Pudla! Get in My Belly!

Pudla? What the heck, huh? Pudla are traditionally xgfx Indian pancakes made out of bean flours. Sometimes they're called cheela, but thinner more crepe like pancakes are often referred to as cheela, too. Pudla are always decked out with chunky veggies, along with delicious savory spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin and ginger.

EDA:  Welcome Bonzai Aphrodite Readers!  If you click on this POTM  (Pudla of the Moment) link, it will bring you to all of the pudla variations I've posted.

Pictured here are Besan Pudla, or chickpea flour pancakes. They save the day when I want protein but don't want to eat soy or a bowl of beans. Also, when I'm craving something bready, these hit my xgfx spot. They're also super for folks on a budget--besan or gram flour is super affordable, especially if you buy it from an International Grocery, and easy to store in the pantry or freezer. I used only 1 cup of besan flour and made four medium pancakes, enough for a filling lunch for two days in a row. You could even make these stretch by adding more water and going the thinner more cheela route. If you want to try these, but don't live near an Indian market, Bob's Red Mill sells a garbanzo bean flour, although there's a tiny negligible difference between the type of chickpea the two are ground from.

Chickpea flour mixed with water, spices and peas, onion, tomatoes and cilantro! That's it! Mine are a little fancier, because I also added a tiny bit of leavener and some lemon juice.

I usually eat pudla for lunch or dinner, but in India they're super popular for breakfast. They're also perfect for dippin'--I often eat mine with coconut yogurt that's been slightly salted and hit with a dash of cayenne, pickle or some kind of chutney. Yesterday's were dunk in yogurt and homemade fig preserves and today's were slathered in a homemade cilantro/yogurt chutney.

These look pretty eggy, I know--but I despise eggs. They don't taste that way at all, if you are averse, just leave out the turmeric.

Steamy!

In the coming weeks, I'm going to be making other varieties of pudla, including some from soaked whole mung beans.

xo
kittee

This post is part of VeganMoFo 2010 - the Vegan Month of Food. Get more MoFo info by checking out VeganMoFo Headquarters Itn'l, where you can subscribe to a bunch of vegan blogs and ohh and ahh to your heart's content.