Mung Chilla – Lentil Pancakes

These easy vegetarian mung dal (yellow lentil) pancakes with sesame seeds and spinach are great with Indian dishes or served as a wrap or savory pancake. Serve them with curry or some salsa or dips. No need to soak lentils as we use lentils. Gluten free!

Meet Moong Chilla (Chilla) – your new favorite delicious pancake! Generally mung dal chilla is made by soaking mung dal (small yellow lentils/skinned green mung dal), then blending it with water to form a batter. But you can also use mung flour to make them!

These Indian spiced pancake flatbreads are made with lentil flour and are great to serve with Indian dishes or as a load with other toppings.

You can serve with curry, like this chickpea curry and some dal. Or serve them with some salsa or dip of your choice or you can make them into small flatbreads and use them as tacos.

You can also turn them into larger flatbreads to make vegan quesadillas.

Mung dal flour pancakes

I use mung bean flour in this recipe, which means you don’t have to soak and blend the lentils, no blending or processing required, this is a 1 bowl pancake recipe.

Mung bean or mung dal flour is available in Indian stores. If you cannot find mung dal flour, you can use soaked green mung dal or soaked yellow mung dal (skinned green mung dal).

Soak them for at least 6 hours or overnight and then blend with rice flour or soaked rice until you get a batter then add the rest of the ingredients and use.

Make them into mung bean waffles:

You can use lentil pancake batter to make delicious mung bean waffles! Keep the batter slightly thick while adding water. Add 1/8 teaspoon more baking soda (1/4 teaspoon total). Grease the waffle iron and make waffles

More pancake recipes:

Recipe card

material

• As a dry mix we use a mixture of rice flour and mung dal flour – this is green mung dal flour. You can find it online or in Indian stores, or grind green mung beans or yellow mung beans in a blender.
• Spices: Salt, pepper flakes or red or chili powder, turmeric and ginger
• Sesame seeds add some crunch
• Baking soda makes this nice and crispy on the outside
• As fresh ingredients, we add chopped onion, cilantro and spinach or frozen spinach

Suggestion:

• Whole bean flour is more readily available and slightly greener. Mung bean flour will turn yellow. You can make your own flour and save it to use to make these pancakes.
• Flour Substitutes: If you cannot find mung dal flour, you can use soaked green mung dal or soaked yellow mung dal or even soaked red lentil. Soak them for at least 6 hours or overnight and then blend them with rice flour or soaked rice, adding only 1/4 cup of water in the beginning, blend for half a minute and add more water if necessary, until you blend again. Get a batter then add the rest of the ingredients.

How to make Mung Chilla Lentil Pancakes

In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients – that is mung bean flour, rice flour, spices, baking soda and sesame seeds and mix well.

Add 3/4 cup water and mix. Then add more water as needed to make a pancake-like batter. Fold in ginger, spinach, cilantro and chopped onion

Let this batter sit for 10 minutes, it may get a bit thick depending on the flour you use, so you may need to thin it with a tablespoon or so of water.

Meanwhile prepare your skillet and preheat it. Heat the skillet over medium heat until it’s nicely heated, then add a few drops of oil.

Use a paper napkin to spread the oil all over, then use a ladle and pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into your skillet and spread it out in concentric circles using your ladle to make evenly thick flatbreads.

Add a few drops of oil to the edges and cook for 3 to 5 minutes then flip and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. The time depends on your skillet and your oven.

You want the batter to be completely firm, with no soft spots anywhere and golden brown in some spots.

Uncover the skillet and repeat for the rest of the batter. Serve with a chutney like tomato chutney, ketchup, hot sauce or curry.

Store in a covered container on the counter for the day. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Above and below pictures using different skillets. Both are nonstick. One aluminum pan with pfoa free Stone Earth non-stick coating, the other a non-stick anodized iron skillet (tawa).

Make waffles: You can use this batter to make delicious waffles. Keep the batter slightly thick while adding water. Add 1/8 teaspoon more baking soda (1/4 teaspoon total). Make waffles by heating the waffle iron

storage

These pancakes become crispy when made. Store in a 275 F preheated oven until ready to serve.
Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in 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. Soaking and blending whole lentils will make more tamarind. You can also use other lentil flours.

Can I make it without rice flour?

Yes, skip the rice flour. You will need a few tablespoons less water

Can I make it without onions?

Yes, omit the onion, or use zucchini instead