Moong Dal Chilla (Lentil Pancake)

Moong Dal Chilla (Lentil Pancake) is a popular breakfast dish of Rajasthan. One of the healthy options for breakfast, Moong dal chilla can be served as snack or quick meal also. These nutritious and protein packed pan cakes are easy and quick to prepare if you have the dal soaked for at least 4 hours.

Chila just feels so light on the stomach and can be made with hardly any oil. It is like a dosa, but made from split green gram (moong dal) flour batter, which is mixed with onion, ginger, coriander, green chillies and masalas. Want to make it more nutritious? You can add grated vegetables and paneer (cottage cheese) to the chila batter.

At my home the Chillas are served with coriander chutney, garlic chutney or tomato ketchup.

You may like to try our other recipes like Chawal Ka Cheela (Rice Pan Cake), Vegetable Idli And Cheese Uthappam, Sooji Dhokla (Rava Dhokla) and Vegetable Poha.

Yield: 4 serving
Prep time: 10 minutes + 4 hours soaking time
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients for Moong Dal Chilla

1 cup moong dal (split green gram) soaked for 4 hours
2 green chillies chopped
1 tablespoon ginger chopped
¼ teaspoon hing
1 cup onion chopped fine
¼ cup coriander chopped fine
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin)
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil for pan frying

Directions for Moong Dal Chilla

• Strain the moong dal (split green gram) in a colander.
• In a blender add dal, green chills, ginger and hing and grind to a paste.
• Take the dal mix out in a bowl and add salt, chilli powder, jeera, chopped coriander and mix well.
• Adjust the consistency by adding water if required. The batter should be of medium consistency.
• Heat a nonstick skillet, pour 2 serving spoon of the batter in the center and spread it evenly with the back of the spoon to make as thick or thin chilla as per your taste.
• Sprinkle onions on the chilla and gently press the onions with a help of a spatula.
• Drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of oil all around the edges and roast till golden.
• Flip to the other side and drizzle ¼ teaspoon of oil and roast.
• Serve with green chutney and tomato ketchup.