Oats Besan Chilla Mix: What One Chilla Gives, Batter Decoded

Verdict: an oats besan chilla premix is a genuinely useful breakfast shortcut, and one 40 g scoop makes a chilla with roughly 150 kcal, 7 g protein and 4 g fibre before any oil. The oil on the tawa and what you add to the batter decide the rest.

Weekday mornings don’t leave room for soaking daal. A jar does. Stir in water, add onion and tomato if there’s time, pour, flip, and breakfast is on the plate in under ten minutes, which is the whole reason a chilla premix ends up being the one healthy-breakfast plan that people actually keep going past the second week. The oats bring softness and the besan brings protein and that nutty, slightly eggy taste people like in a chilla. This piece, part of our Desi Remedies series, works out what one chilla gives and what changes when you tweak the ratio. For full oats chilla, roti and upma methods, see our savoury oats recipes; here the focus is the premix.

What one chilla from the mix gives

The batch weighs about 206 g. A 40 g scoop is about a fifth of it: roughly 19.5 g oats, 19.5 g besan, a pinch of ajwain and about 0.8 g salt.

The working. Oats sit at roughly 380 kcal, 13 g protein and 10 g fibre per 100 g, so 19.5 g gives about 74 kcal, 2.5 g protein and 2 g fibre. Besan is about 385 kcal, 22 g protein and 10 g fibre per 100 g, so its 19.5 g gives about 75 kcal, 4.3 g protein and 2 g fibre. Add them. 150 kcal, just under 7 g protein, 4 g fibre. Iron comes to roughly 1.8 mg from both flours together, at about 4 to 5 mg per 100 g each. Salt: 3/4 tsp is about 4.5 g in the batch, so a fifth is 0.8 g, about 300 mg sodium. All rounded.

The oil is the swing factor

A chilla on a well-seasoned non-stick tawa needs about half a teaspoon of oil. On an iron tawa that sticks, people pour a teaspoon each side, sometimes more, and because the oil soaks straight into the batter and nothing looks greasy on the plate, the difference between a light chilla and a paratha-sized dose of oil is very easy to miss. Measure once.

• 1/2 tsp oil: about 170 kcal a chilla.
• 1 tsp: about 195 kcal.
• 2 tsp (one per side): about 240 kcal. That’s a paratha’s worth of oil.

Brush oil on with a folded paper towel or a silicone brush instead of pouring from the bottle. Easiest saving in the recipe.

What each ingredient is doing

• Oats powder: softness, soluble fibre (beta-glucan) and a mild taste. Some protein.
• Besan: protein, binding, flavour and colour. The chilla holds together because of it.
• Ajwain: aroma, and the traditional pairing with besan for easier digestion. Flavour amounts only.
• Salt: taste. Already in the mix, so don’t add more to the batter.

Making the dry premix

1. Dry-roast 100 g rolled oats on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes until they smell toasty. Cool fully and grind to a fine powder.
2. Dry-roast 100 g besan separately on low for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring non-stop, until it smells nutty but hasn’t darkened. Roasting it removes the raw taste and helps it keep.
3. Warm 1 tsp ajwain for 20 seconds and crush lightly.
4. Cool everything completely, then mix with 3/4 tsp salt and store in a dry, airtight jar.
5. For one chilla: whisk 40 g mix with 70 to 80 ml water into a pourable batter, rest 5 minutes, add chopped onion, tomato and coriander if you like.
6. Pour onto a hot, lightly oiled tawa, spread thin, cook 2 minutes a side on medium.
7. Check the jar monthly. A bitter, stale or musty smell means the oats’ fat has turned; throw it out.

What if you change the amounts?

• More besan (140 g besan, 60 g oats): about 8 g protein per chilla and firmer texture. A good optional upgrade.
• All oats: softer, breaks more, protein drops to about 5 g. Needs curd or an egg to bind.
• Add 50 g grated lauki, carrot or spinach per chilla: barely 10 to 20 kcal, more bulk and vitamins. Squeeze lauki well.
• Add an egg or 2 tbsp dahi: about 3 to 6 g more protein and a softer chilla.
• Add paneer (20 g): about 4 g more protein and 55 to 60 kcal.
• More salt: no gain. For BP, cut it to 1/2 tsp per batch and add chilli, zeera or lemon at the table.

What it can’t do

Oats and besan don’t burn fat or lower cholesterol by themselves. The chilla works for weight loss only because it’s a filling, moderate-calorie breakfast that replaces something heavier, like a paratha with butter. Our oats vs dalia comparison shows where oats really sit. For besan buying and roasting detail, see the besan guide.

Cheaper swaps for the same good

Plain besan chilla with onion costs less than the oats version and has slightly more protein, because besan carries nearly twice the protein of oats gram for gram, so if the budget is tight the oats are the part of this mix you can drop without losing much at all. A moong daal chilla made from soaked daal is cheaper still. A boiled egg with a roti gives similar protein in two minutes. No jar needed.

Oats besan chilla questions