These cabbage besan chillas give cabbage the attention it deserves in the form of a savory pancake that is so perfect for breakfast, especially with some raita or vegan chutney. A delightful way to eat you veggies! Featuring cabbage, any other vegetables you have, besan (gram/chickpea flour), and spices.
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With about $3, you could probably make 35 of these cabbage pancakes and that’s just one reason why I love cabbage. Whenever my mom had cabbage lying around, she made these as a side to pair with dal and rice, but I was thinking they’d also be great for breakfast. As a college student buying vegetables for one, sometimes I need recipes that use up a lot of what I have sitting around. You can add any vegetables you wat to these cabbage besan mini chillas, a savory pancake usually made with lentil flours. To make 8-10 of these chillas, I used a quarter head of cabbage, a carrot, a bunch of spinach, and cilantro. I added a cup of besan which is gram flour or chickpea flour, a popular protein source in Indian breakfasts so no one is allowed to say “where’s the protein” in response to this plant-based breakfast!
How to Make Cabbage Besan Chillas
Pick a few vegetables!
Anything that you can finely chop works well. In addition to cabbage, I grated a carrot and chopped up some spinach, cilantro, and a green chili.
Coat the vegetables in a batter of besan and spices.
Besan is gram flour or chickpea flour. You’ll prepare a batter of besan, arrowroot starch (or tapioca starch, rice flour, cornstarch, etc. – this makes them more crisp!), turmeric, red chili powder, cumin, and water.
Pan fry your cabbage besan chillas.
Pan fry these the same way you would make a bunch of pancakes. You can make these any size you want, but I like making a bunch of them that are about 3 inches wide.
If you want to make a bunch of these and store them until you want to enjoy them, you can totally do that! Just know that they may be less crisp upon reheating.
Serve with chutney or raita.
Dip these in a chutney of your choice, like cilantro chutney or tomato chutney. For a super quick option, simply stir yogurt, cilantro, cumin, lime juice, and salt together to make raita. You could also add cucumbers, tomatoes, and chopped spinach to the raita.
Cabbage Besan Chillas
Ingredients
- ¼ of a medium head of cabbage
- 1 carrot, grated
- 2 cups spinach, chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 serrano chili or another chili, minced (optional)
- 1 cup besan (gram flour/chickpea flour)
- water as needed
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or another neutral oil
vegan raita
- ⅓ cup plain nondairy yogurt
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tbsp lime juice or to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare all your veggies. For the cabbage, grate half of it and chop half of it for some variety in texture.
- To a mixing bowl, add besan, arrowroot starch, ground spices, and salt. Starting with ⅓ cup water, slowly mix in the water and stir until you have a smooth batter that isn't too thick or too runny. Add more water if necessary.
- To the same bowl, add the veggies, cilantro, and chilis. Mix everything well until all the veggies are well coated in the besan and spices.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. For each chilla of about 3 inches wide, use about 2 tbsp of batter. Cook until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes per side.
- Serve with a chutney of your choice or vegan raita, which you can make by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl. Raita is best made to taste!
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