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Besan Chilla (Chickpea Flour Pancakes) with Spinach and Tomato

Savoury Indian pancakes made from chickpea flour, water and spices, with spinach, tomato and onion stirred through. Rest the batter for 10 minutes so the flour hydrates, or the pancakes tear when you flip them.

Breakfast

40

Serves 2 (2 pancakes each)

Golden chickpea flour pancakes flecked with spinach, tomato and coriander, served with a bowl of yogurt

Ingredients

  • 150g/5oz/1⅔ cups gram flour (chickpea flour, also sold as besan)
  • About 220 to 260ml/1 cup cold water
  • Half a tsp ground cumin and a quarter tsp ground turmeric
  • Half a tsp salt
  • 1 small onion (about 60g/2oz), finely chopped
  • 1 medium tomato (about 80g/3oz), deseeded and finely chopped
  • 60g/2oz baby spinach, finely shredded
  • 1 green chilli (about 5g), finely chopped, optional
  • 10g/a loosely packed ½ cup fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil, such as rapeseed oil (canola oil), for the pan
  • 150g/5oz/⅔ cup unsweetened soy yogurt, or plain yogurt if you are not vegan, to serve

Method

  1. In a bowl, whisk the gram flour, cumin, turmeric and salt with about three-quarters of the water until smooth. Add the rest of the water a little at a time until the batter is like single cream (light cream): pourable but not watery.
  2. Leave the batter to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the onion, tomato, spinach, chilli and coriander.
  3. Stir the vegetables and herbs into the batter.
  4. Heat a large non-stick frying pan, about 24cm/9½in, over a medium heat and brush with a little of the oil. Pour in a quarter of the batter and spread it quickly with the back of a ladle into a round about 18cm/7in across.
  5. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges look dry and the underside is golden, then drizzle a few drops of oil around the edge and flip. Cook for another 2 minutes, until cooked through, with no wet batter in the middle.
  6. Keep warm on a plate under a clean tea towel (dish towel) and repeat with the rest of the batter, brushing the pan with oil each time, to make 4 pancakes.
  7. Serve 2 pancakes each with the yogurt. Cooked pancakes keep in the fridge for up to 2 days; reheat in a dry pan until piping hot. They freeze for up to 1 month with baking paper (parchment paper) between them.

Why it works

Two pancakes with the yogurt have about 21g of protein and 11g of fibre for 409 calories, with no eggs or dairy. Gram flour is ground chickpeas, so it has roughly twice the protein of ordinary wheat flour, and that is what makes these filling enough to carry you to lunch.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. Pancakes made from a pulse flour, with vegetables stirred through, release their carbohydrate more slowly than pancakes made from refined white flour. The fibre and protein do most of that work.

Why it is tagged for menopause. It is a plant-based, fibre-rich breakfast, and the spinach and tomato add vegetables at a meal that usually has none. Plain dairy yogurt adds calcium; if you use soy yogurt, choose one fortified with calcium.

Gluten-free, with one check. Chickpea flour contains no gluten, but some brands are milled alongside wheat. If you need to avoid gluten strictly, choose one labelled gluten-free.

Chilla is an everyday breakfast across North India, often eaten with chutney or pickle. For another vegan breakfast, try the tofu scramble with turmeric and spinach, and for more chickpea ideas, see the baked falafel bowl.