Besan ka Cheela/ Savory Gram Flour Pancake

11:42 AM



Thanks a ton to all my blogger friends who welcomed me back in my last post but am still at home with parents and family. Though it’s been long that am here but am not complaining, and I guess no one in my position would have complained too. After taking care of an over active baby and a maddening schedule this stay at Baper bari (father house) is like a breath of fresh air to me. Here I can wake up late and once I decide to leave the bed I can again laze around with my morning Cuppa, can eat great food cooked by Maa, can spend time with friends and I can do all these without ever worrying about the baby as I know he is in good care of his Didan (grandmother). Works are there and sometimes it include lot of travel but coming back to family and steaming hot comfort food always refresh my tired soul. And the cherry on the cake is Hubby is also away on another abroad trip so this elongated stay comes without any guilt pang….Do I need more reasons to be on the ninth cloud? Am going to enjoy this stint some more as one important work of mine is still pending. Though everyday am eating great food but Cooking has taken a back seat and am only entering the kitchen to cook on some special request from younger brother. Today after a couple of failure attempts finally I had successfully baked my first yeast bread and watching the dough inflate I literally jumped like a little kid. Yesterday I made these besan ka cheela or savory pancakes made with gram flour for breakfast. This is a very common breakfast item at our household and parents liked it very much as well.

Gram flour or chickpea flour contains more protein compared to other flours and is gluten free. This is also known for its anti-diabetic properties. It is an ancient item in beauty treatment mostly used as an alternative to soap to cleanse face and body. Cheela or chila is a soft pancake very common in northern part of India. Apart from Besan, cheelas are also made with yellow lentils. These are very light and could be made in a jiffy. Being the vegetable lover I am I always add very finely shredded veggies and fry them in non stick pans. Here is the recipe.

Besan Cheela
(makes 5)

Ingredients:
Gram Flour (besan): 1 cup (while editing the HTML this got deleted, sorry for the inconvenience)
Shredded carrots: 2 tbsp
Shredded beans: 1 tbsp
Chopped tomato: 2 tbsp
Chopped onion: 2 tbsp
Chopped green chillies: 2 no.s
Carom seeds (ajwain): ½ tsp
pinch of bi-carb of soda
Water
Salt
oil to fry

Method:
Except water put everything in a big bowl.

Add water to make a thin batter like pancake (approximately 11/4 cup). Check the seasoning.

Heat a non stick pan and grease with few drops of oil.

Pour a ladleful of the batter and swirl the pan to coat the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook on low for 30 second or till the sides of the pancake leave the sides.

Pour few more drops of oil at the sides and cook on both sides till lightly golden brown.

Serve hot with ketchup or any chutney of your preference.

Serving ideas:
I sometimes enjoy it with leftover coconut chatni and that tastes heavenly.

savory tomato chutney (recipe coming soon) tastes heavenly with this.

Besan cheelaTastes great with some gravy dish too.

Here is another version of cheela made by Sandeepa. 

Sending this to Priya's Pancake event. 

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52 comments

  1. SimplyfoodApril 7, 2010 at 11:45 AM

    There is no place like maternal home to be pampered and fussed over.The besan pancakes look delicious.Enjoy your vacation to the fullest.

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  2. Priya SureshApril 7, 2010 at 11:58 AM

    Hope u had a great time at mom's place..Glad to see u back dear Sayantani...Cheela looks fabulous, do send to my pancakes event dear..I'll be happy to get ur entry..

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  3. UnknownApril 7, 2010 at 12:21 PM

    hmm..bujhtei parchhi darun njoy korchhish...satti re biyer pore ma-babar kachhe thakar akta aladai anondo achhe..tao jokhon nijer bachha ke chhokh bujhe karur opor chhere diye nije ektu aka ghora pherea kora jae...khub anondo kor re...

    ei recipe ta khub bhalo laglo...amar meye nishchoi khabe...ami kono recipe dekhlei age dekhi meyer khabar moto kina...akhon nijer kahabr kotha bhulei gachhi..:(

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  4. SunithaApril 7, 2010 at 12:22 PM

    That sounds like it can done without fermenting which means at short notice and thats a winner to me. Thanks for sharing

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  5. UnknownApril 7, 2010 at 12:50 PM

    Great recipe!! It looks healthy and delicious..I would love to try this.. How much besan did you use?

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  6. KamalikaApril 7, 2010 at 2:05 PM

    shon besan ta bodhhoe miss kore gachhish ingredients theke...

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  7. AdukalaVisheshamApril 7, 2010 at 2:26 PM

    Nothing like ma ke haath se bana khaana... These gram flour pancakes are new to us.. but cant imagine the taste...yum yum

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  8. Ushnish GhoshApril 7, 2010 at 2:58 PM

    Dear Sayantani
    Amar sosur Badi-r deshe...baper baDi giye khub maja korchho na?
    Punjabi famous dish baniye sabai ke khaochho?
    Really it is long time since I made PuDa...ami santiniketan aschhi..India phir-e ...tar par bangalore kothao dekha hoe jabe for sure ...bhalo theko.
    ushnishda
    Milano

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  9. AnnApril 7, 2010 at 7:19 PM

    Hi Sayantani - enjoy your break! Lucky you! I'm sure your son is even more thrilled with the constant attentiona nd fussing all around him =). Not sure if its just me, but do you have an approximate quantity of besan flour that you used? And also, do you toast the flour before you used it? Thx!

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  10. Ms.ChitchatApril 7, 2010 at 9:56 PM

    Can sense ur enjoyment and joy thro' ur write-up. There is no place like 'ma ka ghar' and enjoy the pampering. These are precious moments of ur life, enjoy. Loved the dish,full of goodness.

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  11. Sushma MallyaApril 7, 2010 at 10:10 PM

    Enjoy ,have a good time with your loved ones,...i know how nice you must be feeling staying with them ...and besan cheela looks delicious,ideal for breakfast anyday

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  12. SuparnaApril 7, 2010 at 10:10 PM

    love cheelas any day :0 and it's a great recipe to experiment on ..
    enjoyed reading ur excitemnet filled post...
    Keep up the same spirit
    TC

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  13. IndraniApril 7, 2010 at 10:52 PM

    now you are making me jealous, Sayantani..baper bapirte khub maja korcho..tomar ingredients e besan missing..khub sunechi etar katha..ebar banate have ekdin..different breakfast item from usual..enjoy karo khub...

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  14. KanchanApril 8, 2010 at 12:06 AM

    No Place like Mom's home ! Everything goes the way you want :)

    We call this Cheela - Tomato Omlete , never added carrots and beans , will try next time.

    ReplyDelete
  15. sayantaniApril 8, 2010 at 12:19 AM

    ohh so sorry. while editing the HTML the main ingredient Besan got missing. have updates the post. sorry for the Inconvenince. Thanks for pointing this out.

    @Ann. no I dont dry roast the besan, just used the normal store bought quality.

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  16. Jeyashris KitchenApril 8, 2010 at 2:03 AM

    enjoy ur stay in ur mom's place.this dish is new to me.heard of this and never know how to make.sounds intersting.nice variation from the usual dosa we make

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  17. Gouri GuhaApril 8, 2010 at 3:28 AM

    O baba eki, tomar cheela ta dekhe khete icche korche.

    Enjoy your baper badir stay and once you're back in Bangalore, I'll be there to get the taste from your kitchen.
    raji to...bhebe bolo:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hamaree RasoiApril 8, 2010 at 4:28 AM

    Ami jokhon shokale dekhechilam tomar post e tokhon besan missing chilo...
    Anyway amrao besan er cheela praye banai. Cheela looks delicious.
    Shotti baba r bari te giye je ki mauja.....Ami toh amar chele ke oder kache rekhe shopping e jai, bondu der bari te jai....Because at the back of my mind I know he is in safe hands:-)
    Khoob enjoy koro....
    Deepa

    Hamaree Rasoi

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  19. TinaApril 8, 2010 at 5:17 AM

    Sounds yummy...

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  20. Sarah NaveenApril 8, 2010 at 6:26 AM

    Simply delicious..love dit ..

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  21. Gita JaishankarApril 8, 2010 at 9:39 AM

    Hi Thanks for the comment...you have a wonderful blog with so many nice recipes...will keep in touch. Have fun at your parent's place...take care :)

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  22. SathyaSridharApril 8, 2010 at 9:41 AM

    Wooow,,dear cheela looks delicious. Hope u enjoying ur days wiht ur baby n ur parents...am also waiting to go India to visit my parents...

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  23. subhashiniApril 8, 2010 at 10:26 AM

    very quick and yummy recipe.

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  24. NamithaApril 8, 2010 at 10:41 AM

    Great recipe Sayantani..what a perfect breakfast..yumm

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  25. CilantroApril 8, 2010 at 6:24 PM

    Hope I could go to my Mom`s place soon and I happy that you are having a nice time.
    The pancake seems to be an easy breakfast. I prefer breakfast that is not sweet and would definitely give this a try.

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  26. ruchikacooksApril 8, 2010 at 7:08 PM

    I love dosas/uthapams. Nice one Saya. Hope you are getting pampered at home!

    Saw your comment at deepas..I envy you now, I get to go home once a year!

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  27. Padhu SankarApril 8, 2010 at 8:52 PM

    Pancake looks so tempting with those chutney .I feel hungry after seeing those pictures .I am also leaving for my mother's place for a week, so will take a break from blogging.What u say is right.We can come back refreshed and energetic after staying in our mom's place .

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  28. PJApril 8, 2010 at 9:40 PM

    love your besan ka cheela, Sayantani! i know the excitment of your first bread baking :) Have fun at your parents place!

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  29. SomaApril 9, 2010 at 6:01 AM

    ki shundor dekhte lachey! like a lace. I always make mung dal cheela, besan diye kono korini.

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  30. ChamApril 9, 2010 at 2:57 PM

    Enjoy ur stay and get pampered! The cheela looks yum, never made with besan!

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  31. Dolly SharmaApril 9, 2010 at 7:17 PM

    Hey Sayantani ,Good to see You back..after a refreshing break...I can relate to this post..I do the same when I visit my parents in MUmbai.. The kids are pampered by them..and I myself become a kid..just lazing around and enjoying the goodness.. LOve this besan ka Cheela. I make it too..But I like ur healthier version of adding grated carrots and beans. Awesome and tempting clicks.

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  32. AnonymousApril 10, 2010 at 4:00 AM

    Enjoy your stay with your mom!

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  33. My Kitchen AnticsApril 10, 2010 at 5:13 AM

    Hi there...thanks for dropping by my blog and posting those lovely comments:)
    You have a nice space here as well...shall keep dropping in

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  34. Jaya MApril 11, 2010 at 1:57 PM

    Sayantani,
    tumaar eto shondor rokomari ranna, ama ke mogdho kore feleche ..enjoy your stay at your parents place.
    hugs and smiles

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  35. DeepaApril 11, 2010 at 10:30 PM

    wow, these looks so savory. yummy clicks..

    its seems you had a great time at your mum's place..bask in it dear now..

    ReplyDelete
  36. Sandhya HariharanApril 12, 2010 at 7:31 AM

    Lovely... and beautiful clicks....
    I will b exploring ur blog next.. and chk for all the lovely bengali recipes..
    thanks for dropping by!!
    will b following u...

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  37. Smita SrivastavaApril 12, 2010 at 11:37 PM

    Hi
    First time here , loved the yummy recipes n the lovely pics . The chillas look truly mouthwatering ...

    Smita
    @Little Food Junction

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  38. Veggie HutApril 13, 2010 at 7:35 AM

    mouthwatering chillas..my all time fav

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  39. Malar GandhiApril 13, 2010 at 8:14 AM

    Besan ka cheela sounds very fulfilling.

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  40. sangeetaApril 13, 2010 at 11:26 AM

    so you are having a great time at baper bari....khoob anondo..
    the besan cheela is a fave at our place too n we call it besan poora or pooda.

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  41. DeepaApril 13, 2010 at 9:48 PM

    hey these looks so good..love the clicks..makes me hungry now..

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  42. UnknownApril 14, 2010 at 10:24 AM

    Hey Sayantani,
    We have some awards waiting for you at our blog. Please do stop by to collect them...

    ReplyDelete
  43. Jaya MApril 15, 2010 at 1:41 AM

    Sayantani,
    Wish you and your family Shobho Nababorsho
    hugs and smiles

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  44. IndraniApril 15, 2010 at 2:14 AM

    shubho nababarsha, Sayantani to u and ur family..send ur entries for my summer food & drinks event to riappyayan@gmail.com..pl. note

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  45. shahanaApril 15, 2010 at 6:19 AM

    This is my favorite too.Perfect for the event!

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  46. MandiraApril 15, 2010 at 6:52 AM

    enjoy the relaxing days :) shubho naba borsho to you and your family!

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  47. Srividhya RavikumarApril 15, 2010 at 7:54 PM

    Simple and lovely dish.. going to try.. do drop in at my site whenever.. following you

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  48. BongMomApril 15, 2010 at 8:11 PM

    Shubho Naboborsher shubhechcha Sayantani. Mayer bari te khub maja koro, onader o amar pronam janiyo.

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  49. Pavithra SrihariApril 18, 2010 at 10:04 PM

    Oh I can see me in you when I am at my mom's place.I do the same thing within having to bother about anything .. Nothing can beat this pleasure.

    Pancake looks superb .. I wonder how got it crispy ..

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  50. SindhuraMay 17, 2010 at 3:51 AM

    lovely click.....Mouth watering pancakes....
    Do drop in sometime

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  51. Monalisa (Ananya)November 2, 2011 at 5:50 AM

    i hv tried this ... itz awesome :)

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  52. Sayantani Mahapatra MudiNovember 2, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    @Monlisa, thanks for trying this. am glad that you liked it.

    ReplyDelete

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