Friday, October 11, 2013

Mung Dal Cheela I (Mung Bean Dosas/Crepes)

Easy to make, delicious to eat, nutritious and easy to digest, what's not to love about Mung Dal Cheelas?! When made thin, these delicate crepe-like pancakes are very similar to the classic Dosas. The batter can be whipped up quickly using Mung bean flour readily available for purchase from Indian markets. Make it simply or with the added veggies and herbs such as onions, chiles, fresh fenugreek or other greens and cilantro, and you will have an amazing meal. Serve the cheelas with Mulagai Podi, your favorite chutneys, pickles or raitas.

Stuffed Cheelas

About 8 -12 Cheelas

Ingredients:

1 cup Mung Flour
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 pinch Turmeric
1 generous pinch Crushed Cumin seeds
1 1/3 cup water

Tadka/Thalippu: (optional)
1 - 2 tsp Oil
1 pinch Brown Mustard seeds
Asafetida (Hing)
1 or 2 Minced Green Chiles

Oil for cooking the cheelas
Coconut Chutney and/or Raita for serving

Method:

Combine the flour, salt, turmeric and cumin in a bowl; add the water and mix with a wire whisk until well mixed. The batter should be thin.

Prepare the optional tadka by heating the oil in a small pan; add the seeds and when they start popping, add the asafetida and green chiles. Stir and shake until chiles are softened. Cool slightly.

Stir the tadka into the batter and mix well.

Heat a seasoned griddle or a non-stick skillet; lightly oil it with a paper towel smeared with oil.

Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into the hot pan and quickly swirl the pan to coat the bottom. If you like, add a few drops of oil around the edges of the cheela. Cover and cook for about a minute on low-medium heat.

Loosen the edges of the cheela with a thin spatula and flip over to cook the other side.

Cook just for a few seconds until a few small brown spots appear; it will not get very brown. Do not overcook - the cheelas will dry out and will not be soft. Remove from heat and place on a plate. 

Continue with the rest of the batter; any extra batter or leftover cheelas may be chilled in the fridge.

I also like to serve the cheelas stuffed with one of our favorite curries - Yum! For stuffed cheelas, place a couple of spoons of the filling on one edge and roll up.

Serve hot. Enjoy!!

2 comments:

Shobhaa said...

Hi Geetha - I make this quite often as Pavitra has also turned pure vegetarian. The best healthy vegetarian omlet!!! I do variations by adding either or a mixture of some of the following: chopped Onions, green chillies, spinach, gongura leaves, capsicum and tomato

Geetha said...

Hi Shobhaa, How lovely that Pavitra too is vegetarian! I love to make these cheelas; usually plain for stuffing and with veggies to serve on their own. Both are yum! Happy cooking; Enjoy!