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).
1cupsplit and husked yellow lentils (yellow moong dal)
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonchopped ginger
1green chili
¼cupchopped onion
1tablespoonchopped coriander
vegetable oil for frying
For the filling
1tablespoonvegetable oil
1teaspooncumin seeds
¼cupchopped onion
1teaspoonchopped green chili
salt to taste
¼teaspoonturmeric powder
1cupgrated or crumbled paneer
1tablespoonchopped 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 teaspoon salt, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon 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 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan.
When the oil is hot, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle for 2-3 seconds.
When the seeds start to crackle, add ¼ cup chopped onion and 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies. Fry on medium heat until the onion turns translucent (3-4 minutes).
Add salt to taste and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and fry for 2-3 seconds.
Add 1 cup grated or crumbled paneer and 1 tablespoon 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 teaspoon 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 tablespoon 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.
Notes
You can serve the chilla without filling, but this filling does make it filling, nutritious, and wholesome.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.You can use green moong dal instead of yellow to make chilla if you want.