Rajasthani
Besan Chila
- Duration: 20 minutes
- Serves: 2 to 4 people
-
Spice Level: Zero
Authenticity Slice
One could add vegetables like grated carrot, radish or chopped spinach leaves to the mixture for added health benefits and enhanced taste. Also try adding in a few carom seeds as that can help combat the heaviness of the besan. Remember to always cook the Chila on medium heat. Also, before pouring the besan mixture on, make sure that the tawa is well-oiled and hot.
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Trivia Tadka
Besan Chila is a Rajasthani dish that is prepared using gram flour. This Chila is very filling, capable of combating hunger pangs for long durations, and is also low on calories. Modern-day nutritionists recommend this dish highly as part of weight-loss programmes. Those who struggle with gluten allergy also use it as a staple fare. There is an interesting folklore that suggests that this dish is called ‘chila’ because it is so hot (spicy) and tasty, that you may indeed start screaming after having eaten it!
Ingredients
- Gram flour (besan) (½ cup)
- MTR Haldi Turmeric Powder (a pinch)
- Ginger (adrak), minced (1 piece)
- Cumin seeds (jeera) powder (1tsp)
- Salt (¼ tsp)
- Water (1 cup)
- Carom seeds (ajwain) (1 tsp)
- Coriander leaves (hara dhania), finely chopped (½ cup)
- Oil (for frying)
Method
- In a deep-bottomed bowl, add in the besan and the all other ingredients (except the oil) along with water and mix till all the lumps are gone. The mixture should be medium-level thick, neither too thick nor too runny.
- Let it stand for about 15 minutes.
- Heat a non-stick flat tawa on the stove and cover it with a splash of oil. Once hot, wipe its surface off with a moist cloth.
- Pour about a third of a cup of the mix onto the tawa. Tilt and twirl the pan a bit so that the batter spreads out evenly; you could also use the back of a serving spoon to spread it out.
- Cook for a few minutes, till one side of the Chila has turned amber orange in colour. Once done, sprinkle on some oil and flip the Chila for it to cook on the other side similarly.
- Serve hot with hara dhania chutney.
