Cauliflower Chilla/Pancake

Our weekend routine usually consists of a late brunch and on most days we either have some form of eggs or chilla. This weekend, I tried out a really cool variation of the besan chilla. In fact its not as much a chilla,  it's more like a Swiss Rosti. You use very little besan (chickpea flour) just enough to bind the veggies together - it makes the chilla very very crispy and yummy.
Here is how to go about it:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 cup Cauliflower florets - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup broccoli - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup green peas (fresh/frozen)
• 1/2 cup onions- chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro - chopped
• green chillies - minced (as per taste)
• 1tbsp ginger - minced
• 1/4 tsp ajwain seeds (carom seeds)
• few pinches of turmeric
• 1/2 cup or less besan (chickpea flour)
• Ghee or oil to fry (I used coconut oil)

NOTES:

• You could try using cornmeal (makki atta) instead of besan as a binding agent

PROCESS:

1. Finely chop the cauliflower and broccoli - I do it by hand. You could try using a food processor, I usually find that it becomes a bit too mushy in the processor. Cutting by hand keeps them crunchy.
2. Mix all vegetables together along with the spices except Besan. 
3. Add besan in portions - just enough to bind it all together. The water from the vegetables will moisten the besan - so you will need to add very minimal water - a few tablespoons probably.
4. The final dough will be a bit sticky and the trick to put in on the pan is to wet your hands before picking it up - make a small ball of the dough- flatten it in your hands and then put it on the hot pan greased with oil. Now, you will need to use your hands to spread it around. If need be wet your hands again and then flatten it some more. Be careful not to burn yourself - its best to make a smaller sized chilla so you dont have to do a lot of patting on the pan.
5. Keep the flame medium and let the chilla cook fully on one side and then flip it over to cook the other side.
6. Serve with: Ketchup or any green chutney. We ate it with my super simple tomato garlic chutney. (Recipe below)

Tomato Garlic Chutney

• 3-4 tomatoes 
• 2-3 garlic gloves depending on the size
• 1tbsp mustard oil
• 1tbsp mustard seeds (rai)

Process:

• Take the skin off the tomatoes - the most common way is to blanch them and then peel the skin off. I however, have bought a soft fruit peeler (I have this set which also includes a julienne peeler that is great for making veggie noodles) and just directly peel the skin off- save me one extra step and I like the taste of raw tomatoes better
• Put the garlic cloves in a food processor then add the tomatoes- blend them into a puree
• In a small pan, heat the mustard oil and add the mustard seeds - once they start to pop - take them off the stove and add to the tomato mixture.
• Sprinkle salt and chilli powder and done!!

Recipe Source: Healthfood Desivideshi