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These easy vegan moong dal (yellow lentil) pancakes with sesame seeds and spinach are great to serve alongside Indian food or as a wrap or savory pancake. Serve them with curries or with some salsa or dips. No soaking lentils needed as we use lentil flour. And you can also make waffles with the batter ! Gluten-free!
Meet Moong Cheela(chilla) – your new favorite savory pancake! Usually moong dal chilla are made by soaking the moong dal(petite yellow lentils/skinned green mung beans), then blending with water to make a batter. But you can also use moong flour to make them!
These Indian spiced pancake flatbreads are made with lentil flour and are simply great to serve as a side with Indian food or as is, loaded with other toppings.
You can serve these with curries, like this chickpea curry, and some dal. Or serve them with some salsa or dips of choice or you can make them into smaller flatbreads and use them as tacos.
You can also turn them into larger flatbreads, to make vegan quesadillas.
Moong Dal Flour Pancakes
I use moong dal flour in this recipe, which means you don’t have to soak the dal and blend it, there is no blending or processing needed, it’s a 1 bowl pancake recipe.
Moong bean or moong dal flour is available in Indian stores. If you can’t find moong dal flour you can use soaked green moong beans or soaked yellow moong dal(skinned green mung bean)
Soak them for at least 6 hours or overnight and then blend them with either the rice flour or soaked rice until you get a batter then add in the rest of the ingredients and use.
Turn these into Moong Bean Waffles:
You can use the lentil pancakes batter to make savory moong bean waffles!. Keep the batter slightly thick when adding water. Add 1/8 teaspoon more baking soda (total 1/4 teaspoon). Grease the waffle iron and make waffles
More pancake recipes:
- Savory Chickpea Flour Veggie Pancakes and Breakfast Sandwich
- Vegan Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Banana Oat Pancakes (Gluten-free)
- Vegan Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes
Lentil pancakes (Moong Dal Chilla) with Spinach
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup moong dal flour,, that’s flour of green mung beans. You can find this online or in Indian stores or just grind up green mung beans or yellow moong dal in a blender until fine meal flour
- 1/4 cup rice flour,, white or brown, omit to make grainfree
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes or cayenne or chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 cup water or as needed
- 1 tsp minced ginger or ginger paste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped spinach or 1/3 cup frozen spinach, thawed
- 1/4 cup onions, chopped
- optional additions: either or all of 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1 green chili chopped, 1 tablespoon chopped curry leaves
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients; that’s the moong dal flour, rice flour, spices, baking soda, sesame seeds and mix well.
- Add in 3/4 cup of water and mix in. Then add more water as needed to make pancake like batter. Fold in the ginger, spinach, cilantro and chopped onion
- Let this batter sit for 10 minutes, it might thicken a little depending on the flour you use, so you might have to thin it out with a tablespoon or more of water.
- Prep your skillet in the meanwhile and preheat it. Heat the skillet over medium heat until it is nicely hot, then drizzle a few drops of oil. Use a paper napkin to spread that oil all over. Then use a ladle and pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter on your skillet and spread it using your ladle in concentric circles to make an evenly thick flatbread. See pictures
- Drizzle a few drops of oil on the edges and cook for 3 to 5 minutes then flip and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. The timing depends on your skillet and your stove. You want the batter to get completely set, have no soft spots anywhere, and also get golden brown in some spots.
- Take off the skillet and repeat for the rest of the batter. Serve with chutneys like my tomato chutney, mango chutney, ketchup, hot sauce or curries.
- Store in a covered container on the counter for the day.These chilla are crisp when just made. Store in a 275 F warm oven until ready to serve. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for upto 4 days. Reheat on the skillet or microwave
- Make waffles: you can use this batter to make savory waffles. Keep the batter slightly thick when adding water. Add 1/8 teaspoon more baking soda(total 1/4 teaspoon). Grease the waffle iron and make waffles
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients
- as the dry mixture we use a mix of rice flour and moong dal flour – that’s flour of green mung beans. You can find this online or in Indian stores, or just grind up green mung beans or yellow moong dal in a blender
- seasoning: salt, pepper flakes or cayenne or chili powder, turmeric and ginger
- sesame seeds add some crunch
- baking soda makes these nice and crisp on the outside
- as fresh ingredients, we add chopped onions, cilantro and spinach or frozen spinach
Tips:
- The flour of the whole bean is more easily available and is somewhat green. The flour of moong dal(skinned mung bean) will be yellow. You can make your own flour and store it to use to make these pancakes.
- Flour substitute: If you can’t find moong dal flour you can use soaked green moong beans or soaked yellow moong dal or even soaked red lentils. Soak them for at least 6 hours or overnight and then blend them with either the rice flour or soaked rice, add only 1/4 cup water to begin with, blend for half a minute, and add more water if needed, blend again until you get a batter then add in the rest of the ingredients.
How to make Moong Cheela Lentil Pancakes
In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients – that’s the moong dal flour, rice flour, spices, baking soda, and sesame seeds and mix well.
Add in 3/4 cup of water and mix in. Then add more water as needed to make a pancake-like batter. Fold in the ginger, spinach, cilantro and chopped onion
Let this batter sit for 10 minutes, it might thicken a little depending on the flour you use, so you might have to thin it out with a tablespoon or more of water.
Prep your skillet in the meanwhile and preheat it. Heat the skillet over medium heat until it is nicely hot, then use a few drops of oil.
Use a paper napkin to spread that oil all over, then use a ladle and pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter on your skillet and spread it using your ladle in concentric circles to make an evenly thick flatbread.
Drizzle a few drops of oil on the edges and cook for 3 to 5 minutes then flip and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. The timing depends on your skillet and your stove.
You want the batter to get completely solid, have no soft spots anywhere, and also get golden brown in some spots.
Take off the skillet and repeat for the rest of the batter. Serve with chutneys like tomato chutney, ketchup, hot sauce or curries.
Store in a covered container on the counter for the day. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Pictures above and below using different skillets. Both are nonstick. One has pfoa free stone earth non stick coating on aluminum pan, the other a non stick anodized iron skillet(tawa).
Make waffles: you can use this batter to make savory waffles. Keep the batter slightly thick when adding water. Add 1/8 teaspoon more baking soda (total 1/4 teaspoon). Heat the waffle iron and make waffles
Storage
These pancakes are crisp when just made. Store in a 275 F warm oven until ready to serve.
Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for upto 3 days. Reheat on the skillet or microwave
Frequently asked questions
Can I make this with other lentils
Yes use red lentils, or split peas or other lentils , you can use whole or split lentils. Whole lentils will make a grittier batter if soaking and blending. You can use other lentil flours as well.
Can I make this without rice flour
Yes, omit the rice flour. You’ll need a few tablespoons less water
Can I make this without onion?
Yes omit the onion, or use zucchini instead
Made these with moong flour and they were amazing! Made them again the next day with shredded veggies in the batter and made some waffles. Kids ate them up with spicy ketchup!
Awesome