Beetroot Cheela
Beetroot cheelas are an easy and nutritious savory pancake. It's a popular Indian breakfast item made with besan (chickpea flour) and oats, and best served with a variety of chutneys!
Ingredients
- 2 medium beets, boiled or pressure cooked
- 1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
- ½ cup oat flour *save money! process rolled oats!
- pinch of hing (asafetida) *optional; use if you have it!
- ¼ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- water to thin
- avocado oil or another neutral oil
cilantro chutney
- 1 cup packed cilantro
- ½ cup mint
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 green chili
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp amchur (dried mango) powder
- ½ tbsp lime juice or juice from ½ a lime
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup cashews *optional - adds texture and volume and makes it less spicy
Instructions
- Process the cooked beets into a smooth paste.
- To a mixing bowl, add besan, oat flour, hing, red chili powder, and salt. Whisk with a fork to make sure there aren't clumps.
- Add water to thin the batter to a medium consistency that should be easy to spread with a ladle: not too thick, not too runny.
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Use a ladle to add the batter (⅓ cup should be good!) to the center of the pan. Use the round end of the ladle to spread the batter outward by moving it in a spiral motion until it is thin. Cook for about 2 minute per side. After flipping the cheela, a little drop of oil around the edges helps it cook nicely, but it isn't necessary.
- For the chutney, simply process all the ingredients in a small food processor. Taste and adjust!