For most of us, breakfast needs to be both healthy and wholesome, yet quick and easy to prepare. Fortunately, Indian cuisine boasts many recipes that fit these criteria perfectly - one such dish is cheela. Traditionally made with besan, onions, chilli and various spices, cheela contains ample nutrients that can help you kick-start your day. And the best part is that you can customize the recipe according to your preferences, making it even healthier. That's right! By exploring and experimenting with different cheela recipes, you'll discover various options to incorporate additional nutrients into your morning meal, all without consuming any extra time. All you need to do is to substitute and replace certain ingredients in the traditional cheela recipe, and you're ready to go. Here we have some foolproof tips and tricks to make cheela even more nutritious.
What Makes Cheela A Popular Breakfast Choice:
A quintessential cheela is made with besan, a wholesome gram flour that contains fibre, protein, antioxidants, and several other essential nutrients. All these elements combine to make the dish easy to digest and light on the stomach, which benefits individuals on weight loss diets. It is also suitable for people with diabetes, and the high folate content promotes the multiplication of red and white blood cells in the body.
Also Read: Have Leftover Dal? Turn It Into Protein-Rich Cheela For Breakfast
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Here Are 5 Tips And Tricks To Enhance Cheela's Nutritional Value:
1. Incorporate vegetables:
Chop vegetables such as carrots, beans, capsicum, cauliflower, and spring onions, among others, and add them to the cheela batter for extra colour and nutritional goodness. You can also experiment with seasonal vegetables in your recipe.
2. Introduce whole grain flour:
Enhance the nutritional content by adding whole grain flours like atta and oats to the besan. This addition increases fibre content and protein, making the cheela even more wholesome. Simply use equal amounts of besan and your chosen flour to achieve a fulfilling blend.
3. Include lentils:
Elevate the protein content by incorporating urad dal, chana dal, arhar dal, and others into your cheela recipes. Soak the dal overnight, grind it the following morning, and mix it with besan. The remaining steps of the process remain unchanged.
4. Opt for minimal oil toasting:
Brush a small amount of oil onto the tawa and cook the cheela on low heat until it becomes crispy. Cover the cheela with a lid for a brief period to ensure thorough cooking from within.
5. Try air frying:
If you have access to an air fryer, you can achieve the same result with less or no oil. Place parchment paper in the air fryer basket, add small portions of batter, and air fry to perfection.
With these helpful tips at your disposal, follow them to prepare delicious and nutritious cheela for your breakfast. Additionally, we've compiled some healthy cheela recipes for you to explore. Check them here.