Moong Dal Chilla
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Moong dal chilla is one of the popular breakfast recipes in North India, made with protein rich moong daal. It also known as puda and pudla in different regions in India and similar to besan chilla and oats chilla. However, the besan chilla can be prepared instantly as there is no soaking required. First the soaked moong dal is ground to a paste and then mixed with veggies and spices to make the batter. Then the batter is spread into round shape on tawa to make spicy split moong dal chilla (pancakes). It is served with coriander chutney and tomato ketchup in the afternoon snack.
| Ingredients: |
| 1 cup Split Moong Dal without skin (dhuli moong dal) or Whole Green Moong or Split Moong dal with skin |
| 1/2 inch piece of Ginger, chopped |
| 1 Green Chilli, chopped |
| 1/4 cup Water (more or less as needed) |
| 2 Tomatoes, finely chopped (approx. 3/4 cup) |
| 1 medium Onion, finely chopped (approx. 1/2 cup) |
| 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder, optional |
| 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder |
| 1 teaspoon Cumin-Coriander Powder |
| 2-4 tablespoons chopped Coriander Leaves |
| 1 tablespoon Oil + for shallow frying |
| Salt to taste |
Directions:
- Rinse 1 cup moong dal 2-3 times using water and then soak it in 1½-2 cups water for minimum 2-hours or for 3-4 hours.
- After 3-4 hours, drain the excess water. Dal will increase in size as shown in the picture.
- Transfer it to the big jar of a mixer grinder. Add 1/2 inch piece of ginger (chopped) and 1 chopped green chilli.
- Grind until medium coarse paste. Scrape the sides using a spatula and add 1/4 cup water. Grind until smooth paste.
- Add 1 medium onion (chopped, approx. 1/2 cup), 2 chopped tomatoes (approx. 3/4 cup) and 2-4 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves.
- Pulse the mixer grinder for a few times to just mix all the ingredients (grind it for approx. 10 seconds, don’t grind it longer.)
- Transfer it to a bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder,1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon cumin-coriander powder, 1 tablespoon oil and salt.
- Mix well. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water (or as needed) to make batter into pouring consistency like idli-dosa batter consistency. You can keep the batter thick or thin as per your preference. Keep the batter thick for thick chilla and keep the batter thin for thin chillas like dosa.
- Heat a non-stick dosa tawa or skillet over medium flame. When it is hot enough, drizzle few drops of oil.
- Take a ladle full of batter and spread it in a circular motion using back-side of ladle on the surface of the tawa into round shape of approx. 5-6 inches diameter circle.
- Drizzle 1-teaspoon oil around edges of it and cook over medium until the base surface turns golden brown in color, it will take approx. 1-2 minutes.
- Flip the chillas using a spatula and cook until golden spots appear, for approx. a minute. Transfer it to a plate. Prepare chillas from the remaining batter in a same way.
- Serve moong dal chillas with coriander chutney or tomato ketchup. Serve them hot.
Tips and Variations:
- Moong dal – you can use the whole moong or spilt moong dal with skin or without skin in this recipe.
- Soaking – You can soak the moong dal over night to make the chillas in the breakfast, or for 3-4 hours if you want to serve it in the evening or afternoon. Soak the dal at least for 2 hours.
- Vegetables – You can add the veggies like capsicum, grated carrot, grated beetroot, chopped spinach, grated zucchini, etc. when making for kids. You can also make the plain simple chillas without adding onion and tomato or any other veggies.
- You can prepare batter in advance and place it in refrigerator but prepare chillas at the time of serving.
- For variation, sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons grated cheese on the surface of chilla in step-11 for variation.
- You can also spread 1-tablespoon green chutney on the surface of it in step-9 before transferring it to a plate.
- For kids, don’t’ green chilli to reduce spiciness and spread 1/2-tablespoon butter on the surface of it to keep the chillas soft.
Taste: Mild spicy
Serving Ideas: Serve them with spicy chutney as an afternoon snack or serve them with tea as an evening time snack.