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    Home » Recipes » Gluten Free Recipes

    Published: Apr 5, 2014 · Modified: Feb 23, 2021 by Usha Rao

    Chhattisgarh Chila Recipe

    Jump to Recipe

    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.

    Chila, also know as biyyam attu or rice dosa in a plate served with peanut powder.

    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.

    Chila in a plate.

    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

    📖 Recipe

    Chila, biyyam attu, rice dosa, blogging marathon, Chhattisgarh Cuisine,

    Chila ~ Rice Flour Crepes

    Chhattisgarh chila is a gluten free, vegan, rice flour crepes.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: Indian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 352kcal
    Author: Usha Rao

    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

    Calories: 352kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Share a photo! Mention @usha_myspicykitchen or tag #Usha_MySpicyKitchen!

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    Reader Interactions

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      5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    1. Akanksha Sahu says

      January 11, 2015 at 9:37 am

      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...

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        June 08, 2015 at 10:23 am

        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.

        Reply
    2. Akanksha Sahu says

      January 11, 2015 at 9:31 am

      Tastes increases when eaten with tomato chutney...

      Reply
    3. Manjula Bharath says

      May 28, 2014 at 12:53 am

      wow thats an fabulous chila , you have made them just perfect 🙂 and wow fantastic presentation and clicks dear !!

      Reply
    4. Suma Gandlur says

      May 07, 2014 at 10:37 pm

      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.

      Reply
    5. Ammaji Kitchen{Sree} (@sreevallie) says

      May 01, 2014 at 11:16 am

      Tempting chila.. I loved them so much..

      Reply
    6. lahari says

      April 13, 2014 at 11:27 am

      5 stars
      Tried this today and my family liked it

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        May 03, 2014 at 10:55 am

        Thanks for trying the recipe and am glad your family liked it.

        Reply
    7. Priya Srinivasan says

      April 13, 2014 at 7:25 am

      Looks beautiful first!! with all those holes/kannu.such an easy recipe, i would love mine with some spicy chutney

      Reply
    8. Chef Mireille says

      April 12, 2014 at 1:21 am

      I made this same chila for Jharkand. Took me a while but after four, I finally mastered the chila

      Reply
    9. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      April 08, 2014 at 8:43 pm

      The red any chutney is something that I will never forget about the state 🙂 The chilas are so simple yet so flavorful 🙂

      Reply
    10. Srivalli says

      April 08, 2014 at 10:42 am

      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!..

      Reply
    11. Sowmya says

      April 07, 2014 at 2:41 pm

      oh the beautiful platter!!! love those!! and this chila is looking so perfect!!

      Reply
    12. themadscientistskitchen says

      April 07, 2014 at 10:38 am

      Mmmm! delicious the serving is what my girls say restaurant style! 🙂 Love the chila. Bookmarking it!

      Reply
    13. Gayathri Kumar says

      April 07, 2014 at 5:55 am

      Perfect for breakfast. Looks so inviting...

      Reply
    14. Jayanthi says

      April 07, 2014 at 3:01 am

      beuatiful pictures. love your crockery

      Reply
    15. Rajani says

      April 06, 2014 at 1:11 pm

      Very beautifully presented, Usha. The pictures are stunning and the styling is great.

      Reply
    16. harini says

      April 05, 2014 at 7:13 pm

      Looks very lacy and interesting too, Usha.

      Reply
    17. Pavani says

      April 05, 2014 at 4:43 pm

      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.

      Reply
    18. Nalini says

      April 05, 2014 at 3:32 pm

      Perfectly made chilas Usha,the clicks so beautiful and love the way you presented..

      Reply
    19. Kalyani says

      April 05, 2014 at 1:45 pm

      almost like Neer Dosa.. so lacy it has come out Usha... and the platter with the peanut powder is sooo inviting :-))

      Reply
    20. Priya says

      April 05, 2014 at 10:53 am

      Trust me, when i heard about the red ant chutney, i was like 'wat', Chila looks almost like Mangalore spl Neer dosa. Wonderful setup.

      Reply
    21. sapana says

      April 05, 2014 at 8:03 am

      Chilla looks so soft and delicious ...as usual wonderful clicks !

      Reply
    22. Vaishali Sabnani says

      April 05, 2014 at 5:53 am

      the cheelas look so pretty..i dare not touch them..the whole set up looks serene..beautiful clicks!

      Reply
    23. Pradnya says

      April 05, 2014 at 5:02 am

      like the ghavana from maharashtra, this looks beautiful

      Reply
    24. PJ says

      April 05, 2014 at 2:11 am

      Nice crepe recipe Usha.Beautiful pics as usual 🙂

      Reply

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