Moong Dal Chillaમગની દાળનો ચીલ્લા
Thin savoury pancakes of soaked moong dal. Nothing is fried, the protein is high, and they keep you full until lunch.
Ingredients
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- 1 cup moong dal, soaked 3 hours
- 1 tsp ginger, 2 green chillies
- ½ tsp turmeric, a pinch of asafoetida, salt
- 1 onion and coriander, finely chopped
- Oil for the pan
Method
- Grind the soaked dal with the ginger and chillies into a batter as thin as dosa batter.
- Mix in turmeric, asafoetida, salt, onion and coriander.
- Spread thin on a non-stick tawa.
- Drizzle oil at the edges and cook until the underside is golden.
- Flip, cook the other side and serve hot with green chutney.
Tips
- Too thin a batter tears when you flip it.
- The tawa must be properly hot or the chilla sticks.
Storing and reheating
The batter keeps two days in the fridge, but do not mix the onion and coriander in ahead; they leach water and sour it. Add onion only to the portion you are about to cook. Eat cooked chillas within two or three hours. Refrigerated ones go leathery, though a minute on a tawa with a little ghee helps.
What you can swap
- Whole green moong works instead of split dal. Soak it six hours; the chillas come out darker and slightly grainier.
- Without onion, use finely chopped cabbage, grated carrot or chopped spinach. All release water, so keep the batter a touch thicker.
- No asafoetida? Grind one garlic clove with the dal. It does a similar job for digestion and tastes good.
- A tablespoon of rice flour in the batter gives crisp edges. Leave it out if you prefer a soft chilla.
What to serve with it
At breakfast with green chutney and curd, or as an evening snack. In many homes they are rolled up and packed into children's tiffin boxes, and two chillas with a bowl of curd makes a light dinner on its own.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not let the batter ferment. A chilla is an unfermented pancake. Batter left out three or four hours tastes sour and sticks to the pan.
- Do not pour the batter onto a smoking-hot tawa. Lower the heat to medium just before pouring, or the batter sets instantly and you get no chance to spread it.
- Spread outward from the centre in one continuous motion. Going back over it tears the batter and leaves holes in the chilla.
- Do not flip early. Wait until the edges lift off the tawa by themselves. That is the signal, not the clock.
Questions people ask
My chillas stick to the pan. What is wrong?
Either the tawa is not hot enough or there is too little oil. Heat the pan, then rub the surface with a cut half onion dipped in oil, an old trick that works. If a non-stick tawa has lost its coating, a well-seasoned iron tawa does a better job.
I forgot to soak the dal. Any shortcut?
Cover the dal with boiling water and leave it an hour; it softens considerably. You will need two or three extra tablespoons of water and a bit longer in the mixer, but the chillas will work.
Yellow or green moong dal, which is better?
Skinned yellow moong dal gives a smooth, pale, soft chilla. Split green moong with the skin on gives darker colour and a more textured bite. Both are correct; it comes down to what your family is used to.
