Chilla or cheela is a savoury Indian pancake, prepared with gram flour or other lentils.
Make your breakfast interesting with this delectable oats chilla recipe that can be prepared in 20 minutes. This easy, quick and healthy chilla recipe is ideal for morning breakfast. It is tender and more nutritious than regular besan chilla. You can serve them plain or with some savoury condiment or chutney.
Oats chilla can be paired with green, sweet tamarind, coconut or mint chutney. If you are in a rush and don’t have time to prepare a chutney, you may also enjoy it with tomato. Without further ado, let us quickly find out what ingredients you need and how to prepare delicious oats chilla at home.
The most essential ingredient is rolled oats or quick-cooking oats. Next, you need besan (split chickpea flour), this gluten-free ingredient helps in binding.
Moving on to vegetables—you may use cabbage, carrots, capsicum (adds flavour), onions, and green chilli.
For added flavour and spice, you need ginger—it helps suppress the smell of oats and promotes improved digestion. Apart from ginger, you need—red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder to add flavour. Don't forget turmeric powder and pepper, they are important for their nutritional value. And add plenty of coriander to spike its flavour.
You need ½ cup rolled or quick cooked oats, add it to a spice grinder, coffee grinder or mixer. Grind the oats until they become fine and powdery. You may also grind until the oats become semi-fine.
Transfer the ground oats to a mixing bowl and add ½ cup gram flour (besan). Add ¼ teaspoon of cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder and ¼ teaspoon of red chilli powder.
Then add ¼ cup of finely diced onions, ¼ cup of diced tomatoes, ¼ cup of minced coriander leaves, half a teaspoon of finely diced ginger, and ⅔ teaspoon of chopped green chillies. Add salt as per requirement and taste and mix everything before adding water.
Next, add one cup of water and mix again, to prepare a thick batter. After mixing everything well, make sure the batter is free of lumps. Use a wired whisk to mix all the ingredients. If the consistency of the batter appears thick, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water. Based on the texture and quality of oats and besan, determine how much water your battery needs.
Whisk until you get a batter with a smooth-flowing consistency, free of lumps. While whisking the batter, break the lumps (if any). After the batter is ready, cover and keep it aside for about 10 minutes, allowing it to rest.
Heat your tawa and smear it with a little oil. Avoid overheating the tawa. Lower the flame and use a ladle to pour the oats chilla batter. Use the ladle’s back to gently spread the batter over the tawa. Spread it gently and lightly to ensure the chilla does not break. Cook for a minute on medium or low flame. Press it gently to cook it evenly. Before flipping, drizzle some oil over it. Flip and continue cooking until the chilla’s base acquires a light golden colour. Use a spatula to flip.
Fold the chilla and serve it hot. Serve your oats chilla with a savoury chutney—sweet tamarind, coconut or mint chutney.
It is time to switch from your dull morning breakfast to this delicious and flavourful chilla recipe.
