Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour
(besan)
- 1/4 cup rice flour
(chawal ka atta)
- 1 and 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tomato finely chopped (1/3 cup chopped)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida
powder (heeng)
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
(haldi)
- 1/4 cup onion finely chopped (white, yellow, or red)
- 1/4 tsp carom seeds
(ajwain)
- 1/4 cup spinach finely chopped (fresh baby spinach)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro finely chopped (dhainya ke patte)
- 1 serrano pepper, small, finely chopped (green chili pepper) (optional)
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
(cayenne pepper) (optional)
- 2.5 tsp oil per chilla
powder
(cayenne pepper)Method
Prep
- Wash and chop the onions, spinach, cilantro, tomatoes, and serrano pepper.
- Add the chickpea flour and the rice flour in a bowl. Add water gradually and mix the water with both the flours. Ensure that there are no lumps. You can mix the ingredients with a spoon or a whisk. You don’t need a blender.
- Add all the other ingredients except oil.
Cook
- Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium-heat. When the pan is hot, add about 1/4 cup batter with a ladle in the center of the pan, spreading it outwardly. It should look like an omelette but not too thick or layered.
- Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until the edges are brown and the chilla can be lifted and turned easily.
- Flip it over and cook on the other side. It needs to be well cooked and golden brown. Use a flat spatula for flipping the chilla.
- Transfer the cooked chilla/cheela in a plate.
- Continue making additional chilla's until you run out of batter.
Serve
- Serve the cooked besan spinach chilla hot with ketchup or cilantro chutney.
Notes
- Typically this is not made with spinach, but I like to add spinach in it to make it packed with vegetables.
- The rice flour adds a crunchy, crisp texture to the chilla.