These moong dal chilla are made with yellow moong dal, vegetables and flavored with some basic spices. Great for meal prep, these chillas are vegan and gluten free.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 270 minutes
  • Yield: 8 chillas
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup moong dal ([adjustable] 200 grams [/adjustable] split and husked, dhuli moong dal/yellow moong dal)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1-2 green chilies (to taste, I use 1 green chili)
  • ½ inch ginger
  • ¾-1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • ½ cup + 4-5 tablespoons water (as needed to grind the water)
  • ⅓ cup red onion (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup cilantro (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup carrots (grated)
  • ⅛ teaspoon ajwain
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
  • oil (to cook the chillas, I use avocado oil, use around 1 - 1&½ teaspoon oil per chilla)

Method

  1. Rinse 1 cup yellow moong dal well with water 2 to 3 times and then soak it in 2 to 3 cups of water for a three to four hours, you can also soak overnight. Then drain the water and transfer the dal to a blender along with 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 green chili (to taste), ½-inch ginger, and ¾-1 teaspoon salt (to taste). Add water, around ½ cup + 4-5 tablespoons as needed to grind to a thick batter of pouring consistency.
  2. To the batter now, add ⅓ cup red onion (chopped), ¼ cup cilantro (chopped), and ¼ cup carrots (grated). Stir well with a spatula and then add ⅛ teaspoon ajwain and ⅛ teaspoon turmer i c. You can also add some coriander powder and red chili powder if you prefer.
  3. Heat a cast iron pan on medium heat, once hot, add a little oil on the pan and then take a ladle full of the batter and pour it on the center of that hot pan. Now, using the back of the ladle, spread the batter in circular motion, starting from the center and going outwards clockwise. Once you have a circle of around 6 to 7 inches diameter (or whatever size you wish to make), pour some oil all around the edges.
  4. Let one side cook until it's lightly golden brown and then flip the chilla with a spatula and cook the other side as well, pressing it with a spatula until it's also lightly golden brown in color and cooked through. Serve with mint chutney.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.