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This Tomato omelette is a vegetarian and vegan recipe of a delicious omelette that is made without eggs. A light, crispy and protein-rich Indian veg omelette made with gram flour (besan) or chickpea flour, tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices. Make this hearty and wholesome plant-based omelette recipe that comes together under 30 minutes for your next breakfast or brunch.
Before you tell me that there is no omelette without eggs, let me tell you that this unique variant of an egg-free omelette is called Tomato Omelette in Western India. It is served in most of the vegetarian Udupi hotels and is popular with many people.
It is also called Tomato Cheela in Hindi or you can say Tomato Pancakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup gram flour (besan) or swap with 1 cup of chickpea flour
- 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes or 2 medium-sized tomatoes
- ⅓ cup finely chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger or 1 inch ginger
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies or 1 green chilli or ½ teaspoon chopped serrano peppers
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder – optional
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)- optional, skip to make gluten-free
- 1 pinch garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder – optional
- ⅛ teaspoon black salt – optional
- salt as required
- 1 cup water or add as required
- 2 to 3 tablespoons oil or as required
Instructions
Making Omelette Mixture
- Finely chop tomatoes, onions, green chili, and ginger. Also, chop the coriander leaves.
- In a mixing bowl take gram flour, finely chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger and green chilies. Add the chopped coriander leaves.
- Then add the ground spices – asafoetida (hing), turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, black salt and salt as required. Add baking powder
- Add water and with a wired whisk begin to mix everything. The batter has to be of medium consistency and without any lumps.
- Mix and stir well to make a medium consistency flowing batter. Depending on the quality and texture of gram flour, you can add more or less water as needed.
Making Tomato Omelette
- Heat a skillet, frying pan or a tawa. Spread 2 to 3 teaspoons oil on the skillet. Keep the heat to a low or medium-low.
- With a large spoon pour the batter on the pan.
- Spread it lightly with the back of the spoon. But do not spread too much.
- You can even rotate and tilt the pan.
- Drizzle ½ to 1 teaspoon oil on the edges and on top of the omelette.
- When the base is golden and crisp, flip and cooks the second side.
- Cook the second side until you see some golden or lightly caramelized spots on the veggies.
- Flip again if needed and cook until both the sides are crispy and golden. Make remaining omelets with batter.
- Serve eggless tomato omelette with bread or buns or dinner rolls with a side of dipping sauces like tomato ketchup, coriander chutney or mint chutney.
Notes
- Batter Consistency: Do not make the batter too thin or thick. It has a medium flowing consistency. If the batter is thick, add some water. If it is thin, add some gram flour.
- Skillet: Remember to cook these omelettes on a well-seasoned skillet or frying pan so that they do not stick onto the pan.
- More Veggies: For a more wholesome breakfast, include some grated carrots, spring onions, finely chopped spinach or any healthy greens of your choice. You can even add grated zucchini or bottle gourd (opo squash). But note that when adding watery gourds or greens, you will need to add less water to the batter.
- More Flours: For a light variation in taste and texture, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour or maize flour to the batter.
- Crispy Texture: To get a crispy texture add more fat like oil or ghee or butter when cooking these omelettes. Using a cast iron skillet or cast iron tawa also helps to get a crispy texture.
- More Healthy Variations: Add about 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast to the batter mix for a cheese like taste. You can also add 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal to the batter. For a filling breakfast, stuff the omelette with grated cheddar cheese or paneer to make a vegetarian version of this Indian omelette. For a vegan version, stuff these healthy omelettes with sautéed mushrooms or savory sautéed tofu for a more wholesome breakfast.
- Black Salt: Including a bit of black salt gives a light sulphur like flavor to the omelette that is naturally present in eggs. But feel free to omit black salt if you do not have it.
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