Lentil & Spinach Crepes | Moong Dal & Palak Chilla

a set of hands holding a plate full of Moong Dal & Palak Chilla

Lentil & Spinach Crepes | Moong Dal & Palak Chilla

These savory vegan crepes resembling an omelet is actually made up of moong dal lentils, spinach & herbs. Its a delicious & nutritious breakfast or snack that can be made under 20 minutes!

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine Asian, Indian, North Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

soaking time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours

Servings people

Calories 288.92kcal

Author Priya Lakshminarayan

Equipment

skillet or a crepes pan

Ingredients

2 cups split yellow lentils moong dal
1 onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno
1 cup chopped spinach
2 tbsp flax seed powder optional
1 tsp chilly powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp ajwain or carom seeds
salt
2 cups water

Instructions

First, we need to wash moong dal/yellow lentils in running water and then soak them in lukewarm water, overnight.
If you are in a rush, you can soak it for 4-5 hours as well.
Drain the water and grind it to a smooth paste by adding 1.5 cups of water.
It should be of thick pouring consistency.
Transfer this to a mixing bowl. Add chopped onions, cilantro, and jalapeno.
Then add chopped spinach, cumin powder, ajwain/carom seeds, turmeric, salt, and paprika.
Give the batter a mix so that all the ingredients get blended well together. The consistency should be of pouring consistency. Add half a cup of water to adjust the consistency.
Heat a skillet or a crepes pan and pour a ladle full of batter in the center of the skillet.
Spread the batter like a pancake.
Drizzle oil on all sides and cook it evenly on both sides.
Serving suggestions
Serve Moong Dal & Palak Chilla with ketchup/mayo/chutney.

Notes

Moong dal is also known as split yellow lentils and can be found on Amazon as well as any Indian grocery stores.
You can use green moong instead of yellow to make this cheela.
You can add jalapeno while grinding the lentils instead of chopping and adding them later.
I like to grind it to a smooth paste, but you can also grind it coarse if you want more texture to these lentil crepes.
You can use any greens other than spinach if you want. You can try baby kale, Swiss chard, beet leaves, etc.
Feel free to add more veggies to the batter like grated carrots, cabbage or chopped bell peppers to make it more wholesome.
Add crushed or grated ginger to the batter to help improve digestion.
Even carom seeds or ajwain aids digestion. You can find them in any Indian grocery store or on Amazon.
For those who don't like cilantro, swap it with parsley.
If you are making it for kids, you can even add some grated cheese to the batter.
Also, tone down the spice level if making it for children.
To make the batter, you can even add buttermilk instead of water. If you are vegan, you can make vegan buttermilk. I have the recipe here.
The batter should be of flowing consistency, like a pancake batter.
Add little water or buttermilk if the batter is too thick or add a little bit of any flour, like chickpea flour or rice flour if the batter is too thin.
No need to ferment the batter, you can make chilla instantly.
While making the crepes, you can drizzle ghee around it if you are not vegan.
If you have a mini pancake pan, you can even use this batter to make mini pancakes.
For those wondering how long does crepe batter last, let me tell you that the batter can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a week.

Nutrition