Oats Chilla
This oats chilla with veggies and spices is hands down the best way to enjoy chilla (savory pancakes) for breakfast. Add a side of chutney for dipping and you’ve got a healthy breakfast in 20 minutes!
❤️ You’ll Love This Oats Chilla Recipe
Taste & Texture: savory, nutty, mildly spiced oats chilla have fluffy, slightly crispy texture similar to besan chilla.
Quick to make: it requires 20 minutes (from start to finish that includes making batter and cooking).
Healthy & filling: These oats chillas are full of nutrients (from veggies, oats) and filling to your tummy. Oats provide enough strength and energy to carry yourself through busy mornings when eaten in breakfast.
Kids & toddler friendly: These make the perfect finger food as I cut the chilla into 2-inches long strips and my 1-year-old loves it. Pack into their lunch box and it stays soft (not chewy).
🧾 Ingredient Notes
- Oats: I prefer to grind my own rolled oats into a coarse powder instead of using readymade oats flour. Why? Coarsely ground oats give the best texture of the cheela. Vs oats flour makes the batter sticky and results in the dense texture of oats chilla.
- Besan (gram flour): If chilla is made with oats only then the batter will be slimy, sticky and chilla will be dense. So the addition of besan helps to avoid these issues.
- Ajwain: It helps in easy digestion.
- Veggies: I have used a mixture of onion, tomato, carrot and bell pepper. You can use your choice of veggies. Few options are mentioned in the notes below. Be sure to chop them finely or grate them.
👩🍳 How To Make Oats Chilla? (Stepwise)
1) Take coarsely ground oats and besan in a bowl and mix.
2) Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and ajwain. Stir well.
3) Add ginger paste, chopped green chili, cilantro and veggies (onion, tomato, carrot, bell pepper). Mix everything.
4) Start adding little water and keep mixing to make a smooth, lump-free batter. The consistency of the oats chilla batter should be like dosa batter (aka spreading consistency).
5) Heat the pan or skillet on medium heat. Drizzle or spread little oil in the pan. Pour two ladleful of the batter in the center and spread it evenly to make a medium thick round shaped chilla.
6) Cook on the medium-low flame until the base has a few golden brown spots, is slightly crispy and the top begins to look cooked. Now drizzle some oil on top.
7) Flip it and cook the other side until golden brown. Do press with spatula lightly a few times to cook faster and make it slightly crispy.
8) Once it is cooked from both sides remove oy from the pan and serve. Repeat the same to make remaining oats chilla.
💭 Expert Tips For Making Oats Chilla
- Use coarsely ground oats to get the best texture of oats chilla. Finely ground oats make the batter sticky and chilla comes out dense.
- Chop the veggies finely or grate them so they get cooked faster along with chilla.
- Veggie options:
- Do not skip onion, tomato, ginger and cilantro. These add a base flavor and play around with the rest veggies.
- You can add grated beet, bottle gourd, zucchini, carrot, cauliflower. You can add finely chopped cabbage, colored peppers, spring onion, etc.
- Green chilies are optional. I would skip it if making for little kids or toddlers.
- To make the batter, you can use plain chaas (Indian buttermilk) instead of water.
- To make it super fluffy, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to the batter.
- I prefer to use a cast iron pan to make oats chilla. The step-by-step photos are shot in 2016 and at that time I was using non-stick but not anymore.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- Serve oats chilla with your choice of chutney (like cilantro chutney, tamarind date chutney, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, etc).
- It is not ideal, but I eat this chilla with a hot cup of coffee (or tea).
- For my kids’ lunchbox, I spread a teaspoon of ghee on the chilla, cut it into strips and pack it into the lunchbox.
Check Out Other Oats Recipes
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Oats Chilla Recipe
US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Oats, Coarsley ground
- ¼ cup Besan (Gram flour)
- Salt, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Ajwain (Carom seeds)
- 1 small Green chili, chopped finely
- ½ teaspoon Ginger, freshly grated or paste
- 1 tablespoon Cilantro or coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons Red onion, finely chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons Carrots, grated
- 2-3 tablespoons Tomato, chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons Capsicum (Green bell pepper), finely chopped
- ½ cup Water
- Oil, – as needed for frying the cheela
Instructions
- Take coarsely ground oats and besan in a bowl and mix.
- Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and ajwain. Stir well.
- Add ginger paste, chopped green chili, cilantro and veggies (onion, tomato, carrot, bell pepper). Mix everything.
- Start adding little water and keep mixing to make a smooth, lump-free batter. The consistency of the batter should be like dosa batter (aka spreading consistency).
- Heat the pan or skillet on medium heat. Drizzle or spread little oil in the pan. Pour two ladleful of the batter in the center and spread it evenly to make a medium thick round shaped chilla.
- Cook on the medium-low flame until the base has a few golden brown spots, is slightly crispy and the top begins to look cooked. Now drizzle some oil on top.
- Flip it and cook the other side until golden brown. Do press with spatula lightly a few times to cook faster and make it slightly crispy.
- Once it is cooked from both sides remove oy from the pan and serve. Repeat the same for the rest of the batter.
Notes
- Use coarsely ground oats to get the best texture of oats chilla. Finely ground oats make the batter sticky and chilla comes out dense.
- Chop the veggies finely or grate them so they get cooked faster along with chilla.
- To make the batter, you can use plain chaas (Indian buttermilk) instead of water.
- To make it super fluffy, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to the batter.
- I prefer to use a cast iron pan to make oast chilla.
- Do not skip onion, tomato, ginger and cilantro. These add a base flavor and play around with the rest veggies.
- You can add grated beet, bottle gourd, zucchini, carrot, cauliflower. You can add finely chopped cabbage, colored peppers, spring onion, etc.
- Green chilies are optional. I would skip it if making for little kids or toddlers.
Tried this. Family loved it. Thank you.
Yay!! glad to know
Lovely Healthy Recipe
I will surely try it
Thanks
Sure. do give it a try.
Happy cooking!!!