Ingredients
- ▢1 cup Moong dal yellow skinless
- ▢2 Green Chilies
- ▢2 Red chilies
- ▢1 inch Ginger
- ▢¾ cup Carrot grated finely
- ▢3 Tablespoon Cilantro
- ▢1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ▢to taste Salt
- ▢3 Tablespoon Oil I prefer Indian Gingelly oil (to cook the chilla
Instructions - Wash the moong dal well and then soak it in fresh water for 2 to 4 hours. If making the chilla for breakfast, we could soak the moong dal overnight as well.
- When ready to grind, drain the moong dal.
- In a blender / mixer jar, add the drained moong dal, green chilies, red chilies, ginger and turmeric powder.
- Grind the mixture well without adding too much water. If we add a lot of water in the beginning, I find it hard to grind the batter smooth. Add water as needed when grinding and grind it into a smooth batter. Pour the ground batter in a bowl.
- Add salt needed to the batter and also add the grated carrots and cilantro. Add the chopped onions if using that as well. Mix well.
- Heat a cast iron tawa / pan or a non stick pan. Once it is hot, reduce the heat to medium and pour a ladle full of batter. Smear the batter in a circular motion spreading it to form a pancake / dosai.
- Drizzle about ½ teaspoon oil around the chilla evenly. Let it cook on this side and then flip the cheela to cook on the other side.
- Remove the moong dal chilla and serve hot with chutney.
- Notes
- Serving suggestions
- I served the Moong dal chilla with spicy Kara Chutney last night for dinner. I love Cheela with some kind of spicy chutney or gothsu. Few other options that will work well
- Expert tips
- Soak the moong dal for at least 2 to 3 hours.
- Add less water when grinding as that helps in making smooth batter.
- I added carrots and cilantro, but we could add onions for different flavor as well.
- I didn’t use rice or rice flour in my Moong cheela batter. If you prefer crispier chilla, then soak 2 Tablespoon of rice along with the lentil or add 2 Tablespoon rice flour in the batter.
- I like using cast iron pan for even cooking of the cheela. We could use non stick griddle as well.
- Eat the chilla when warm. If making it ahead of time, store in a container covered with cotton cloth and a plate and then re heat before serving.
- Nutrition
- Calories: 84kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 31mg | Potassium: 28mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1201IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg