Come March and all the mothers of school going kids, (in Maharashtra at least) are sweating over the just in sultry Summers and final examinations of kids at schools.The rising mercury and increasing anxiety about exams surely plays a great role in losing appetite and the enthusiasm to cook elaborate meals.It surely is the time for those quick fix lunches like Bhugha chanvran and curds or the Dhodho with some buttermilk.The rising prices of fresh (???) vegetables in summer is inversely proportional to the freshness and hence it is hard to stock some green veggies and utilize them before they wilt off.With the refrigerator not working for 6-8 hrs daily (due to load shedding) the vegetables surely die untimely death
So in such scenario, some dishes that surely comes handy are the ones that use lentils, gram flour, onion, potatoes etc .
One such dish is Chilra kadhi, a typical Sindhi Curry, made from savoury besan Pancakes, in a simple soupy curry, seasoned with mustard seeds and curry leaves
The batter for chilra is same as that of Sindhi Sanna pakora, but instead of deep frying the blobs of batter we simply need to make small pancakes and pan fry or cook these on a griddle, till crisp brown and then dump in the curry…sounds simple…yes for sure!
Here we go, straight away to the recipe of the day:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-3
- 1 small cup gram flour(besan)
- 1 small onion(chopped)
- Handful of coriander leaves(chopped)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp annardana( Dry pomegranate seeds)
- 1 tsp Coriander seeds(akkha dhaniya)
- 2 Green chillies(finely chopped)
- Salt to taste
- Red chilli powder as per taste
- A pinch of baking soda
- Water
- Oil for shallow frying
- Mustard seeds and curry leaves for tempering
- Mix all the ingredients except oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves,till a batter of medium consistency is obtained
- Now heat a griddle (tawa),and grease it with some oil
- Take a spoonful of the above batter,and slowly spread it ,on tawa to make small chilras (pancakes).
- You can make several chilras at a time, by spreading the mixture on griddle , by spacing them at little distance from each other (Remember to spare about a spoonful of this batter for gravy)
- Pour some more oil and let them cook on medium flame.
- Toss when one side is brown and let them cook on other side too. Alternatively you can bake the pancakes
- In the meantime add some water to remaining one spoonful of the batter and let it boil, in a pan or handi for about two minutes.
- Add salt, red chilly powder and turmeric powder and let it cook further for few minutes
- Heat some oil and add curry leaves and mustard seeds and allow them to splutter
- Add this seasoning in the boiling curry and let it cook further for some time,till the rawness of ingredients added, is gone.Adjust the seasoning if needed
- While serving, heat the curry (kadhi) and add some pancakes and simmer for about a minute.Do not let it boil for more than a minute or else you will end up with a mushy concoction.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with Rotis.
We never made this kind of kadhi at home although MIL once made the cheelas and tossed them in a tomato gravy. It was delicious as I’m sure this curry would be. And that picture really is lovely.
awesome! and such yummy dishes! Will try this weekend!
This reminds me of my mom cheela kadhi, where she adds moong dal cheelas in thick besan-curd kadhi. Yours looks lighter, not to mention easier, and shall be tried very soon. Thanks Dear:)
i truly love ur blog…finally i get to see some really good and authentic sindhi recipes…i have already bookmarked so many recipes of urs..i should try them out really soon
Alka, that looks so GOOD!
is chilra same as chilla?
I somehow missed this post. Great setup and the food looks delicious. Love the Kadhi. Thanks for all the links.
Alka, I just realized I never answered your question on the tortilla chips in my refried beans post. They are actually blue corn tortilla chips and yes, they are healthier than regular ones. They also taste better, I think, although I do love the regular tortilla chips too!
thanks Alka for stopping by my blog…Do try Crispy Bhindi and let me know how do you find it 🙂
Eventhough I’m not familiar about the dish, I was awed by your picture. Background plant is a very good idea! I’m trying to improve on my photographic skills too, thanks for the tips and links Alka! Very useful!
I love chilas but have never tried dunking them in a curry…looks interesting.
this sounds a bit like the gujju daal dhokli which i adore. will try this soon.
Hi Alka
The pics looks amazing and the green plant gives them a environment friendly look. As for the loadshedding of the electricity, its the same in Sindh as well. We too are going through some glourious bouts of power failure. 🙂
I have not heard of chilra? I have eaten chilas made of wheat flour and a bit of sugar fried on griddle traditionally and nowadays increasingly made in frying pans.
well done with the curry though, its looks yummy.
take care
Surrayya
Oh, blur or not blur I love ur bright picture, That makes me more hungry ur background patties!
It is so true Alka .. the loadshedding, the half dead greens (if you can call them) .. and we have at least 3 more months of summer left. 🙁
You did a great job with the snaps! And always love your recipes .. coz I get new things to try out. 🙂
Beautiful still life shot.
Alka, that’s fantastic!! Did you try blurring the pancakes too? That would look great too!
Really appreciate the link back too 🙂 That way more people can take a look if they want to!
Yet anotehr new recipe Alka!! I have never even heard of these. The pancakes sound similar to the Cheela I make. The rest of it is all new. I make Kadhi often.. never the combi! very interesting & healthy recipe.
Yaaa u did the picture! I read her post & yet to try it on photoshop.
never made curry using chilra, will give this a try. I think Nags ideas/tricks are very helpful the second picture sure brings more focus to the curry where as the top one we actually look at the plant. Nice Alka.
Wow..thats such a delicious spread…its making me hungry. Enjoyed reading your me-me.
wow.. amazing pictures. very very tempting alka.
Yummy spread.
Snaps are really good too. I liked the composition and color combinations.
Wow nice pics as usual….. This is new to me too.
Beautiful Picture..This is new to me. Looks mouthwatering…
Alka, every time I visit your blog, I just get really really hungry. I love the beautiful traditional recipes you showcase. Thanks so much!
I love your pictue, it looks beautiful.
Delicious! Similar to chile except that I do not add soda. I love your kadhi too and great pictures!!
great job with the click,..and ya curry is new for me,..looks so authentic,.;-)
The picture is a beauty and the kadhi delicious. I am amazed at the array of kadhi recipes, I was aware of just one before. Pancake seems easier to make than the pakoda.
New to me Alka…looking awesome..whatever you written is applicable here too..not only in Mharashtra..Lovely food thought for the time !!
Reminds me of gatte ka subzi. This sounds delicious. You have got the blurred effect nicely. Nags’ detailed tutorial is surely helping many.
Great picture………. my mouth has already started watering. Really u r very talented.I will surely try it. Thanks…………..