Besan Chilla – Indian Tomato Omelette

Besan Chilla also known as Tomato Omelette in Maharashtra is a super quick, easy, and healthy Indian Breakfast Dish. 

And the nickname of omelette is solely because of the slight resemblance to the egg omelette in appearance, and not because it has any egg in it. This is actually a completely vegetarian Indian breakfast, which is also naturally vegan and gluten free.

What is Besan Chilla?

Besan Chilla is a savory Indian pancake made out of gram flour, which is called as besan in Hindi. 

It is perfect for breakfast, and also works equally great as a tea time snack.

How to Make Besan Chilla

This is one dish that is super easy to make. All you really need to do is mix all the ingredients together to form a batter and start making chillas on the pan. 

In this recipe for besan chilla, I’ll also walk you through a couple of things to keep in mind to make the BEST besan chillas ever!

This Chilla Recipe is

• quick and easy to make
• spiced with really basic Indian spices
• made using readily available ingredients
• completely customizable
• ready within 20 – 30 minutes

Ingredients You Need

I am listing out the ingredients and method here for making 14 small chillas.

You can always adjust the quantity of ingredients, depending on the number of chillas you want to make.

If you want to make more or less quantity than what I have shared, simply use the slider in the recipe card below to adjust the quantities based on your preference.

• Besan / Gram Flour – 2 cups
• Salt – 1.25 teaspoon
• Red Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon
• Garam Masala Powder – 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder – 1 teaspoon
• Cumin Powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Haldi – 1/4 teaspoon
• Onion – 1/2 cup, chopped
• Tomato – 1/3 cup, chopped
• Green Chillies – 2-4, based on your preference
• Coriander Leaves – 1/3 cup, chopped
• Water – 2 cups, to make the batter
• Oil – 2-4 tablespoons, to drizzle on the sides of the chilla on the pan

Step by Step Recipe

• The first step is to make the chilla batter. For which, in a bowl, mix together besan flour, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, cumin powder & haldi / turmeric powder.
  
  
• To this mixture, add water and mix/whisk well till you get a smooth batter without any knots. I recommend using a strainer to get that perfectly smooth knot-free batter.
  
  
• Then add in the chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies & coriander leaves and mix well.

• It’s now time to start making the chillas. For which, first heat up a pan (preferably a cast iron one) and grease it with a little oil.
• Then add a ladle of batter on the pan, and spread the batter to make a round chilla.

• Drizzle some oil on the sides of the chilla, and cover & cook till the edges of the chilla start leaving the pan.

• Then flip the chilla, drizzle some oil on the sides, and cook the other side of the chilla.

• You can press down the chilla to speed up the cooking process and also ensure it is cooked well.

Once both sides of the chilla have cooked well, transfer it from the pan to the plate, and serve hot with chutney and tea.

Notes

• You can pour a big ladle of batter on the pan to make a big chilla, or pour several small ladles of batter at the same to make smaller ones.
  
  
• You can also make the chillas thin and crispy or a little fluffy and chewy, based on your preference.

Variations

• For the purposes of this recipe, I have used basic Indian spices and seasonings. You can customize it based on your preference.
• You can choose to add chopped capsicum, shredded carrots, cabbage or any vegetable you prefer. Or even add palak (spinach) leaves instead of coriander leaves in the chilla. 

Make Ahead Option

I am not a morning person. My brain only really wakes up after I have had breakfast. It’s the reason why I stick to egg & bread for breakfast on most days – as it’s almost mindless for me.

It’s also why if there is a way I can prep in advance, even for the simplest of breakfast dishes, then I usually will prefer to. Like roasting the rava and seasoning the night before for Upma. 

In this case, you can make the base besan batter with spices in the night and refrigerate it. And add the fresh veggies and herbs in the morning and start making chillas.

Though just know that you might have to add a little extra water in the morning as the batter will thicken a bit in the refrigerator.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve HOT with green chutney or tomato ketchup and tea or coffee.

More Indian Breakfast Recipes:

Non-Sticky Sabudana Khichdi
Maharashtrian Kande Pohe
Udupi Style Upma Recipe
Spicy Hot Kolhapuri Misal

As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️ 

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