Moong dal chilla, also called pudla or puda is a healthy and delicious moong lentil recipe that can be made for breakfast or snacks (gluten-free, can be made vegan).
Here you can try some more breakfast recipes, that you can make for your everyday meals – Besan Chilla, Poha, Bread Upma, Rava Upma, and Egg Idli.
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About This Recipe
Moong dal chilla is an Indian savory pancake made with soaked moong dal and a few more ingredients that add flavor to the same. It is also called moong dal pudla or moong dal puda in some parts of the country.
To make moong dal chilla, a moong dal (split and husked yellow lentil) batter is prepared, it is then cooked on a griddle like a pancake and stuffed with delicious and mildly spiced crumbled paneer (cottage cheese) filling.
Unlike a dosa, the batter to make chilla is not fermented. Some people make thick chilla which is not as crispy as dosa. But you can make crispy cheela too.
Moong dal cheela has many health benefits. It is very rich in protein, has a low glycemic index, rich in fiber and these properties help to regulate blood sugar for diabetics.
Although you can serve it without the filling, stuffing it with a paneer filling makes it even more delicious, healthier and it keeps you full for a long time.
Other than paneer filling, you can also stuff this chilla with cheese, mushroom, potato, spinach, and other vegetables of your choice.
This chilla is very similar to pudla or puda which is a popular Gujarati breakfast dish that is made with besan or gram flour and is mixed with onions, tomatoes, green chilies, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and a little water. They are comparatively small in size and a little crispier.
This Moong Dal Chilla is,
- Healthy
- High in Protein
- Easy to make
- Gluten-Free
- Apt for weekday breakfast
Ingredients
For the chilla – You just need yellow moong dal, ginger, green chilies, salt, onion, and coriander leaves.
Moong dal is soaked overnight or a minimum of 5 hours and then ground along with ginger, green chilies, and salt to make a batter.
Finally chopped onions and coriander are then mixed to give it a nice crunch and texture.
For the filling – To make the paneer filling, paneer is crumbled and then cooked along with cumin seeds, onions, green chilies, salt, turmeric powder, and fresh coriander leaves.
You can serve the chilla without filling, but this filling does make it filling, nutritious, and wholesome.
How to make Moong Dal Chilla?
To make the chilla, start by washing 1 cup yellow moong dal. Wash it 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear. Soak the dal in 4-5 cups of water for 5-6 hours.
Drain the water. Add the soaked dal in the medium jar of a grinder along with 1-inch ginger (chopped), 1 green chili, and ¼ cup water and grind to make a smooth paste. Keep scraping the sides of the jar while grinding.
Transfer the moong dal paste to a large mixing bowl. Add 1 tsp salt, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tbsp chopped coriander, and some more water (approx ½ cup) and mix to make a dosa like batter with medium-thick consistency.
Note – If you like thin crispy chilla, then avoid adding onion and coriander to the batter. The batter must be smooth like dosa batter to be able to spread it thin.
Now our batter is ready.
Once the batter is ready, make the filling. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan.
When the oil is hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and let them crackle for 2-3 seconds.
When the seeds start to crackle, add ¼ cup chopped onion and 1 tsp chopped green chilies. Fry on medium heat until the onion turns translucent (3-4 minutes).
Add salt to taste and ¼ tsp turmeric powder and fry for 2-3 seconds.
Add 1 cup grated or crumbled paneer and 1 tbsp chopped coriander and mix well. Remove the pan from heat.
To make the chilla, heat a non-stick pan. Once the pan is hot, simmer the heat to low. Splash some water on it and wipe the water using a kitchen towel. Pour two ladle full of batter in the center of the pan.
Spread the batter using the back of the ladle to make a thin round, just like you spread dosa, slightly thicker though. Increase the heat to medium now. Pour 2 tsp of oil on the sides and top of the chilla and cook until it is golden brown from the bottom (2-3 minutes). Flip and cook the chilla from another side as well (1 minute).
Flip the chilla again. Keep 2 tbsp of paneer filling on the chilla.
Fold over. Serve hot with green coriander chutney.
Note – Before making the next chilla, simmer the heat to low. Splash water on the pan and wipe it. Then pour the batter and spread it.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can soak it overnight or for a minimum of 5 hours, before grinding it to make the batter.
Moong dal chilla on its own is vegan, but the stuffing used in the chilla has paneer. So either you can avoid adding stuffing to the chilla or you can make a stuffing with spinach, tofu, or mushrooms instead of paneer.
The fiber and protein present in the moong dal, keeps you full for longer, making it apt for your weight loss diet.
Variations
Vegetable – To make the chilla more nutritious and filling, you can add some grated carrot, shredded cabbage, chopped capsicum, or even some grated beetroot in the batter. In such versions, you can avoid making a filling for the chilla.
Cheese – You can add in a little grated cheese inside the cheela as the stuffing. Kids will love this version.
Spinach – Chop the spinach finely and add it into the batter with some green chilies. You can also make a stuffing of sautéed spinach and add it in between the chilla.
Mushroom – Either add in the stir fried mushrooms or pair them with spinach.
Tofu – Just like paneer, make a tofu mixture to stuff inside the chilla.
Storage Suggestions
I would recommend you make the batter fresh, but if you still have leftovers, you can store it for a day in the fridge in an airtight container.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this cheela on its own along with some green mint coriander chutney or even tomato ketchup. You can even sandwich it between slices of bread to make a delicious sandwich.
Serve it along with spicy lahsun ki chutney, if you want to add a hint of spiciness to your meal.
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Recipe Card
Moong Dal Chilla Recipe
Ingredients
For the chilla
- 1 cup split and husked yellow lentils (yellow moong dal)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 1 green chili
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
- vegetable oil for frying
For the filling
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chili
- salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup grated or crumbled paneer
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
Instructions
- To make the chilla, start by washing 1 cup yellow moong dal. Wash it 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear. Soak the dal in 4-5 cups of water for 5-6 hours.
- Drain the water. Add the soaked dal in the medium jar of a grinder along with 1-inch ginger (chopped), 1 green chili, and ¼ cup water and grind to make a smooth paste. Keep scraping the sides of the jar while grinding.
- Transfer the moong dal paste to a large mixing bowl. Add 1 tsp salt, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tbsp chopped coriander, and some more water (approx ½ cup) and mix to make a dosa-like batter. (medium-thick consistency).
- Note – If you like thin crispy chilla, then avoid adding onion and coriander to the batter. The batter must be smooth like dosa batter to be able to spread it thin.
- Once the batter is ready, make the filling. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan.
- When the oil is hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and let them crackle for 2-3 seconds.
- When the seeds start to crackle, add ¼ cup chopped onion and 1 tsp chopped green chilies. Fry on medium heat until the onion turns translucent (3-4 minutes).
- Add salt to taste and ¼ tsp turmeric powder and fry for 2-3 seconds.
- Add 1 cup grated or crumbled paneer and 1 tbsp chopped coriander and mix well. Remove the pan from heat.
- To make the chilla, heat a non-stick pan. Once the pan is hot, simmer the heat to low. Splash some water on it and wipe the water using a kitchen towel. Pour two ladle full of batter in the center of the pan.
- Spread the batter using the back of the ladle to make a thin round, just like you spread dosa, slightly thicker though. Increase the heat to medium now. Pour 2 tsp of oil on the sides and top of the chilla and cook until it is golden brown from the bottom (2-3 minutes). Flip and cook the chilla from another side as well (1 minute).
- Flip the chilla again. Keep 2 tbsp of paneer filling on the chilla.
- Fold over. Serve hot with green coriander chutney.
- Note – Before making the next chilla, simmer the heat to low. Splash water on the pan and wipe it. Then pour the batter and spread it.
