Dhal chilla pancakes
- Portion size: Makes 16 pancakes
- Hands-on time 1 hour 20 min, plus 1 hour soaking
- Difficulty: medium
”Chilla (light pancakes) are a popular snack in Calcutta and many other parts of India. They taste wonderful with coriander and spinach chutney, or chilli and garlic chutney, and with a dhal or a potato curry.” – Chetna Makan
Or, try our recipe for dosa pancakes – they make a fantastic brunch dish or savoury option for Pancake Day.
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Ingredients
For the chilla batter
- 200g split yellow lentils (moong dhal)
- 2.5cm fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 small green chilli
- Handful fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 50g fine semolina
- Sunflower oil for cooking
For the topping
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- Chutney to serve
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Method
- To make the chilla batter, soak the lentils in 250ml water for about 1 hour until all the water is absorbed.
- Whizz the lentils in a blender or food processor with the ginger, chilli and coriander until smooth. Tip the paste into a bowl, then stir in the salt, semolina and 350ml cold water.
- Combine the topping ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
- To cook the chilla, heat a large nonstick frying pan and, once it’s very hot, pour a serving-spoonful of the batter into the pan and spread it into a 13-15cm circle. Top with 1 tbsp of the topping mixture, then drizzle 1 tbsp oil around the edges of the batter. Cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown on the underside, then turn the chilla over and cook for a further 2 minutes or until golden. Repeat to make 15 more. Serve hot, folded if you like.
Nutrition
- 73kcals Calories
- 1.7g (0.2g saturated) Fat
- 3.3g Protein
- 10.2g (1g sugars) Carbs
- 1.4g Fibre
- 0.4g Salt
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