Moong & Zucchini Pancakes

August 14, 2022mayurisjikoni

Event: Sunday Funday

Theme: Zucchini

Recipe: Moong & Zucchini Pancakes

Moong & Zucchini Pancakes, cheela or puda are soft flatbread made from soaked green moong. It is processed to a batter with yogurt and water. Zucchini, onion, garlic and spices are added to make it nutritious, healthy, gluten free and filling breakfast or snack option. You can easily enjoy these pancakes with a curry too as a part of your main mea

What Is Green Moong?

Green Moong, Mung Bean, Mag, Whole Green Gram is an olive green coloured legume. The beans are tiny but full of nutritional value. You can easily buy whole green moong, split green moong dal, the split yellow moong dal easily in the stores. Definitely you will find them at any Indian Grocery Store or online. The split yellow moong dal is where the husk has been removed.

All three types are an essential in any Indian Kitchen. I love using green whole moong whenever possible as I love the earthy and sweetish taste of it. The yellow moong dal tends to taste much different. All three types are used in different ways. For example to make moong halwa it is best to use the yellow split one.

Green Moong Are Healthy

Not only are they a rich source of protein for vegetarians but also are rich in folate, Vitamin B9, flavonoids, zinc and magnesium. Also moong beans are rich in dietary fiber. As a vegetarian lentils, legumes, pulses are a part of our meal everyday. Sometimes we get tired of using lentils in the curry or dal form. So I try and include them in different ways. One way of consuming healthy moong is in the pancake, cheela or puda form.

Some Vegetable Suggestions For Moong And Zucchini Pancakes

Add the following vegetables along with the zucchini or use instead. If you add any of the veggies along with the zucchini then reduce the amount of zucchini added to the recipe by half. Therefore it will be half cup grated zucchini and half cup of any of the below mentioned vegetables.

  • Spinach, finely chopped or pureed.
  • Fresh Fenugreek, chopped.
  • Grated carrot.
  • Grated bottle gourd.
  • Grated pumpkin.
  • Grated potato, sweet potato.
  • Spring Onion.
  • Grated Radish along with the chopped leaves.

Why Add Zucchini To The Pancakes?

I tend to add different vegetables, depending on what I have and what is in season. However, this time round it had to be zucchini as markets are flooded with them and also because of the theme for Sunday Funday Group. And it makes a good substitute for bottle gourd (lauki).

Sunday Funday

By the way, Sunday Funday is a group of Food Bloggers. Every Sunday we  share some fun, traditional, hearty or easy recipes to make Sunday Family Meals a bit more exciting. To join this fun group, visit the Sunday Funday Facebook Page. Request to join in.

 

Theme This Week

Amy who blogs at Amy’s Cooking Adventures suggested this theme. This is what she wrote “August is all about an abundance of zucchini! Let’s find creative ways to use it up!” As you’ll note from the recipe suggestions, I use zucchini a lot throughout the year. As they tend to be cheaper now, I grate them and freeze them in zip lock bags. I add them to the bag, flatten it and freeze. Whenever I need zucchini especially for my Gujarati food recipes, I simply snap a chunk and add it. It is so convenient.

Zucchini

Zucchini also known as courgette, baby marrow is a summer squash. Although mostly known as a vegetable, zucchini is actually a fruit. Though it doesn’t have any specific taste that one can describe, zucchini is pretty healthy. There are many Gujarati dishes that call for bottle gourd or lauki but since I don’t get it easily where I am at the moment, I replace it with zucchini.

 

Truthfully, zucchini is not a vegetable I’ve grown up with. I first came across it in western style recipes when I was young. In fact, I’ve always had a passion of browsing through recipe books that were sold at my dad’s shop.  The first time I tasted zucchini was at the local Italian restaurant where it was one of the vegetables added to the vegetable lasagne. With lasagne it obviously tasted good. However, on tasting it on its own, it actually has no taste. Pretty bland.

 

Some Zucchini Recipes On My Blog

ZUCCHINI HALWA - VEGAN
Zucchini Halwa is dairy free, melt in the mouth, flavorful, aromatic halwa cooked in the Indian style. If you are a fan of doodhi ka halwa or bottle gourd halwa then you'll surely love this one. 
Check out this recipe
STUFFED ZUCCHINI BOATS
Stuffed Zucchini Boats are so deliciously cheesy with 3 different kinds of cheese used along with pasta and pesto. Serve them with some soup, salad or as a side dish.
Check out this recipe

Replace Eggplant with Zucchini as I have in Papdi And Zucchini Shaak.

My niece bakes really soft and delicious Zucchini Bread Muffins.

Winter Special is comforting and creamy Spinach Zucchini Soup.

I easily substitute bottle gourd with zucchini in my handvo, thepla  and muthiya.

I like to add zucchini to my ‘Veg Bolognese Sauce’.

Check Out How Members Of Sunday Funday Have Used Zucchini

 

Ingredients Required For Green Moong & Zucchini Pancakes

  • Whole Green Moong – if you don’t have whole green moong then use the green split moong dal.
  • Urad Dal – split black gram without the skin or husk.
  • Zucchini – medium size, grated.
  • Green Chillis – either minced or finely chopped. I prefer to mince them.
  • Ginger – peeled and minced or grated.
  • Garlic – peel and chop finely or minced.
  • Onion – red, yellow or white. Any of your choice. Peeled and finely chopped.
  • Oil – for drizzling over the pancakes while cooking them.  Use any vegetable oil of your choice.
  • Cumin Seeds – jeera, jiru. I find that moong and cumin pair very well.
  • Turmeric Powder – Haldi, hardar.
  • Salt – add according to your taste.
  • Plain Yogurt – must be thick and not watery. Can replace it with one egg whipped.
  • Water – to soak the beans and also for processing them.
  • Baking Soda – to make the pancakes a bit more fluffy. Can omit it.
  • Sesame Seeds – for topping. Optional. You can add seeds of your choice like sunflower, pumpkin to add a bit of crunch.

 

 

 

 

MOONG & ZUCCHINI PANCAKES |MOONG ZUCCHINI CHEELA

mayurisjikoni
Moong & Zucchini Pancakes are gluten free, nutritious and tasty. Made from whole green moong beans and zucchini, they are a healthy and filling breakfast option.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Soaking Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 25 minutes
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 12 pancakes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup whole green moong beans
  • ¼ cup urad dal
  • ¼ cup plain yogurt
  • 1 cup grated zucchini packed
  • 1 tsp green chilli paste
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 tbsp garlic paste
  • ½ cup onion finely chopped
  • ½ -¾ cup water for grinding
  • 1 -1¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ cup oil
  • ¼ cup sesame seeds
  • enough water for soaking

Instructions
 

  • Mix moong beans and urad dal together in a mixing bowl.
  • Add warm water, about 2 inches above the level of the beans.
  • Allow the beans to soak for at least 4-8 hours. I prefer soaking it overnight.
  • Next day drain out the water. Transfer the soaked beans to a sieve or colander.
  • Wash the beans under running water.
  • Transfer the beans to the blender jug or food processor.
  • Add the yogurt and water. Process till you get a fairly smooth batter.
  • Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl.
  • Add chilli, ginger, garlic paste.
  • Add salt, cumin seeds and turmeric water.
  • Add the chopped onion, grated zucchini and mix the batter.
  • Add baking soda and mix well.
  • Heat a frying pan, skillet or tawa over medium heat.
  • Very lightly brush the pan, skillet or tawa with oil.
  • Add about ¼ -½ cup batter and spread out, depending on how thin or thick you want the pancakes or cheela.
  • Sprinkle some sesame seeds.
  • Drizzle about 1 tsp oil around the edges.
  • Cover with a lid and allow the pancake to cook for 3-4 minutes.
  • Flip the pancake, drizzle about ½ tsp oil and allow the other side to cook till light brown spots appear.
  • Immediately serve hot moong & zucchini pancakes with chutney, pickle, tomato ketchup or plain yogurt.
  • Make pancakes in the same way with the remaining batter.

Notes

  • Add other vegetables of your choice. You can replace half of the grated zucchini with it.
  • The size of the pancakes or cheela will depend on how much batter you add to the pan.
  • Adding baking soda is optional. I prefer to add as it makes the pancakes more fluffy and soft.
  • I sometimes store the batter in the freezer without adding the vegetables. Store the processed batter in an airtight container. When required, allow the batter to thaw,add the grated zucchini, onion and baking soda. You can add cumin, turmeric, ginger, chillis, garlic before freezing the batter.
  • After cooking each pancake, clean the skillet or tawa with kitchen paper towel to soak up excess oil. Too much oil will prevent the spreading of batter, especially if you are using a non stick frying pan or skillet or tawa.
Keyword moong & zucchini pancakes, moong and zucchini cheela, moong and zucchini pancakes, moong puda

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A Little Request:

If you do try this recipe then please either
add a comment below,
send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
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or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Comments

  • Renu

    August 14, 2022 at 9:16 am

    5 stars
    Very healthy and delicious green pancakes with zucchini and moong. I like the fact that this is Instant and can be cooked when we have sudden plans or at short notice. Healthy protein rich pancakes

    1. mayurisjikoni

      August 15, 2022 at 3:32 pm

      Thanks Renu, once the beans are soaked then it is an instant recipe.

  • Wendy Klik

    August 15, 2022 at 9:03 am

    I always learn something new about your culture when reading your blog Mayuri. Thanks.

    1. mayurisjikoni

      August 15, 2022 at 3:28 pm

      You are most welcome Wendy and thank you so much for visiting my blog.

  • Robin

    September 6, 2022 at 9:30 pm

    Can this recipe be made without urad dal? Where I live there is only brown lentils, chickpeas, green whole moong, and sometimes masoor dal.
    What is a Gujarati or Hindi name for “pancake”? Is it cheela or puda?
    Thanks so much, I’m excited to try these!

    1. mayurisjikoni

      September 7, 2022 at 11:31 pm

      Hi Robin you can replace the urad dal with any other lentils or omit it. Gujarati name for pancake is puda or pudla. In Hindi they are normally called cheela/chila. Enjoy the pancakes when you try out the recipe.

  • Kalyani

    December 5, 2022 at 11:43 pm

    5 stars
    we are fans of all three here – ZUcchini , puda / cheela AND green moong ! This is the season of Fresh (and reasonably priced) zucchini for me, am so making this for breakfast !

    1. mayurisjikoni

      December 6, 2022 at 6:08 am

      Thanks Kalyani, enjoy the delicious moong and zucchini pancakes when you try out the recipe.

  • Mina Joshi

    December 6, 2022 at 6:07 am

    5 stars
    These pancakes look really delicious. You have made them so healthy by using the moong and urad dall. Zucchini is a great vegetable to add as it cooks so fast. Sprinkling the pancakes with sesame seeds is a great idea too – makes them look really attractive on the plate.

    1. mayurisjikoni

      December 6, 2022 at 6:13 am

      Thank you so much Mina, not only healthy but filling too. Zucchini makes the pancakes or cheela so soft.

  • Priya Vj

    December 9, 2022 at 8:12 am

    5 stars
    Healthy and delicious pancakes using moong and zucchini . I liked the idea of the sesame garnish on top of it … zuchini blends well with any recipe as it has a very neutral taste and flavor .

    1. mayurisjikoni

      December 15, 2022 at 5:06 am

      You are so right Priya, zucchini has no taste as such so goes well with so many dishes. Love how sesame seeds look on food.

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