Rainy Day Comfort Food - Gluten-Free, Vegan Omelet

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, there's nothing like comfort food - being gluten free and vegan due to allergies, the "Chickpea Omelet" or "Bésarn Omelette" hits the spot, especially being full of good vegan protein. Did you know that chickpeas are a great source of protein? It’s always exciting when you are in the mood for something and you actually have all the ingredients!  Fresh curry leaves, fresh packet of chickpea (garbanzo) flour, fragrant coriander (cilantro) leaves, green chilies, olives...

I have quickly written down this recipe with the ingredients I used as I have been asked for it by my fellow gluten-free friends. The curry leaves are not necessary, it’s the first time I used them along with the roasted cumin seeds and the flavor was amazing! Don’t wait to get the curry leaves to make this. You basically need the onions and tomatoes and the baking soda and can take it from there. 

1 cup – Chickpea Flour (Indian grocery store or Bob's Red Mill)

½ cup – Water (warm/room temp.)

½ Medium-size Onion – chopped

½ Tomato – chopped

Coriander Leaves – Handful – chopped

½ Green Chili – chopped (if you like it hot – add the whole chili pepper)

2 Garlic Cloves – chopped

½ inch Ginger – chopped

Pinch Baking Soda

Salt to taste

Coconut Oil or Avocado Oil (for med-high heat)

Optional:

Curry Leaves –  (2 to 3 leaves – chopped finely)

1 tsp – Roasted Cumin seeds (you can skip or use 1 tsp cumin powder)

½ tsp – Turmeric powder

Olives – pitted and sliced

Put 1 cup of the chickpea flour in a bowl, 1 pinch of baking soda and then add the water, whisk until the lumps disappear. Start off with ¼ cup of water and gradually increase to make the consistency more like a pancake mixture – it shouldn’t be too watery. If you add too much water, simply add a little more of the flour.

Next add salt (to taste) and turmeric powder and whisk. Then add the remaining ingredients: ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, coriander leaves, onions, tomatoes, chili pepper, curry leaves and olives. I added 1 tsp of coconut oil to this mixture, too.

Heat up 2 tsp of coconut oil in a non-stick pan. If you like the ‘omelet’ to be crispy, you can add more oil. When the oil is hot, use a ladle to pour the mixture. Tilt the pan in different directions so that mixture spreads evenly. Cook until you see bubbles (just as when making pancakes), then you can flip it over. You might need to add a little bit of oil or brush pan with oil before you cook the other side so that it is done well and gets crispy.

This is an Indian vegetarian omelet. You don’t need to add the curry leaves, cumin seeds or green chili pepper.  Btw, I forgot the baking soda, today, but they still came out delicious! Sometimes I add olives to give it a nice twist in the flavor. You can try olives and rosemary along with onions. Add what ingredients you like or have at home - let your creative juices flow.

Happy cooking!

Bon appétit!

Jyoti