**The Art of Making Besan Dal Puda: A Traditional Indian Chickpea Pancake**

As I stand in front of my kitchen counter, I am excited to share with you one of my favorite recipes from back home - the besan dal puda, a traditional Indian chickpea pancake that is quick, easy, and utterly delicious. This dish takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, making it perfect for a busy day or a last-minute snack.

**The Origins of Besan Dal Puda**

The name "besan dal puda" may sound unfamiliar to some, but in the Western part of India, this dish is commonly known as a chilla. In my hometown, we simply refer to it as a puda, a crepe-like batter made from chickpea flour. Chickpea flour, also known as gram flour, is a staple ingredient in Indian cuisine and is rich in protein, making it an excellent option for vegetarians and vegans alike.

**The Recipe**

To make the besan dal puda, I start by adding chopped tomatoes to my chickpea flour mixture. You can add any vegetables you like, such as squash or corn, to make the dish more nutritious. I also add a sprinkle of red chili powder, turmeric, salt, and a hint of sugar to give it a balanced flavor. A squeeze of fresh lime juice adds brightness and acidity to the batter.

**The Batter**

Now that we have our spice mixture combined with chickpea flour, it's time to mix everything together to create a smooth batter. I add in some yogurt (optional for vegans) or water to achieve the right consistency. The batter is left to sit for 10-15 minutes to allow the moisture and vegetables to combine with the chickpea flour.

**The Mint Chutney**

While the batter is resting, I prepare a refreshing mint chutney that pairs perfectly with my besan dal puda. I add fresh mint leaves, cilantro, chilies, ginger, raw mango, and a squeeze of lime juice to create a thick and flavorful sauce. The key to making a great mint chutney is to use the right balance of ingredients - too much chili can overpower the other flavors.

**The Cooking Process**

With our batter and chutney ready, it's time to cook our besan dal puda. I heat up some oil in my pan and carefully pour a small amount of the batter onto the hot surface. The pancake sizzles and cooks quickly, usually within 2-3 minutes on each side. To add an extra layer of flavor, I top my pancake with melted Amul cheese (or your preferred cheese).

**Customizing Your Dish**

The best part about making besan dal puda is that you can customize it to your liking. If you prefer a milder chutney, simply reduce the amount of chili peppers. You can also add other vegetables like zucchini or squash to make the dish more nutritious and flavorful.

**A Quick and Easy Recipe for Busy Lives**

One of the reasons I love making besan dal puda is that it's incredibly quick and easy to prepare. In India, my friends would often barge into my house without warning, so I have to be prepared with a few recipes up my sleeve. Besan dal puda is one such dish that can be made in no time - simply mix everything together, cook for a few minutes, and enjoy!

**Using Semolina as an Alternative**

If you don't have chickpea flour or prefer not to use it, you can easily substitute semolina as an alternative. The process remains the same, but keep in mind that semolina will give your pancake a slightly different texture and flavor.

**Enjoying Your Besan Dal Puda**

Finally, it's time to enjoy our delicious besan dal puda with a side of mint chutney! This traditional Indian dish is usually eaten with one's hands, so be prepared for a flavorful and satisfying snack.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en-This dish takes less than 15,20 minutes.It's a chickpea pancakewith a mint chutney.You can add as many vegetablesas you want.It will taste phenomenal.♪♪My name is Chintan.I'm the executive chef at Adda,Rahi, and Dhamaka,and what we are going to cooktoday is a chickpea pancake.We call it besan dal puda.Puda means a crepekind of a thing.This is mainly madein western part of India.In certain states, it's knownas a chilla.The place where I come from,it's known as a puda.The word puda literally means,like, a crepe.So what we have over hereis a chickpea flour.We use it extensively.It's got a humongous amountof protein in it.Traditionally, lot of Indianswere vegetarians,so to get protein in our body,we had to use lentils.We had to use legumes.We had to use pulses.I'm just going to add in somechopped tomatoes to it.You can add in any vegetablesthat you want to.Sometimes, I make itwith squash,and sometimes,I make it with the corn.I'm going to add some spinachinto it right now.This is a spice box,which we normally have inall our kitchens over in India,so I've addedsome red chili powder.I'm adding some turmeric,add some salt in it,tinge of sugar into it.A lot of people won't add,but I like to adda tinge of sugar in all my food.It just gives a better taste.I love adding little bitof yogurt into it.If you are a vegan person,don't add in the yogurt.You can just add in the waterinto it directly.Just going to mix it upand make it like a batter.If you want to add or have morevegetables, more nutritious,you can add in as you wanted.You can also add in some otherkinds of legumesand lentils into itto make it more healthier.So our batter is ready.I'm just going to let it sitfor, like, 10,15 minutes over hereso that the moistureand the vegetablesand everythingjust gets combined with it,and it getsat the right consistency.It's not very moist.Now, we'll start offwith the mint chutney.Mint chutney is differentin every house in India.It goes according to the wayyou want it,according to your taste.I'll tend to add little bitof more chili into it.Normally, the ratio that I useis for one part of mint,I use, like, two partsof cilantro.Mint is a very common pantryingredient in theIndian household, actually.So these are some chilies.I'm going to add four to five,going to peel up some ginger.I'm just going to add three,four slices of ginger in there.One very important thing in thegreen chutney that I do is,I add in raw mango,so maybe just a wedge of it.This, obviously, is nota very common pantry item.My house, we normally have it.♪♪So I'm going to squeeze halfa lime into this,add little water to it.♪♪Yeah, so it's ready now.It's thick.I just see the consistency.It needs a little bit of salt.Going to adda little bit of water.So we are ready with this.I'm just going to pour outa little chutney over here.So now you can seethis consistency of the batter.So this is a utensilthat we have in India for oils,so if you have oil and ghee,it's normally storedin something like this.You can cook it with the butter.You can do it with the oil.I try to do it with the oil.♪♪It's getting cooked now.I'm just going to cover itfor some time.♪♪So I'm just going to flipit over now.♪♪We use Amul cheese whichis actually from India,and I love the taste of it.I use it in a lot of my dishesin the restaurant, actually.So once you flip it over, if youwant to add in the cheese,you just addin the cheese now.I'm just going to cover it up.And the funny part is,growing up in India,something that is synonymouswith cheese was Amul cheese,so we never knewthat there was somethingother kind of a cheese,other label.It was always Amul cheese.So, actually, if you don't haveAmul cheese,you can useany kind of a cheese.The other cheese that I wouldrecommend with thisis a cheddar or a pepper jack.It just givesa better taste to it.That's what I feel.I'll make one more version of itwithout the cheese,and it's very quickand easy, actually.In India, obviously,what happens is,my friends would just bargein my house,so, obviously,when somebody is home,my mom won't let them gowithout eating something,so these are the thingsthat we can make very quickly.You would have heardabout pakoras, the fritters.Pakora is one of the disheslike that.The crepe is one dish like that.I made it in front of youfrom scratch.So this is the one we'llmake it without the cheese.The other option you can use is,if you don't want to usea chickpea flour,you can also use semolina,so you do the same thing,same process.Everything still remainsthe same,but you just make itwith the semolina.♪♪♪♪So that's your chutney,and that's your crepe.So, normally, in India,you just eat it with your hand.I'm just going to take it.It's light, fluffy,just going to dig in.♪♪Yeah.So the chutney, again, you cancustomize it as you want it.If you want it less spicy,add in less of chili.You can add yogurt inside thisif you want.The other, like, normalAmerican vegetablewhich goes well with thisare the zucchini or the squash.Just dice them up and just useinside itand any kinds of greens.Like, you can addsome fresh herbs into it.It will taste phenomenal.So, guys, please try it,and let us know how it was.♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪\n"