Hare Moong ka Cheela: Green Gram Pancakes

Hare moong ka cheela (savory green gram pancake) is a richer variation of the yellow moong ka cheela. The process of making the cheela remains the same, except that the base lentil in this one changes from the light yellow moong bean to the more potent green gram (moong bean).

Due to the denser texture of green moong bean, hare moong ka cheela turns out softer and thicker than yellow moong ka cheela. You could add a tablespoons of rice flour to the batter if you prefer the cheela crisp; I don’t normally do so.

You Need:

[For 5-6 cheelas]

• Whole green moong bean – 1 large cup
• Green chili – 1
• Asafoetida powder – a pinch
• Roasted cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt – 1/3rd tesapoon, adjust to taste
• Oil – for shallow frying (approx. 1 teaspoon per cheela)

How To Make Hare Moong ka Cheela:

1. Pre-cooking steps

Wash green gram.

Soak green gram overnight in 3 cups of water.

Chop green chilies. Dissolve a pinch of asafoetida powder in a tablespoon of water.

Drain the water from the soaking green gram, rinse. Place soaked green gram in a grinder along with chopped green chili, roasted cumin powder, asafoetida powder dissolved in water, and salt.

Grind to paste. Add water a few tablespoons of water and grind again till you bring it to batter consistency.

2. Make the pancakes!

Heat a teaspoon of oil on a wide non-stick pan. Spread the oil around using a wooden spatula so that the pan gets coated evenly.

Using a ladle, spread green gram batter evenly on the pan, shaping it into a disk of about 5-inch diameter. Let the cheela cook on one side for 3-4 minutes on medium-high flame.

At this stage, the cheela would have browned on the side facing down and would have started separating from the pan.

Sprinkle a few drops of the oil on the open surface of the cheela. Gently slide the spatula under the cheela and flip it over.

Cook the other side too for 3-4 minutes, pressing gently this time to ensure even cooking.

When done on both sides, the cheela is ready to eat. Hare moong ka cheela pairs well with tomato chutney or ketchup.

Notes:

This is the Gujarati style of making green gram cheela, without onion or garlic. If you aren’t keen on a no-onion-no-garlic version, you could try these variations:

• add finely chopping onions to one side of the cheela as it cooks
• instead of asafoetida powder in the batter, add a teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste.

Also try these recipes with green gram as the starring ingredient:

• green gram sundal
• boiled green gram salad with potatoes and coriander dressing
• moong and onion raita

…and if cheelas interest you, check these out:

• sooji ka cheela
• cucumber carrot rava cheela
• besan ka cheela