Rice Chilla

When I first heard this name I was not sure what it was, how it looked, how was it made....then I realised that it was a modified version of  what we called a tomato omelet - we use to have it in restaurants ( Mom did not prepare it at home when we were kids ) -  do not know why they called it omelet ( it did not have eggs ) - was basically made from besan and served with a couple of triangles of bread.

While the tomato omelet is made of besan & onions, chillies, tomatoes...rice chilla as the name suggests has rice flour in it too...I was introduced to the above variation by my friend.

We were invited to lunch at my friend's place, they stay in the neighbouring state - it was a hour and half drive to their place ( but since it was mainly on the interstate - not really that bad a drive and quite scenic so the time really does tend to fly by)...
 
We always have a great time at my friend's place - she is part of my group of college friends and hence we have known each other a long time...there is something very comforting about meeting up with old friends...and having known her family too for as long....you feel totally at home with them...so we were looking forward to meeting them all again and since G ( my friend ) and her mom ( aunty) are great cooks, were anticipating a yum lunch.

When we arrived there, G and aunty were busy getting the lunch organised and then after most of the main dishes were all set, G started pouring out ladle full of the batter ( rice chilla ) onto the pan...and serving it to us piping hot in turns ...it was really delicious ( chilla and the entire meal ).....so had to get the recipe from her right away.

G gave me the info on the dish - but those days we were busy with winding up our stuff in US and the move back to India and settling down and other issues ....so for a while this dish was out of my mind.
Later remembered it ( sort of ) - tried to recreate it...made some changes...not sure how true to G's recipe I have managed to come to....but have gotten an amazing result...and thought let me share it....


 Rice chilla differs from tomato omelet also with the addition of grated carrot in it...and this changes the dish totally in look, taste, texture etc...I add rava and this gives it a more smoother base ( I feel ) and the rest of the spices is totally up to the cook...may be modified to increase or decrease according to individual tastes.

Ingredients :

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup besan or gram flour
1/4 cup rava
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 medium onion
1 tomato
2 green chilli
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp tumeric powder
a few sprigs of coriander leaves


Method :

1) Mix rice flour, gram flour, rava in a bowl and whisk it all together - add water and make a batter which is a little thinner than idli / dosa batter.
2) Chop onion, tomato, chilli and add to the batter. Grate carrot and add to the batter.
3) Add the seasonings (red chilli powder, turmeric, salt ) and mix well.
4) Let the batter rest for about 1/2 hour. The batter thickens a bit as the rava tends to absorb the water. So after 30 minutes check on the consistency - add water if required and do a taste test at this stage and adjust any seasoning too if required.
5) Add the chopped coriander leaves.
6) Put a tsp of oil in a non-stick tava, and put a ladle full of batter on it once it gets heated. Keep on high heat for about a minute, then reduce the heat, once it is done on that side turn it over and on low heat cook it on the second side till some brown spots form.
7) Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

Enjoy !!!

This dish has the look of a dosa / uttapam - and can be served as a snack or for breakfast - is also good as part of a meal ....I have even made mini chillas and served it to guests with ketchup and chutney - it makes a good starter or light snack which can be had as finger food...lots of different ways to have & enjoy it. So thanks a lot to G and aunty...missing them and R and the girls too...and waiting to meet up with all of them again...