Moong dal chilla (lentil crepes) with vegetable and queso fresco filling and an avocado-yogurt dip
Curries With Bumbi · ♥ 921 likes · 13.1K views · 10 min video
Read about mung beans in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- ¾ cup split yellow moong lentils
- ¼ cup chana dal
Wash the moong dal and chana dal well and soak overnight (at least 2 to 3 hours; longer soaking makes softer chillas).
Drain and discard the soaking water, rinse the lentils once more and put them in a blender jar.
- ½ tsp grated ginger
- 1 whole green chilli
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ cup water
Add grated ginger, chopped green chilli, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric and water; blend to a very smooth puree, neither too thick nor too watery.
- carrot
- lettuce
- red cabbage
- coriander leaves
Filling: process carrot, lettuce, a little red cabbage and coriander leaves fine in a food processor (or chop very fine or grate).
The vegetable and queso fresco filling
- queso fresco
Grate queso fresco and fold it gently into the vegetables; do not salt yet, or the vegetables release water and go soggy.
- oil
Heat a heavy-bottomed pan or tawa on high (not stainless steel) until sprinkled water beads; add two to three drops of oil, wipe with a paper towel, sprinkle water again and wipe.
Preparing the pan
Lower the heat to low, add a spoonful or two of batter and spread it gently in circles with the back of the spoon without pressing.
Raise the heat to medium-low to medium, add a little oil around the sides and on top, and wait until the chilla releases on its own before flipping.
Before each chilla, sprinkle a little water, wipe it off and lower the heat to low.
Cooking the filling into the batter
Variation: spread the filling over the raw batter straight away, press it in with the back of a spatula, salt it, oil the sides and top, and cook on medium-low until it releases; flip, fry a few seconds and serve open.
The batter can be made a day ahead and refrigerated; the vegetables can be prepped and refrigerated too.
- ¼ cup plain unflavored yogurt
- ½ whole avocado
- pesto
- 1 cloves garlic
- salt
- crushed black pepper
- ¼ cup chilled water
Dip: blend yogurt, half an avocado, pesto (or fresh greens), a clove of garlic, salt to taste, crushed black pepper and chilled water to a smooth puree; keeps two days in the fridge.