onion large, finely chopped
- 1 cup Spinach tightly packed cup, finely chopped spinach
- 1 tablespoon Flax Seeds Alsi
- 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
- 2-3 Green Chilies finely chopped (optional)
- Salt to taste
- Oil to cook Chilla or use ghee
Instructions
- Rinse and soak 1 cup of Moong Dal in sufficient water for 2 hours.
- Drain the water completely, add the moong dal to a blender / mixer grinder jar with 1 cup of water and blend to a smooth paste.
- Remove the batter into a bowl, add finely chopped onions, rice flour, spinach, seeds, spices and salt to taste.
- Mix well using a whisk, add water (approx 3/4 cup) to adjust consistency. Once the batter is ready, let it rest for 5-10mins.
- Heat a pan, pour 1-2 ladles of the batter and spread it clockwise, until it forms a round shape. Drizzle oil on the sides and center. Allow it to cook for a couple of minutes.
- Once the edges and base has turned brown and crisp, flip the chilla and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes, until it is done.
- Serve hot / warm with cilantro mint chutney and / or tomato ketchup.
Notes
Ingredients and Substitutes -
- Other than Moong Dal, Chilla can be made using Masoor Dal and Toor Dal. Masoor dal requires about 2 hours whereas the soaking time for toor dal (split pigeon pea) is 3 hours.
- Use a high speed blender or Mixer grinder jar to blend the batter. It should be smooth to touch. No coarse bits.
- Water - I have used 1 & 3/4 cup water. 1 cup was used to grind/blend the lentils whereas 3/4 cup was used to adjust batter consistency.
- You can substitute Spinach or Palak with Kale, Collard Greens, a mix of cilantro and dill leaves.
- Rice Flour – Makes the chilla crispy and light. Rice Flour is naturally gluten-free. I would not recommend plain flour or corn flour as a substitute as it affects the taste.
- In case you don’t find rice flour in the supermarkets near you, feel free to skip the ingredient and add a pinch of baking soda. Baking soda makes the batter light.
- Just follow the steps upto soaking and grinding. Once the batter is ready, store in an airtight container and refrigerate it.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, including onion, rice flour, spices, salt etc. when ready to cook pancakes.
- If packing the cheela for kids lunch box, allow it to cool completely before wrapping. Cheelas, when packed hot, turn soggy.
- For toddlers, you can make small coin size cheela or use a cookie cutter to make interesting shapes and pack in lunch box. This is a nut-free recipe. However, it contains seeds which can be optional.
- The batter stays fresh, under refrigeration for 48 hours or more, depending on weather conditions.
- The cooked Cheela stays fresh, under refrigeration, in an airtight box for more than 3-4 days. Re-heat in a microwave.