Gujarati Pudla
- 1 small white onion
- 250g chick pea flour
- 50g fine semolina
- 4 heaped tbsp plain yoghurt
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1.5 tsp red chilli powder (or red chilli flakes for more heat)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp ajowan seeds
- half bunch fresh coriander – chopped
- Warm water – approx 100ml
- Vegetable oil for frying
To make them
Chop the onion finely and pop into a bowl. Mix the flour, spices and yoghurt in and mix well. Add some water to make a thick batter – as you would with crepes or pancakes.
Heat a flat, preferable non stick, frying/pancake pan with a little oil. I use about one teaspoon per pudla. Ladle in a few tablespoons or a soup ladle of the batter and then smooth over into a large round with the back of the spoon so you have an evenly distributed batter.
Leave to cook for a few minutes until the edges start crisping up and the surface starts drying out a little. Then flip over and cook the other side for a few minutes. You should have a golden brown colour and some little holes in the pancake.
Repeat til you use up all the batter. I like these with a little plain yoghurt for dipping but here are some alternative ideas:
- Layer them up with fresh chopped tomatoes, onion and a sprinkling of peanuts.
- Add a handful of finely chopped fresh spinach, chopped boiled potatoes, freshly chopped tomatoes, grated courgette to grated carrot into the batter.
- Serve with Indian lemon pickle or Mango chutney