Besan ka Cheela ..aka...Vegetarian Omelet...FFF#5

I have successfully entered 5th week of my 'Family Food Friday 'series and still few more exciting entries are already waiting for its turn in my drafts.If you have missed any of the previous posts in this series check them here.

This time I do not need to introduce the author of this recipe as you all know her now,this entry is sent by Chaitra who has sent Savory Cornmeal Muffins.Thanks a lot Chaitra for sending another entry for my event.

Besan ka Cheela is also called Puda or Vegetarian Omelet.Though I make egg omelet for my husband I do not prefer eating it and in fact the only way I eat eggs is in cakes.It is a great alternative for vegetarians for egg omelet as the texture,color and look of this is very much similar to egg omelet and of course there is a lot of difference in taste.It is very easy to prepare and it hardly takes anytime and can be prepared as a breakfast or evening snack.I also make it regularly and hence when she has sent this recipe to me I wanted to add few more photos to the recipe as she has sent just a couple of photos.More number of photos in the post makes it look more interesting right?I make it almost similar and also depends on the availability of ingredients at that time in my pantry.But this time I have exactly followed her recipe as I am featuring her recipe here.

Let us see what Chaitra says about this recipe in her own words.'During pregnancy days I was constantly looking for food with high protein content. Being a vegetarian I wanted to make sure to have a balanced diet and always tried to avoid high fat food. So I was stuck with tofu for the most part as I love tofu and believe me I have eaten Tofu in all forms. But during those days Tofu use to give me morning sickness,So, one of my friends taught me this and I am hooked on to it. It is a regular breakfast at our house now and especially for my daughter. It is very filling breakfast and my friend even serves up this in between bread like a regular omelet,it tastes good too. You can add all kinds of vegetables too to make a healthier version.I am big fan of ajwain so I add it,you can omit it if you don't like the flavor of ajwain.'

Ingredients:

1 cup Besan/chickpea flour

1 onion,finely chopped

1 tomato,finely chopped
2 tbsp cilantro chopped
1 tsp green chilli paste or 1 tsp finely chopped green chili
1/2 tsp ajwain/carom seeds
a pinch of hing
water as needed
Salt to taste

Method:

• Put the besan into a bowl,it is always to sift besan which avoid the formation of lumps while mixing with water and make into a smooth and thick batter.Use a wire whisk to do this process which eases the formation of smooth and even batter.The consistency should be slightly thinner than the regular dosa batter.
  
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Take a small omelet pan and add about a tsp of oil and pour the about half a cup of batter and turn the pan so that the batter covers the entire pan.If you do not have omelet pan you can do this on regular non stick tawa,just spread the batter lightly with the back of the ladle.Pour some oil around the edges.
  
• You can cover the pan or leave it as it is ,but I prefer it covered.
• Once it is fried you can see the golden color around the edges and flip them when they are ready and let it roast on the other side for a few seconds.It is very important to fry the besan omelet on both the sides as uncooked besan causes indigestion.

Serve them with green chutney/tamarind chutney/onion chutney/tomato sauce.

Other serving suggestions:

1. You can even make small besan omelets and stuff in between two slightly warmed bread slices and can eat as bread omelet sandwich.
2. You can make the batter bit thick and you can even dip the bread triangles and fry on tawa like how you do for french toast.It gives an eggless version of french toast.

Notes:

1. Addition of hing or ajwian is recommended to besan omelet as it helps in easy digestion.
2. It is very important to fry the besan omelet on both the sides as uncooked besan causes indigestion.
3. You can even add finely chopped bell peppers or grated vegetables of your choice to the batter to make it healthy.
4. You can avoid ajwain and add cumin seeds instead to the batter,it gives a different flavor.

Note:
Photos embedded in the recipe part are from my cousin chaitra,rest of them are added by me.

I am sending these two entries to Nayna's 'ONLY'-Coolers and Mocktails series which is originally started by Pari of Foodelicious.
1. Oats and Fruits Smoothie
2.Butterfruit/Avocado Milkshake