Besan Cheela is tasty and healthy Indian breakfast recipe. Besan ka cheela is also known as Besan ka puda or vegetarian omelet. It is naturally gluten free, vegan and low GI breakfast option. Serve it with green chutney and a chilled glass of chaach or masala chai for a quick tasty and one of the healthiest breakfast.
Gram flour or besan is Low GI flour so it digests slowly and does not cause too many fluctuations in blood sugar level which is good for diabetics. You can use it in rotis, paranthas as a replacement for flour or add it to whole wheat flour to add more proteins and fibre in your roti/chapati. Also, chickpeas flour/gram flour is high in soluble fibres and is a great gluten-free option for vegetarians.
Besan cheela is great low GI, healthy Indian breakfast for vegetarians. It is highly nutritious breakfast option. Besan Cheela nutrition can be further increased with the addition of lots of vegetables while making besan cheela. You can make it as it is without adding vegetables but adding veggies increases the taste as well. So, I always go for Besan Veg Cheela.
You can add chopped methi to make Besan Methi Cheela, grated lauki to make besan lauki cheela or add grated broccoli like I did in this recipe to make broccoli besan cheela.You can also add grated paneer to add variation and more protein.
You can make Besan Cheela with cheese or Besan Cheela with eggs. I sometimes add fried egg on the top which increases the protein and reduces the GI. The variations for Cheela are endless.
If I have leftovers, I always make this Besan Cheela Sabzi which is very tasty as well. Sometimes I make extra and store them in the fridge so that I can make sabzi next day.
Many people ask Is Besan Cheela fattening, I would say Yes or No! Well, it all depends on how do you cook besan cheela. If you use a lot of oil while cooking any recipe would be fattening if you are careful what and how much goes into your recipe it would become a healthier version. It is as simple as that. I personally like to go for a balanced approach than going overboard with two extremes of too many or too many ingredients or obsessing towards ultra-low calorie (often tasteless) food.
Tips for making Besan Cheela recipe
- While making cheeks batter take care not to make it too thin like a pancake batter not too thick like a dosa batter. It should have a pouring consistency somewhere between dosa batter and pancake batter.
- Keep the batter for 5-6 minutes and then again mix it with the back of a spoon so there are no lumps while cooking cheela.
- In this recipe I have mixed the vegetables in the batter itself, however, you can make a separate stir fry of vegetables and use as the stuffing of besan chela roles.
- Using non-stick tava or well-seasoned cast iron pan for making cheeks gives excellent results.
- If you want to spend less time in the morning, you can make cheela batter in the night and store it in the refrigerator and make the breakfast in under 20 minutes in the morning.
If you like this recipe of besan cheela you might like to try another Indian pancake recipe Sooji ka cheela. Two more breakfast pancake recipes that I love are Chocolate and Ragi Pancakes , whole-wheat Orange pancakes
How to Make Besan Cheela at Home Video

Ingredients
- 300 g besan /gram flour
- 1 cup water
- Salt to taste
- ¼ onion finely chopped
- 75 g broccoli grated
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 green chili - finely chopped
- 2-3 leaves Tbsp Coriander finely chopped
- 4 teaspoon Oil
Instructions
- 1. In a mixing bowl Mix besan, salt, red chilli powder, vegetables, coriander powder, turmeric powder and add enough water to make a cheeks batter of a medium thick pouring consistency, adding the water a little at a time.
- 2. Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 minutes and whisk again so as to break any lumps.
- 3. Brush a non stick tava/griddle/pan with oil.
- 4. Now with the help of a cup pour ¼ cup od chela batter and spread it outwards using back of the cup or a spoon.
- 5. Reduce the heat to medium hot and cook edges start to crisper up and are golden brown in color.
- 6. add little bit oil in the side if it is still sticking to tava and flip it to cook the other side.
- 7. when other side is cooked serve besan cheela hot with a green chutney and ketchup.
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