Gram flour Stuffed pancake (Besan cheela/Eggless omlette?)

I love experimenting with different flours. Like I already mentioned – I love to give everything a chance. Every grain, veggie or fruit has something different. A different flavor, texture, color apart from the nutrition value itself. I am not a nutrition expert, but with the limited knowledge I have gathered from reading, experimenting I try to make some informed choices about what I eat. Again what works for me might not work for some one else! So I guess it all comes back to experimentingCrepes are a popular part of a lot of cultures – You can practically convert it into any cuisine you want to by choosing the stuffing and ingredients appropriately! So far, I have experimented largely with Indian crepes but slowly I am trying to get into other areas! You should watch this space out for new things :). This recipe is actually a popular one on the internet – It is a crepe made of Gram flour/Chickpea flour or besan, known as Besan Cheela to a lot of Indians and largely marketed as eggless omelette! Apart from the huge popularity, the reason I wanted to give it a try is to experiment with this flour. I was not disappointed by the taste and texture! I kind of reserved the healthy thing for the last here – it has a lot of protein too! The recipe might be popular on the internet, but this is my version of it :).

Ingredients

1. 1 medium sized tomato
2. 200 grams cabbage
3. 1/2 medium capsicum (bell pepper)
4. 1 cup gram flour
5. 3 tbsp rice flour
6. 1/2 tsp salt
7. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
8. 1 jalapeno/green chilli chopped finely
9. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
10. pinch of hing (asafoetida)
11. 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
12. 1/2 tsp oil for cooking each crepe

Preparation Time:  15 min                   

Cooking Time: 10 min

Servings: 6 crepes

Method

1. Deseed and chop the tomato finely. Chop/shred the cabbage also finely. Chop jalapeño/cilantro/capsicum finely and keep aside.
2. Take a mixing bowl. Add the flours, salt, turmeric, hing, cumin seeds, veggies, chilli and cilantro into the mixing bowl.
3. Add water little by little and make it into a batter of thick pouring consistency. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, take a skillet. Spread a little oil on it and let it heat up. Keep the heat on medium so that the crepes cook well without burning. After the batter is rested, check for the consistency – if needed add some flour/water to adjust.
5. For each crepe, take about 1/2 cup of batter and pour in on the hot skillet. Use a spoon to gently spread it into desired thickness and size. Don’t make it too thin, it might not get off the pan. And if it is too thick, you might taste an awful lot of flour. Spread very little oil at the edges and let the crepe cook. Once the bottom side is slightly brown, slowly flip the crepe onto the other side. Press well and let it cook evenly. Once the other side is also cooked, the crepe is ready to be served with your favorite side/chutney!