Moong Dal Cheela | Moong Dal Chilla | Moong Dal Chilla recipe

Moong dal cheela is very healthy, tasty and nutritious dish. Cheela’s are also known as pudas, pudlas and polis in India. It is like Indian pan cake just like dosa, but no need to ferment batter.

Cheela’s are high in fiber and protein. If you are on diet, can have these for dinner. It makes it a good weight loss recipe as well. As it’s made from lentils, it is a vegan recipe.

It is a common breakfast item in North India, Gujrati and Marwari household. These cheela’s can be served with mint & coriander chutney, tomato ketchup, pickle, spicy chutney or with curd.

Moong dal cheela can be made in many variations –

• Plain moong dal cheela
• Palak moong dal cheela
• Stuffed paneer and onion cheela
• Cheese moong dal cheela

In this recipe, I will show plain moong dal cheela.

How to make

1. Take 1 cup split and de-husked moong dal and soak in enough water for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
2. Rinse well and transfer it to mixer grinder. Add 2 green chilies, 1 inch ginger and 7 to 8 curry leaves. Grind it into a smooth paste. Use little water while grinding, I have used approximately ¼ cup of water.
3. Transfer it to a bowl, add ¼ tsp of turmeric / haldi, 1 tbsp of red chilli powder, 1 tbsp of coriander / dhaniya powder, 1 tsp garam masala, salt (as required) and handful of coriander leaves. Add water to adjust consistency.  I have added approximately ¾ cup of water. Mix batter well.
4. Batter should be of medium consistency. Not too watery or not too thick.
5. Heat pan and once hot, pour batter in center of pan and with help of ladle and rotate it in circular motion.
6. Batter can be spread with back of ladle itself or with flat bottom katori. I recommend using flat bottom katori which you can hold comfortably in hand. .
7. Pour little oil on sides of cheela and let it cook for a minute on medium flame.
8. After a minute, it will look crispy and brown. Flip it and cook it on other side for a minute.
9. Once cooked on both sides, serve it with your favourite chutney.

Moong Dal Cheela | Moong Dal Chilla recipe

Moong dal cheela is very healthy, tasty and nutritious dish. Cheela’s are also known as pudas,pudlas and polis in India. It is like Indian pan cake just like dosa, but no need to ferment batter. Cheela’s are high in fiber and protein. If you are on diet, can have these for dinner as well.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Soak time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine Indian, Indian (Gujrati), North Indian

Servings 4

Equipment

• Bowl
• Mixer Grinder
• Flat bottom katori / Ladle
• Pan
• Spatula

Ingredients

  

For grinding

• 1 cup moong dal (split and de-huskeed)
• 2 nos. green chilies
• 1 inch ginger
• 7 to 8 curry leaves
• Water for grinding

For Cheela batter

• ¼ tsp turmeric / haldi powder
• 1 tbsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp coriander / dhaniya powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Salt (as required)
• Handful of coriander leaves
• Water for adjusting consistency of batter
• A bowlful of Love & Care

Instructions

 

• Take 1 cup split and de-husked moong dal and soak in enough water for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
  
• Rinse well and transfer to a mixer grinder. Add 2 green chilies, 1 inch ginger and 7 to 8 curry leaves. Grind it into a smooth paste. Use little water while grinding, I have used approximately ¼ cup of water.
  
• Reference picture of spices to be added.
  
• Transfer batter to a bowl, add ¼ tsp of turmeric /haldi, 1 tbsp of red chilli powder, 1 tbsp of coriander / dhaniya powder, 1 tsp garam masala, salt (as required) and handful of coriander leaves. Add water to adjust consistency.  Mix batter well. Batter should be of medium consistency.
  
• Heat pan and once hot, pour batter in center of pan and with help of ladle rotate it in a circular motion. Spreading of batter can be done with back of ladle itself or with flat bottom katori. I recommend to use flat bottom katori which you can hold comfortably in hand.
  
• Pour little oil on sides of cheela and let it cook for a minute on medium flame.
  
• After a minute, it will look crispy and brown. Flip it and cook it on other side for a minute.
  

Wisdom

1. If planning to make it for breakfast, then soak moong dal overnight.
2. Water requirement for batter will also change according to time for which moong dal is soaked. Like, if it’s soaked overnight, water required in batter will be less than usual.
3. Batter should be of medium flowing consistency. In case, batter becomes thin/watery – then add some gram flour / besan to adjust consistency.
4. Normally, while making cheela’s main art is spreading cheela batter. Spread batter in circular motion from center of pan.
5. I strongly recommend, to use flat bottom katori which you can comfortably hold in your hand. Spread batter with not too light or not to tight hand. You might feel uncomfortable for first 1-2 times, but it’s OK. Gradually, you will get hands on.
6. Make sure cheela is cooked properly, many times we get desired golden color but cheela is raw from inside.
7. If you like crisp cheela, then cook for more time on both sides.