Besan Dosa/ Besan Chila (How to make chickpea flour crepes/pancakes)

Besan Dosa/ Besan Chila (How to make chickpea flour crepes/pancakes)

Besan Dosa/ Besan Chila (Chickpea Flour Crepes)

Besan or chickpea flour or gram flour is a great source of fiber, is GLUTEN FREE and can be helpful in lowering cholesterol and blood sugars.

When I was growing up in Bombay,Besan dosa was a very popular dish in most Udupi restaurants and was even sometimes called “Vegetarian Omelet”. Besan dosa was also sold as a filling inside sandwiches which were named “Veggie omelet sandwich”! Funnily enough,I hated them at that time and preferred my regular ‘egg omelet’ to the veggie omelet. Finally,one day I tried it out and to my amazement, loved it(thankfully it was appreciated by hubby and little brat) and so now it’s a regular feature at home. Make sure you use a good non-stick pan when you make this-that way,you won’t need to use a lot of oil.

Besan or Chickpea flour is a high fibre, high protein, gluten free flour which is made from garbanzo/chickpeas. Being high in fibre, it can be helpful for lowering blood sugar levels and cholesterol.

Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be had for breakfast or even lunch/dinner:

Ingredients for Besan Dosa/Chila (Chickpea flour crepes):Serves 4

• Besan/Gramflour/Chickpea flour: 2 cups
• Rice flour: 2 tbsp (optional)
• Onion:1/2 small(finely chopped)
• Tomatoes:1 small(finely chopped)
• Green chillies:1-2(finely chopped)
• Corriander leaves/Cilantro: 2 tablespoon,finely chopped
• Grated zucchini/ bottlegourd: 1/2 cup (optional)
• Hing/asafoetida: a pinch
• Turmeric powder: 1/4th teaspoon
• Jeera/Cummin seeds:1/2 tsp
• Baking soda: 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Salt:to taste
• Oil/Butter/Ghee: to grease the pan

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Add enough water to make a batter of dosa/pancake consistency. If adding zucchini/bottlegourd, you may need less water as the bottlegourd/zucchini will leave some of its moisture.
3. Spread the oil on a non-stick pan on medium flame.
4. Pour a ladle of the batter and spread like a dosa. Cover for a 3-4 minutes.
5. Then,flip the dosa over to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes.Make sure not to burn them.
6. Serve the besan dosa hot with mint,ketchup or a spicy chutney.

Indian Dietitian Online