Besan Chilla (Indian Chickpea Pancake)
Besan is the Hindi word for gram flour (chickpea flour) and Chilla translates to pancake. It’s a popular North Indian breakfast, but it makes for a protein-rich, gluten-free and quick meal at any time of the day. This is a basic savoury version of Besan Chilla. Feel free to adapt the filling with whatever you like.
Ingredients
- 200 g gram flour (chickpea flour)
- 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt (7g)
- 1 small tomato
- 1 small onion
- 2 green chilli
- 30 g coriander
- 20 g ginger
- Coriander Chutney (to serve)
Instructions
Besan Chilla
- In a large bowl, mix together the gram flour, carom seeds, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Whisk in 320 ml water to form a pourable batter. Finely chop the tomatoes, onions, chilli and coriander and add them to the bowl, then peel and grate in the ginger.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small non-stick pan over medium heat. Give the batter a good stir, then pour a ladle of batter in the centre of the pan. Use the back of the ladle to spread the batter into a thin pancake and a pour a little more oil over the pancake and around the edges. Cook it for around 1 minute until the pancake begins to loosen around the edges and small air bubbles appear all over. Use a spatula to flip it around and cook for another minute on the other side until lightly golden. Set the cooked pancake aside onto a plate and cover with a clean towel while making the next one. Then serve them with your favourite tangy chutney like this Coriander Chutney.