Lentil flour pancakes (Moong Dal Chilla) with Spinach
These easy vegan moong dal chilla made with moong flour( yellow lentil pancakes) have sesame seeds and spinach. They are great to serve alongside Indian food or as a wrap or savory pancake. No soaking lentils needed as we use lentil flour. Gluten-free! And you can also make waffles with the batter
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup moong dal flour, that’s flour of green mung beans. You can find this online or in Indian stores or just grind up green mung beans or yellow moong dal in a blender until fine meal flour
- 1/4 cup rice flour, white or brown, omit to make grainfree
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes or cayenne or chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 cup water or as needed
- 1 tsp minced ginger or ginger paste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped spinach or 1/3 cup frozen spinach thawed
- 1/4 cup onions chopped
- optional additions: either or all of 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1 green chili chopped, 1 tablespoon chopped curry leaves
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients; that’s the moong dal flour, rice flour, spices, baking soda, sesame seeds and mix well.
- Add in 3/4 cup of water and mix in. Then add more water as needed to make pancake like batter. Fold in the ginger, spinach, cilantro and chopped onion
- Let this batter sit for 10 minutes, it might thicken a little depending on the flour you use, so you might have to thin it out with a tablespoon or more of water.
- Prep your skillet in the meanwhile and preheat it. Heat the skillet over medium heat until it is nicely hot, then drizzle a few drops of oil. Use a paper napkin to spread that oil all over. Then use a ladle and pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter on your skillet and spread it using your ladle in concentric circles to make an evenly thick flatbread. See pictures
- Drizzle a few drops of oil on the edges and cook for 3 to 5 minutes then flip and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. The timing depends on your skillet and your stove. You want the batter to get completely set, have no soft spots anywhere, and also get golden brown in some spots.
- Take off the skillet and repeat for the rest of the batter. Serve with chutneys like my tomato chutney, mango chutney, ketchup, hot sauce or curries.
- Store in a covered container on the counter for the day.These chilla are crisp when just made. Store in a 275 F warm oven until ready to serve. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for upto 4 days. Reheat on the skillet or microwave
- Make waffles: you can use this batter to make savory waffles. Keep the batter slightly thick when adding water. Add 1/8 teaspoon more baking soda(total 1/4 teaspoon). Grease the waffle iron and make waffles
Video
Notes
Lentil Flour substitute: If you cant find moong dal flour you can use soaked green moong beans or soaked yellow moong dal or even soaked red lentils. soak 3/4 cup for at least 6 hours or overnight and then blend them with either the rice flour or soaked rice, add only 1/4 cup water to begin with, blend for half a minute, and add more water if needed, blend again until you get a batter then add in the rest of the ingredients.
Nutrition
Calories: 186kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 337mg | Potassium: 502mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 442IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 3mg