Chickpea Flour Pancakes (Besan Chilla) is easy to make, under 30 minutes breakfast recipe. This savory pancake is packed with proteins. Grilled tofu and mint-cilantro chutney are added as fillings, making this as a delicious breakfast.
It was raining here few days back. And as you know rains accompanied by strong winds make the weather colder. I love winters, as it gives me an excuse to snuggle in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and book.
We do not get snow in California, but winters are cold. At home, we are now eating only warm breakfast. Cold cereals and parfaits are not part of breakfast choices.
If you think of breakfast recipes, notice that you will have two or three favorites and you will cooking those recipes again and again in rotation. For us during weekdays, we have warm oatmeal or eggs and bread. Over the weekend, Saturday breakfast will be sweet pancakes or waffles – the weekend treat for my little girl.
On Sunday breakfast will be reserved for savory recipes. We love eating savory breakfast at home, I usually cook chickpea flour pancakes, savory french toast, upma ( flattened rice dish) or rice lentil crepes.
Now coming to this recipe, on usual days for making chickpea flour pancakes. I mix chickpea flour, carom seeds (ajwain) and add grated carrot or zucchini to the pancake batter. This weekend, I wanted to make this pancake as a more filling breakfast. I had tofu at home, which gave me an idea of using it as a filling.
For this recipe, I have seasoned tofu with salt and pepper and then grilled it in my indoor grill. Alternatively, you can use paneer, season it with salt and pepper and shallow fry it on the stove top.
This is a quick recipe, you will notice that by the time tofu is getting ready in the grill, the pancakes will be ready on the stove top.
In some recipes, you will notice baking powder is added to the chickpea flour batter. The reason for adding is that baking powder makes the pancakes fluffy and crisp. I do not add baking powder in this recipe. Instead, I add semolina (suji) to the batter and let it rest for a few minutes, as I prep tofu for grilling.
Semolina (suji) is the secret ingredient which makes the pancakes crisp and fluffy. When the pancakes are ready, just add grilled tofu slices and dash of mint-cilantro chutney.
Fold the pancakes into half and they are ready to be served. This is easy to make, warm and filling breakfast recipe. Enjoy your savory chickpea flour pancakes, with mint-cilantro chutney and a cup of hot tea or coffee.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you give this recipe a try, do let me know. Leave a comment, Pin it, or take a picture and tag it #cookingyoulove on Instagram. I would love to know how it turned up for you.
- For Chickpea Flour Pancakes
- ½ cup chickpea flour
- ⅓ cup freshly grated zucchini
- 1 tbsp semolina (suji)
- 2 tsp carom seeds(ajwain)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp red chili
- ½ cup water
- ½ tsp chat masala
- For Filling
- 6 thin slices of extra firm tofu
- pinch of salt
- pinch of black pepper
- For Mint-Cilantro Chutney
- 1 cup loosely packed mint leaves, stem removed
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, stem removed
- ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- ½ slice of small Serrano pepper, chopped
- 1 tsp dry pomegranate powder (anardana)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp chat masala
- 1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp water
- In a bowl combine chickpea flour, grated zucchini, semolina, carom seeds, salt, and red chili. Slowly add water and whisk to get the smooth batter without lumps.
- Heat the skillet over medium heat. When warm, drizzle few drops of oil on the skillet.
- Lift and rotate the skillet to spread the oil evenly.
- Pour a ladle full of batter on the skillet ( ½ cup). Spread the batter evenly by moving the skillet.
- Drizzle few drops of oil along the pancake surface, to ensure the sides are cooked evenly.
- When the edges start to rise, note this as an indication the pancake bottom is cooked.
- Now flip and cook the other side for 2-3 minutes.
- Filling :Season Tofu slices with salt and pepper
- Switch on the grill and brush it with oil, when the grill is hot place tofu slices for grilling
- In a blender combine mint leaves, onion, coriander leaves, garlic, serrano pepper, pomegranate powder, salt, chat masala, cumin seeds and lemon juice.
- Blend ingredients to a smooth paste
- When pancakes are ready, add two slices of grilled tofu slices and dash of mint-cilantro chutney in each pancake.
- Fold the pancake into half and serve hot!
2.You can grill tofu and make pancakes side by side to save time.
3. Mint-Cilantro chutney is a make ahead condiment and stays fresh for a week when stored in the refrigerator.
Leave a Reply