Chhattisgarh is an East Indian state carved out of Madhya Pradesh. This state borders Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Cuisine of the state is influenced by its neighboring states. Chhattisgarh has a fertile land and many crops are grown abundantly. It is called rice bowl of central India. Chhattisgarhi people like both spicy food and also sweets.
The food of the state can be categorized into tribal and non-tribal food. Rice, wheat, jowar, lentils and variety of fresh vegetables are part of everyday food. Rice and rice flour are used extensively in both tribal & non-tribal cuisines. Some of the food from this state are chila, khichidi, khadi, rice varieties, rakhi badi, snacks such as rice pakoras & fara, and sweets such as kusli, balooshahi or badhusahi, petha, moong dal halwa and bafauri.
Petha and rakhia badi are popular tribal food of Chhattisgarh. Petha is a sweet dish and rakhia badi is curry which is prepared with a fruit called rakhia. Rakhia badi is prepared with the paste of soaked and ground black gram seasoned with green chilies, ginger, coriander and cut rakhia. Small balls are made with this mixture and stored for later use or used right way in the curry. These small balls are called badi From what I read about rakhia badi, the balls should be sun dried before it can be used in the cooking, although it is not explicitly mentioned in any of the sources I read.
Another delicacy among the tribes which was made popular by Gordon Ramsay is Red Ant Chutney. He traveled all the way into the forests of Bastar to taste this chutney. It is prepared by grinding red chilies, ginger, salt, red ants and red ant eggs. From what I heard, the eggs are sour and it gives the chutney the tangy taste. hmmm, and it is apparently a must try food from the state of Chhattisgarh! No comments on that.
Bafauri, from what I read online is a sweet prepared with chana dal. I wanted to try this recipe but unfortunately could not find any recipes online. I even asked a friend from Bhopal if she knew how it is prepared. Since Chhattisgarh was once part of Madhya Pradesh, I thought she might have an idea. She said she never heard about it and it is possible it is known by some other name in Madhya Pradesh.
What is Chila?
Coming to today’s recipe, I chose a very easy & simple recipe, chila. To put it in simple words, chila is a rice flour dosa or a crepe or a very thin pancake. When I read the recipe, I realized it is nothing other than the biyyam (rice) attlu we make in Telangana. The only difference is we season the attu batter with some green chilies and/or chili powder, crushed cumin garlic and onions. The only seasoning in the chila recipe I followed is salt. Nevertheless, it tasted very good. Chila is served with chutney and I served mine with peanut powder.
Chhattisgarh Chila Recipe
Source: Madhu Kiran Soni (link not working)http://chhattisgarh-recipes.jsbcom.com/2010/10/chila.html
Chila ~ Rice Flour Crepes
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk or a mixing spoon
- Frying pan or crepe pan
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cups Rice Flour
- 1 ½ cups Water
- Pinch of Salt
- Oil for cooking the chila
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients except oil and make a thin batter.
- Heat a tawa or a non-stick pan. Apply some oil to the pan using a piece of paper towel.
- Take batter in a big ladle and pour it on the pan in a shape of a circle or a dosa. The pan has to be hot to get the pores on the chila. Unlike dosa, these is no spreading for chilas.
- Pour a few drops of oil around the chila; cover the pan with a lid and cook for 1 -2 minutes on medium flame.
- Flip over the chila and cook for another ½ minute and serve.
- To make the next chila, again smear some oil on the pan, spread it evenly with a piece of paper towel and then pour the batter on the pan. Follow steps 4 & 5.
- Serve the chilas hot with some chutney or podi.
Notes
- A variation to this chila is adding some chopped green chilies, chopped onions, crushed cumin garlic and coriander powder to the chila batter. Chili powder can also be added. This is how my mom makes biyyapatlu.
- Another twist to above mentioned variation is adding a tempering. If I remember correct, this is how my mother-in-law made. In little oil, add red chilies, mustard and cumin seeds. Then pour this into the chila batter.
Nutrition
Akanksha Sahu says
I m from cg and red ants chutney is nt eaten here though it is being eaten by some of the tribal people of c.g. in interior parts. The red ants are a very effective medicine in curing asthama..it has been proved. Baffori wat u mentioned is a type of kadhi made by cg people...being specific it is a kadhi made up of besan's chilla...
MySpicyKitchen says
Akanksha, thanks for your comment. Yes, that is what I read about ant chutney, that it is eaten by the tribes. Nice to know about baffori. Reading online info I got an impression it is a sweet. Thanks for clarifying.
Akanksha Sahu says
Tastes increases when eaten with tomato chutney...
Manjula Bharath says
wow thats an fabulous chila , you have made them just perfect 🙂 and wow fantastic presentation and clicks dear !!
Suma Gandlur says
I was assuming that it was besan dosas and as you mentioned, we happen to add a little bit of chili powder to these dosas. However with a spicy chutney, they must have been good.
Ammaji Kitchen{Sree} (@sreevallie) says
Tempting chila.. I loved them so much..
lahari says
Tried this today and my family liked it
MySpicyKitchen says
Thanks for trying the recipe and am glad your family liked it.
Priya Srinivasan says
Looks beautiful first!! with all those holes/kannu.such an easy recipe, i would love mine with some spicy chutney
Chef Mireille says
I made this same chila for Jharkand. Took me a while but after four, I finally mastered the chila
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
The red any chutney is something that I will never forget about the state 🙂 The chilas are so simple yet so flavorful 🙂
Srivalli says
It's wonderful to read how you ended up making this Usha..I made these for another state..:)..and your plate looks stunning..love how beautiful the lighting is on the plate!..
Sowmya says
oh the beautiful platter!!! love those!! and this chila is looking so perfect!!
themadscientistskitchen says
Mmmm! delicious the serving is what my girls say restaurant style! 🙂 Love the chila. Bookmarking it!
Gayathri Kumar says
Perfect for breakfast. Looks so inviting...
Jayanthi says
beuatiful pictures. love your crockery
Rajani says
Very beautifully presented, Usha. The pictures are stunning and the styling is great.
harini says
Looks very lacy and interesting too, Usha.
Pavani says
Same pinch Usha. Your chilas look perfect. Mine ripped and don't look as holey and nice saag yours. Will have to try again and see how they come out. Actually we don't make rice dosas at home, not sure if it is a regional thing, I've to ask my mom.
Nalini says
Perfectly made chilas Usha,the clicks so beautiful and love the way you presented..
Kalyani says
almost like Neer Dosa.. so lacy it has come out Usha... and the platter with the peanut powder is sooo inviting :-))
Priya says
Trust me, when i heard about the red ant chutney, i was like 'wat', Chila looks almost like Mangalore spl Neer dosa. Wonderful setup.
sapana says
Chilla looks so soft and delicious ...as usual wonderful clicks !
Vaishali Sabnani says
the cheelas look so pretty..i dare not touch them..the whole set up looks serene..beautiful clicks!
Pradnya says
like the ghavana from maharashtra, this looks beautiful
PJ says
Nice crepe recipe Usha.Beautiful pics as usual 🙂