Savoury Pancakes or Gujarati Pudlas made with vegetables and chickpea flour

Savoury Pancakes or Gujarati Pudlas made with vegetables and chickpea flour  look like a pancake, uttapam or a spanish omelette.  Pudlas made with vegetables and chickpea flour dish are  very popular in most Gujarati homes. It’s one of those quick dishes you can make and enjoy when you are in a hurry. Simple Pudlas can be cooked with minimum ingredients but I like to add some vegetables to mine to make the meal a bit more filling and it’s one way of getting the children to eat their vegetables.

Ingredients for about 10 Savoury Pancakes or Gujarati Pudlas

• 3 cups of chick pea flour
• half cup of frozen mixed vegetables(I used peas, sweetcorn, carrots and peppers)
• 1 potato
• 1 onion
• A small handful of finely cut mixture fresh coriander and fenugreek (optional – I like the taste and it gives the pudlas a nice colour)
• half teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground green chillies (optional you can use red chilly powder or pepper)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• A teaspoon of ground ginger
• 2-3 cloves of grated/ground garlic
• 2 cups oil (for frying the pudlas)
• 2 cups of warm water

Method:

 1. Soak the frozen vegetables in hot water.

2. Grate the onions and potatoes (and any other vegetable you may wish to add).  Don’t grate them too finely or else you won’t be able to taste them so well.

3. Drain the frozen vegetables and add them to the onions and potatoes in a mixing bowl.

4. Add the coriander/fenugreek to the vegetables.

5. Add the salt, turmeric, ground chilies, ginger and garlic to the vegetables.

6. Add the three cups of chickpea flour to the mixture and mix well.

7. Slowly add some of the water and stir in a one direction until the batter becomes soft and smooth. (You may not need all the water)

8. Leave the mixture for 20 minutes to allow it to soak up the spices.

10. Warm a non stick frying pan over a medium heat and add some oil to it. Using a kitchen paper, rub the oil in the frying pan and wipe up any extra oil.  When using a non stick pan, you don’t need much oil.

11. When hot, pour in a ladle of the mixture and using a tablespoon -spread the mixture into a circle (similar to making a pancake). Cook gently – until you see little air holes appearing on the pudla.

12. Spread some oil on the uncooked side and flip the Savoury Pancakes or Gujarati Pudlas made with vegetables and chickpea flour to cook on the second side.

14.  Pudlas  should be eaten hot.  They will taste great on their own but I would suggest serving them  with a selection of chutneys or sauces and a dry potato curry.

15.   Spread some green  chutney on the  Pudlas before topping with the potato curry.

16.  Top this with other sauces.  I used Maggie’s red chilly sauce and tamarind sauce.