Moong Dal Chilla
Recipe: Moong Dal Chilla
Moong dal chilla is a savoury flatbread or thin pancake made from moong dal, herbs and simple spices. It’s one of the easiest and healthy breakfast or brunch option. A versatile recipe, one can add vegetables and herbs of your choice. Also known as pudla or puda it is a popular Gujarati breakfast dish. It is usually served with green chutney, pickles or even tomato ketchup.
Memories
My mum made chillas or pudlas often. She made sweet and savoury ones. The sweet ones are usually made using wheat flour and for a large family like ours, the easiest was to use chickpea flour (besan) to make the savoury ones. She loved chillas. Besides some pickle, you would alwyas find a couple of green chillis in her plate. A bite of the chilla or pudla followed by a bite of green chilli. As an adult, I’ve tried eating raw green chilli but it is not for me at all. I can’t food that is too hot, chilli wise.
Modern Times
As I mentioned above, usually the chilla or pudla was served with some chutney, pickle or tomato ketchup. But nowadays chillas have got much healthier and filling too.
Sharing This Recipe With Sunday Funday Group Celebrating Mother’s Day
For This Sunday, Amy suggested we celebrate Mother’s Day with a brunch dish. So far I have all my mum’s favourite foods on the blog. For this theme I remembered she loved chilla or pudla too. If she were around I would have loved to serve her chilla with a filling. Often hubby and I enjoy chickpea flour or moong dal chilla with a filling.
I had first published this recipe on 05/09/2012. Republishing it with a filling.
Check Out How Members Are Celebrating Mother’s Day
- Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken Crown by Food Lust People Love
- Cheesy Chive Popovers by Culinary Cam
- Mini Pavlova by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
- Moong Dal Chila by Mayuri’s Jikoni
- Sausage Balls by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Tomato Ketchup Chicken & Rice Platter by Sneha’s Recipe
Some Brunch Ideas You May Like
Ingredients Required For Moong Dal Chilla & The Filling:
Moong Dal
Can use the yellow one or the green one with the skin. Moong dal is split moong and is easily available in all Indian Stores or online.
Urad Dal
Urad dal is split black gram. Can use the dal without the husk or with it. I have the one without husk so I have used that. Urad dal s easily available in all Indian Stores or online.
Greens
Can be fresh fenugreek, spinach, coriander, beet leaves, carrot leaves, radish leaves, moringa, etc. Whatever you have at home.
Ginger
Fresh ginger about an inch. Peel it if it has too much dirt on it.
Green Chillis
Add according to your taste.
Garlic
I have used about 3 big cloves of garlic. Peel it. You can add more or less depending on your taste.
Carom Seeds
Also known as ajwain, ajmo. Easily available in all Indian Stores or online.
Turmeric Powder
Haldi, hardar. Easily available in all supermarkets, Indian Stores or online.
Salt
Need some for the batter and the filling. Adjust according to your taste. Use any salt of your choice.
Asafoetida
Also known as hing, this is an optional ingredient. If you want to prepare gluten free chilla then omit asafoetida as it contains wheat flour.
Plain Yogurt
If the yogurt is watery then you may need less water to prepare the batter.
Water
We need enough water to soak the lentils or dals. Also need some for preparing the batter. When you prepare the batter add only ½ cup at first. Later add more little at a time to make the batter consistency correct. The batter should not be too thick or thin.
Onion
Peeled and finely chopped. Can use red, white or yellow onion. Can omit it too if you want to prepare it without onions.
Bell Pepper
Use any colour of your choice. Can also use green capsicum.
Carrot
Peeled and grated. Can replace the carrot with other veggies of your choice like cabbage, beetroot, broccoli, etc.
Bean Sprouts
I have used home sprouted moong beans. You can add any sprouts of your choice. 1 cup of sprouts already gives you 3g of protein. I prefer to use them raw. You can steam them lightly.
Paneer
To make the breakfast or brunch more protein rich I add grated paneer or tofu. Can also add boiled and chopped eggs.
Red Chilli Powder
I add a bit to make the filling more tasty. You can use red chilli flakes or omit the ingredient.
Chaat Masala
To add more flavour to the filling. If you don’t have any, add a bit of garam masala.
Fresh Coriander
Chop the stalks too if they are tender.
Watch How To Make Moong Dal Chilla With A Filling
MOONG DAL CHILLA | MOONG DAL PANCAKES
Ingredients
FOR THE CHILLA
- 1 cup moong dal
- ¼ cup urad dal
- ½ cup fresh fenugreek chopped
- 1 inch ginger
- 1-2 green chillis
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ tsp carom seeds
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp asafoetida
- ½ cup plain yogurt thick
- ¾ - 1 cup water
- some oil
FOR THE FILLING:
- ½ cup onion chopped approx 60g
- 200 g paneer grated
- ½ cup bell pepper approx 80g
- 1 cup grated carrot approx 80g
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- ¼ cup fresh coriander chopped
- 1 tsp chaat masala
Instructions
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Soak both the lentils together in warm water for 2-3 hours.
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Drain out the water and wash the lentils.
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Put the lentils in a blender jug. Add the ginger, green chilli and garlic to it.
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Add yogurt and salt.
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Using about a ½ cup of water, liquidize the lentils to a fine paste.
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Take the batter out into a mixing bowl.
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Crush ajwain between your palms and add to the batter.
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Also add turmeric powder and chopped fenugreek. Mix the batter well.
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Add more water if required. I used in total 1 cup.
PREPARE THE FILLING
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Mix all the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl.
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Adjust the salt and chilli powder according to your taste.
PREPARATION OF MOONG DAL CHILLA
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Heat the skillet or tawa over medium heat. Rub a little oil onto it using a kitchen towel.
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Pour about ¼ - ⅓ cup of the batter onto the tawa and spread it out into a circle about 7 to 8 inches using the ladle or a small steel bowl. The trick is to start moving the ladle or bowl from the centre in a circular motion, slowly moving towards the rim of the pan. Any large holes may be filled with a bit more of the batter.
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Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of oil around it.
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Add about 2-3 tbsp of the filling and spread it out evenly over the chilla that is cooking.
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Let the pudla cook till it becomes light golden. Take a spatula or flat spoon and lift it from the edges and roll it up.
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If you can't roll it up, put the filling on one half of the chilla and fold the other part over the filling.
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Repeat the above steps till all the batter and filling is over.
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Serve Moong Dal Chilla hot with some pickle or chutney.
Notes
- Add 1 cup of chopped spinach to the lentils before liquidizing it. The pudlas will be green.
- Add chopped fresh coriander instead of fenugreek.
- Add 1 egg if you like. If you do then the amount of liquid required for grinding will be reduced.
- Use moong dal with the skin instead of the yellow one.
- If the batter does not spread easily, add a bit more water.
- Make smaller pudas if you cannot make a big one.
- The thickness of the puda depends on how fast you are able to spread the batter.
- Add a filling of your choice.
Pin For Later
A Small Request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
add a comment below,
send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
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7 Comments
Beena.stephy
September 5, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Healthy snack
Wendy Klik
May 12, 2024 at 6:46 am
It’s like a cross between an omelet and crepes. I would love to try these.
mayurisjikoni
May 12, 2024 at 8:35 pm
That’s right Wendy, the texture is almost like an omelet but without the eggs.
Camilla M Mann
May 14, 2024 at 12:25 am
I have never seen these, but they look right up my alley. I will have to try these soon.
mayurisjikoni
May 14, 2024 at 1:23 pm
Camilla it is a popular Indian breakfast especially for those who don’t eat eggs. Traditionally the pancake is served on its own with some pickle or chutney. But nowadays we tend to make it more filling by adding some stuffing to them.
Sneha Datar
May 17, 2024 at 5:29 am
A filling and hearty meal especially for a lazy Sunday brunch.
mayurisjikoni
May 17, 2024 at 1:54 pm
Thanks Sneha, it sure is.