Cheella (Pancakes) with Cilantro Chutney

As I was going through some of my recipe collections, I decided to put up a few here. Since I watch my diet now, I have modified these recipes, accordingly. Today I will talk about Cheella, a Sindhi Vegetarian pancake made from a batter of Chickpea flour, spiced up with onions and green chillies. The consistency is more like a pancake batter which is spread on a flat, hot griddle, and cooked on both sides. I make it by using a mixture of powdered Oatmeal and Buckwheat instead of the Chickpea flour. I recall my friend's mother making this for us whenever we stopped by after school or when we had sleepovers - for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. Spice it the way you like to suit your taste buds and enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as an evening snack. This is one of my simple and favorite recipe, that is like a complete meal, when served with chutney/yogurt. Some people have it with ketchup or even Indian pickle-I avoid these as they have too much oil & salt. I sometimes have one Cheella for breakfast on the weekend with some home-made, spicy Cilantro chutney and some yogurt & 2 eggwhites on the side.

Ingredients :

(For making 3 Cheellas )

2 Tablespoons of Oatmeal
2 Tablespoons of Buckwheat
1 Tablespoon of ground Flax seed powder
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds (optional)
Salt according to your taste
4 Green Chillies (Indian green chillies are hot so use accordingly) - finely chopped
A bunch of Cilantro leaves chopped
half an Onion finely chopped (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO) or Pam spray
Water
Flat Griddle (Non stick Tawa)

Method:
1. Grind Oatmeal and Buckwheat along with the flax seed powder till its ground fine.

2. Now add a teaspoon of salt, green chillies, cilantro leaves and water to make a smooth batter, just like we make for fritters/pancakes, making sure there are no lumps. The batter should be as thick as dosa /pancake batter (Add more water if required).

3. Heat a griddle ( non-stick tawa), and lightly grease it with some Olive oil or use Pam spray.

4. Take a ladle full of the batter, and spread it evenly on the heated griddle (tawa) like you would to make a pancake /(dosa). It's thickness should be like a pancake (little thicker than dosa). Rotate the pan and let it spread. If it doesn't spread into a full circle, pour a little more to it and rotate again. (Remember to stir the batter every time you want to pour for the next Cheella). Garnish with some chopped Onions and Cumin Seeds (Optional if you like). Cover and cook for half a minute (on moderate heat) till it turns golden brown.

5. Flip and let it cook and brown on the other side too. Remove from the griddle/(tawa) when both sides are crisp and golden brown.

6. Serve hot for breakfast with a dot of spicy Cilantro Chutney and a small cup of low-fat Yogurt and with 2 scrambled Egg-whites.

To make Cilantro Chutney:

12 Green Chilles (Small Indian green chillies are hot, so alter accordingly), 1 Bunch of Cilantro Leaves, 2 teaspoons of lime juice, half teaspoon Salt, 1 clove of Garlic,

Method: (5 minutes)

1. Blend the above ingredients to a fine paste with as little water as possible to make the chutney. Store in a container.

Shelf life (4 days) when refrigerated. I skipped the step for seasoning the chutney with "oil tadka" to keep it healthy. But if you are not that conscious then you can go ahead and add that step.

(optional) Seasoning: Roast 1 tsp of black Mustard seeds and 2 Curry leaves in 1 tsp of oil in another small vessel over high flame. When the mixture starts to sputter and you hear the mustard making popping sound, add a pinch of asafoetida (Hing in Hindi) and pour the seasoning onto the chutney. (It should make a sizzling sound when the mixture is poured over).

I try to get creative while watching my diet and this is indeed a modified and healthy version of Cheella, yet tasty, Indian meal for one of my Carb-refill/ High-Carb days. I usually have it for early morning Breakfast on the weekends when I get some time to cook. Enjoy and let me know how it turned out. :-)