Besan Ka Chilla – Indian Chickpea Flour Pancakes

Besan ka chilla is a delicious and savoury Indian pancake made of gram flour (you can also use chickpea flour). It’s one of those recipes thats comes in under 10 minutes, super customizable, is healthy, balanced and tastes great. It usually contains sweet red onions, tangy tomatoes, green chilli peppers and a few spices to make it flavourful.

Ingredients to make Besan Ka Chilla:

Besan/Gram flour:

This is the most commonly used ingredient in India but you can also sub with chickpea flour for this. Besan/gram flour is a flour made from chana dal also known as split brown chickpeas, while Chickpea flour or garbanzo flour is made of white chickpeas that are ground up. They both have a similar flavor and behaviour and won’t make a difference in this recipe.

Veggies:

Usually we use tomatoes and red onions to make savoury Indian pancakes but you can always add other veggies like diced bell pepper, mushrooms etc.

Aromatics and spices:

To keep this besan ka chilla simple, I used green chillis, red chilli powder and coriander/cilantro. But you can always add some carrot seeds for a thyme-oregano-like pungent flavour. You can also add some chopped ginger for an extra hit of flavour.

Tips to make Besan chilla (savoury Chickpea flour pancakes):

• While cooking these pancakes on the skillet, keep a low to medium-low heat until the top begins to look cooked or you start begin to see some bubbling air-pockets.

• To flip or to not flip is totally up to you. If you want to flip the chillas, do it when the top looks 70-80% cooked. You can also cook the pancake on one side on low flame until the top looks cooked through and remove from the skillet without flipping.

• Serving suggestions: Serve these pancakes or chillis with a simple yoghurt sauce (soy yoghurt, lemon juice, salt, coriander/cilantro, chaat masala), a mint coriander chutney or Indian pickle (easily found in any Indian store). As a child, I used to always eat it with ketchup. I still do it 😛

Prepping and Storage Suggestions:

Batter:

• The batter can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
• Before making the pancakes, mix the batter well.

Chillas/pancakes:

• Besan Chilla/Savoury Chickpea flour pancakes are best served hot as they are made. But here’s what to do if you plan to prep them ahead of time. Once cooled, stack them in an airtight jar, then refrigerate for up to 3 days. Once, ready to eat, lightly reheat them with some oil on a hot skillet again or microwave them.
• Keep in mind though, refrigeration makes the chilla/pancakes dry and a bit dense. It doesn’t taste the same once reheated. So it’s best to make them fresh.

You can watch the making of the besan ka chilla over on my Instagram, YouTube or TikTok.

Other breakfast recipes from the blog:

Meanwhile, you can check my other breakfast recipes:

• Til Pitha – Rice crepe with sweet sesame filling
• Paniyaram recipe (Kuzhi/KuliPaniyaram/Paddu)
• Khaman dhokla recipe
• Vegetable Upma recipe
• Tofu Masala Sandwich
• Baked Aloo Tikki – Crispy and Healthy