Moong Dal Cheela with Fried Egg
Crispy lentil crepes made from soaked and ground moong dal, topped with a perfectly fried egg and served with chutney. A naturally gluten-free, protein-rich South Indian breakfast.
Moong dal cheela is one of those recipes that proves you don't need expensive ingredients or complicated techniques to eat well. It's literally soaked lentils ground into a batter and cooked like a crepe. That's it. The lentils provide a naturally high-protein, gluten-free base, and the flavor is clean and nutty. I first had these at a street stall in Delhi and was immediately hooked.
What I love about this recipe is how customizable it is. The base batter is dead simple, just moong dal, water, and basic spices. But you can add whatever you want to it. My go-to move is topping each cheela with a fried egg. The runny yolk acts like a sauce, soaking into the crispy lentil crepe, and each egg adds 6g of protein. With four eggs across two servings, plus a full cup of moong dal in the batter, the protein adds up fast.
I prep the batter the night before. In the morning, I just pour and cook. Each cheela takes about 3-4 minutes on the pan. Two cheelas per person, each topped with a fried egg, served with coconut chutney or mint chutney. Breakfast is done in 15 minutes and I've hit 30g of protein before I've even left the house.
The Protein Upgrade
A standard moong dal cheela without eggs delivers about 14-16g protein per serving from the lentil batter alone. We top each cheela with a fried egg (two cheelas per serving, so 2 eggs per person), which adds 12g of protein per serving. We also use a full cup of moong dal for a thicker, more protein-dense batter. From 14g to 30g protein.
Moong Dal Cheela with Fried Egg
Ingredients
- 1 cup moong dal (split yellow, soaked 4-6 hours or overnight) 18g protein
- 4 large eggs (2 per serving, for topping) 12g protein
- 1 inch ginger (roughly chopped)
- 2 green chilies (roughly chopped)
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup water (approximately, for blending)
- 1 small onion (very finely diced)
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
- 2 tbsp oil (for cooking)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Drain the soaked moong dal. Add it to a blender with ginger, green chilies, cumin seeds, turmeric, salt, and just enough water to blend into a smooth, thick batter. It should be the consistency of pancake batter, not too watery.
- Stir the finely diced onion and chopped cilantro into the batter by hand.
- Heat a non-stick pan or tawa over medium-high heat. Add a small drizzle of oil and spread it with a paper towel.
- Pour a ladleful of batter onto the hot pan and quickly spread it into a thin circle, about 6-7 inches across, using the back of the ladle in a circular motion.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom is golden brown and the edges begin to lift from the pan. The top should look mostly set.
- Flip the cheela and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove and keep warm. Repeat to make 4 cheelas total.
- In the same pan, add a little more oil. Fry the eggs one at a time, sunny-side up, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place two cheelas on each plate. Top each cheela with a fried egg.
- Serve immediately with coconut chutney or cilantro-mint chutney on the side.
Boost Your Protein
- Add 2oz of crumbled paneer on top of each cheela before adding the egg for an extra 7g protein per serving.
- Mix a tablespoon of besan (chickpea flour) into the batter for an extra 2-3g protein per serving.
- Serve with a side of Greek yogurt raita for an extra 8g protein.
Ingredient Substitutions
- No moong dal? Use chana dal (split chickpeas) for a slightly nuttier flavor, but soak time may be longer.
- No eggs? Top with crumbled paneer or sliced avocado for a different protein source.
- No green chilies? Use a pinch of red pepper flakes or black pepper for heat.
- Swap fresh cilantro for fresh mint or curry leaves for a different flavor profile.
