Méli-mélo: Besan Chilla (Chickpea Pancakes)

(During my brief hiatus between books, I will be posting miscellaneous, aka “méli-mélo” recipes. Enjoy!)

This is a typical South Indian dish, taught to me by my good friend Lavanya. You can visit her instagram here! As vegans, we always make sure to eat protein in every meal to ensure a good balanced diet. Making this chickpea flour dosa instead of a regular one solved that problem beautifully!

Makes about 4 small pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpea flour

• 1 Tbsp cumin seeds

• 1/4 of a red onion (roughly 1/3 cup), diced

• 1 or 2 green Serrano chilies, sliced (depends how spicy you like!

• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

• 1.5 cups water

• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and use hands to mix into a batter.

2. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.

3. When pan is hot, pour about 1/4 cup of the mixture on to cook, as you would a pancake.

4. Cook for about a minute, until one side is browned, and then flip. Cook again for about 30 seconds.

5. Serve warm with your favorite Indian chutney (my favorite is mint).

6. Enjoy!