Moong Dahl chilla (or Mung Bean Dahl Pancake) brings back all the memories of my Grandfather and my time in India. To be completely honest, my diet consisted solely of Moong Dahl Chilla because I had gotten so ill and I couldn’t stomach regular Indian Roti (flatbread) made from whole wheat flour. Making them reminds me of a really wonderful time with him, and also reminds me that being sick doesn’t mean giving up on delicious food.
What is Mung Bean Dahl?
For this recipe you need yellow split Mung Bean Dahl, and not the green whole kind. This is important! The green kind is basically not hulled and the outer skin is exceptionally tough and requires lengthy soaking and cooking to soften. The yellow split dahl however is dahl that has sprouted and is now hulled leaving behind the clean dahl that is used to make this pancake. You can purchase this from the Indian grocery aisle of your supermarket, Indian or South Asian grocery stores and most Asian supermarkets.
How do I prepare the Moong Dahl?
Let’s start at the top. As with any dahl or rice, you need to wash it properly in water. Run water through the dahl and rinse through until the water runs clear. Depending on the brand you use and depending on how fresh the dahl is this could take just 2 washes or up to 10.
Moong Dahl needs some soaking time. All you need to do is cover the dahl using your finger as a measurement – fill up the container/bowl up to the first crease of your finger. Leave this aside for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. Top up the bowl of water as the dahl soaks up the water.
What goes into the Pancake?
After soaking the dahl, drain out the water and don’t reserve it. I like using fresh water in the mixture for grinding. Now we add in the spices and other ingredients – some fresh ginger, chickpea flour, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, fresh coriander and some salt. An optional ingredient is asafetida (or Hing) which you can purchase in Indian grocery stores – it brings out a lovely rich flavour in all Indian cooking and is interestingly also an ingredient to curb any bad stomach effects from spicy food.
This entire mixture is then ground together in a food processor or Nutri-bullet (*not sponsored). You want to process it until it forms a smooth paste and in order to achieve this add a tablespoon of water at time. The mixture should be easily poured and without lumps.
Flavouring the Pancake
This is the basis for your chilla and this simple mixture can be customised in many different ways. For a heavier and fuller flavour, you can add garlic, or fresh chilli. For a mixture that will crisp up even more, add in some rice flour. If you want a smooth pancake, this is also when you will add all your additional ‘toppings’ like onions, fresh chilli, spring onions, more fresh coriander, spinach and any other additions. Blitz these too to get a smooth batter. Alternatively, leave this to press into the chilla once you have spread it across a fry pan/tava.
To prepare the flat fry pan or tava, simple wipe the pan down to make sure there is no residual oil on the non-stick surface. Heat the fry-pan over the lowest heat setting. Use a ladle to spread the mixture starting at the middle of the pan, and use the base of the ladle to spread the batter in concentric circles to get a nice even pancake/crepe like in the picture below. I prefer to cook my chillas over a low setting so that I can control the cooking process, BUT you want to work quickly so that the batter is still raw to add in your toppings.
My favourite toppings include fresh chilli, fresh baby spinach, spring onions, fresh coriander leaves, thinly slices onions and sometimes some mint too. Press these lightly into the chilla to ensure the batter cooks and sticks to your toppings.
Once the pancake starts to crispy, use a spatula to lift the chilla and flip it over to continue cooking on the other side. This side shouldn’t take too long! Once cooked, remove from the pan and serve hot, folded in half with some mint and coriander chutney, yogurt, pickle, or some sabji (curry).
Dahl Chilla
Equipment
- Flat pan or tava
- Food processor or mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup split yellow mung dahl (Moon dahl) available at supermarkets and South Asian grocers
- 2-3 cups water for soaking the dahl
- ¼ – ½ cup water for grinding the dahl
- ¼ cup chickpea flour available at supermarkets and South Asian grocers
- ¼ tsp. ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp. ground red chilli powder
- ½ inch stick of fresh ginger
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. ground coriander
- pinch of salt
- toppings such as fresh coriander leaves, chopped chilli, and/or finely chopped onion optional
Instructions
- Soak for the moong dahl in the water for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Top up the water periodically so that all the dahl is submerged
- Once the dahl is soaked well, drain the liquid and add the dahl into a food processor, mixer or a nutri-bullet along with the chickpea flour, turmeric, chilli powder, ginger, cumin, coriander powder, fresh coriander, and salt to taste
- Grind the dahl and spice mixture with 1/4 cup of water to start with. Add a tablespoon of water at a time as needed. Blend until you get a smooth mixture that can be poured
- Heat up a flat fry pan, or tava over the lowest heat setting and use a damp paper towel to clean off any oil from the surface
- Use a ladle to to spoon the mixture onto the heated fry pan and use the base of the ladle to gentle spread the mixture using concentric circles until you get a large and thin pancake. Alternatively pick up the pan and gently tilt the pan to help spread the mixture
- While the batter is still wet, add the toppings into the batter. Press these gently to help the batter adhere to the toppings
- Once the edges have crisped up, use a spatula to lift and flip the chilla and let the other side cook for a minute. This side should cook quickly!
- Remove the chilla and serve hot with some mint and coriander chutney, yogurt, pickle or even some curry
Moong Dahl Chilla is one of the healthiest and simplest Indian recipes you can ever come across. We make this at home for dinner so often! If you have batter left over, you can store it in the fridge for about a week and make them fresh – trust me when I say fresh is ALWAYS best.
