In my on going search for a decent vegan omelette, I came across Moong Dal Chilla. An old traditional Indian recipe for pancakes made from mung beans (also know as moong Beans), it works equally well as a healthy breakfast, delicious lunch or a light dinner.
There’s a big difference between the traditional recipe and my interpretation – I use whole mung beans. The traditional recipe uses spilt and hulled mung beans, without their skins they’re a pleasant light yellow and produce a lovely golden pancake. Whole mung beans have green skins and I’ve leaned into the green by adding grated courgettes and fresh coriander. While I know its unusual, it’s truly tasty! I’ve stuffed mine with a smear of vegan creme fraishe and braised chard. The deep, rich flavours of the chard are cut through by the tangy creme fraishe and pair perfectly with the lightly spiced, fluffy pancake.
There are two tools you’re going to need for this recipe, a strong blender and a good quality frying pan. If your pan isn’t as non-stick as it used to be, the pancake will stick and the whole recipe will just be more stressful than it needs to be. The blender will be grinding the beans down to make the very simple batter. If yours starts to struggle then you can add a touch more liquid to help it out but try not to add too much as it can make the batter too thin.
Lean into the green and try these mung bean pancakes. Let me know how you get one, I love to hear your feedback!
- Makes: Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Mung Bean Pancakes:
- 210g Whole Mung Beans, dried
- 1/2 - 1 Cup Plant Based Milk
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida*
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes
- 20g Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
- 200g Courgette,grated
For the Braised Chard:
- 250g Chard (I like rainbow chard but grab what's available to you)
- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
- ! tsp Dried Rosemary
- 2 Tsp Stock Powder (I use Marigold Vegan Bouillon powder)
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- Oil for Cooking
- 1/4 Cup vegan Creme Fraishe
Directions
Soak the mung beans in plenty of water for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. Once soaked, your beans should be transformed from hard little bullets to soft enough you can crush them with your fingers. If they’re not that soft after their soak then you likely have older beans that will need longer. Leave soaking until soft.
Drain and rinse and soft mung beans before placing into the blender with half a cup of plant milk. Process in the blender until the mung beans have been ground into a smooth paste. If your blender is struggling then add a tablespoon or so more milk until it’s able to cope but don’t add too much, you don’t want the mix to be too runny. As the batter start to become smooth, add the spices and continue grinding until smooth to the touch.
I find this stage is much easier if the batter is transferred into a bowl but if you’d rather not get another dish dirty, feel free to carry on in the blender jug. Gently stir in the coriander and grated courgette before leaving the batter to rest for 20-30 minutes. The courgettes will release liquid into the batter during this time. Depending on how wet your courgettes are, add enough extra milk to bring the consistency similar to double cream.
While the batter rests, start on the braised chard. Seperate the leaves and stalks of the chard into two piles. Cut the stalks into inch long pieces and roughly shred the leaves. Heat a wide based pan on a medium-high heat with a touch of oil. Add the chard stalks and garlic, sauteing until they start to brown around the edges. Add a good crunch of salt & pepper, along with the herbs and stock powder. Pour in just enough water to cover the stalks, bring to a simmer, cover, and turn the heat down low. Simmer until the stalks are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the lid and turn up the heat, reducing the liquid until it thickens and turns slightly syrupy. Stir in the leaves and stir constantly, the chard should be ready once the leaves are wilted.
Depending on how conformable you are with multitasking, you can start cooking the pancakes while the chard cooks, or start once its cooking and keep the chard covered while waits. Either way, place your frying pan on a medium-high heat. I can’t emphasise this enough, the pan must be HOT before you carry on or the pancakes won’t spread well. Drizzle a few drops of oil into the pan and spread well before adding a ladle of batter. I find that about half a cup of batter works well to make a good sized pancake in my pan but feel free to fit that to the size of your pan. Spread the batter with the back of your ladle or a plastic spatula, moving in a circular motion, until it forms a round, even, and thin pancake. Cook until they turn brown around the edges and the batter changes to a dark green in thicker spots. Flip and cook on the other side till browned and slightly crisp. Move to a plate and repeat with the rest of the batter.
When ready to fill the pancakes, smear a thin coating of the creme fraishe on half of one side of a pancakes. Top with a serving of chard and fold the other half of the pancake over. Repeat with the rest of the pancakes and serve immediately. I like to serve this with a light salad or quick coleslaw for a tasty light lunch.
Notes
Allergy Notes; If Gluten is an issue for you, then please be careful with your asafoetida. Its a tricky spice to handle in it’s base form so some suppliers will mix it with wheat flour. If you can’t find a safe variety then substitute in a 1/4 tsp each of onion powder and garlic powder.
This recipe should be naturally vegan, gluten free, nut free and soy free. Let me know if you have any allergy issues and I can suggest substitutes that may work better for you.
