Celeriac Wraps (Celeriac Cheelas)

April 02, 2013

Celeriac Wraps

Celeriac wraps (cheelas) are easily my favourite of all the gluten-free wraps I've made so far. Although celeriac does have a specific taste, when mixed in the batter and lightly cooked it has a rather mellow flavour and thus combines better with different fillings or dishes than other cheelas do.

Even without adding turmeric, the wraps take on a beautiful light golden colour that makes them look soft and delicate, which they are. The surprising thing was that, despite not having the same ingredients, they reminded me a lot of my Crêpes - their mild taste and light, elastic texture were quite similiar, I couldn't believe it.

Where I'm from, celeriac is often used in cooking, especially in soups where it makes a huge difference in taste. If you haven't tried this vegetable yet, you don't know what you've been missing:) Growing up, my favourite way of eating celeriac was raw, finely shredded and mixed with mayonnaise in what we call "salata de ţelină" (celeriac salad). Sometimes we'd add finely grated carrot and even apple. Celeriac salad was almost always present on our Easter or Christmas table. Though simple in preparation, it was incredibly tasty.

Celeriac Wraps

Note: Celeriac is often referred to as celery root. Although celeriac and celery are related, they are quite different. Celery is mostly grown for its tall green stalks, while celeriac for its root. Celeriac is unexpectedly versatile, working its magic in soups, mash and fries (a low-calorie alternative to potato), curries, gratins, slaw, the famous French céleri rémoulade, even ice cream and cupcakes! The leaves are used for seasoning and garnishing.

I've also made a corn-chickpea version of this recipe which I loved and for the last two wraps I added a handful of chopped wild garlic leaves (also known as ramsons or bear's garlic). In my country this spring plant is highly prized for its health benefits and medicinal properties. It has a fairly strong garlic flavour and, eaten regularly when in season, it helps purify the blood and generally detoxify the body, replenish the body with essential vitamins and minerals after winter, control high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improve digestion, etc.

Celeriac Wraps (Cheelas)
Makes 8-9
  • 1 cup chickpea flour (besan or gram flour)
  • 1/4 cup rice flour (very fine)
  • 1 tsp salt (I use Himalayan or sea salt)
  • 1 cup water - plus more if needed, see note

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 2 tsp finely grated ginger
  • 1 cup finely grated celeriac (1/4 of a medium celeriac, peeled)

  • 1/4 cup oil, for cooking the wraps (I use sunflower oil)

Note: 1 cup = 250 ml. I use a 16.5 cm/6.5'' pan. The amount of water depends on how tightly packed the chickpea flour is, I sometimes add 3 Tb more to obtain that thick and runny paste.


Mix the flours and salt in a bowl. Add 1 cup water and whisk well to obtain a smooth paste. Add the grated celeriac, garlic and ginger and mix with a spoon. Check the consistency and add more water if needed. The batter should be runny enough to spread it easily in the pan. Thinner batter makes softer wraps.

Note: celeriac browns quickly when exposed to air, so make sure to have everything prepared before grating it, then add it immediately to the batter.

Heat a non-stick pan on medium. Add a few drops of oil and spread it around. Lift the pan off the burner, drop a little less than 1/4 cup batter in the centre of the pan and quickly spread it around with the back of a spoon. Put the pan back down and smooth the surface while the batter is still wet. Once dry (less than half a minute) drizzle 1/2 tsp oil over and spread it around the top. With a spatula loosen the edges, flip the cheela and let it cook for half a minute or so until brown spots appear.

Celeriac Wraps

Stack the cheelas as you make them and keep them covered to remain moist and soft.

Celeriac Wraps

They are best eaten straight away and even the following day they taste great, but are not as soft. A quick steaming takes care of that.

Celeriac Wraps

To make vegetable rolls and even quesadillas it's best to make thick cheelas, as they are quite delicate. Thin wraps work great with hummus, vegan cream cheese, various spreads. They can also be eaten as accompaniment to soups and curries, instead of bread or flatbreads.

Celeriac Wraps

Celeriac wrap rolls are great for picnics or packed lunches.

Celeriac Wraps

In this version I replaced rice flour with fine cornmeal, the colour and taste were wonderful.


You can mix your favourite herbs in the batter, the choices are many: wild garlic, cilantro, parsley, fenugreek (methi), chives, dill etc.

Celeriac Wraps

Enjoy and spread the magic!:)


If you've tried these wraps I would greatly appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

12 comments:

Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond

Adriana, Queen of Wraps! I have got some celeriac in right now, and I was looking to do something unusual with it, and then this pops up! Thank you - I shall come back and let you know what I think when I have made these!

Ally @ Om Nom Ally

Another delicious vegetable wrap idea, I love celeriac and don't eat it enough at home!
I'm convinced you should make a little ebook of all these great wrap recipes, I think it would be fantastic :)

Vegan Magic

Andrea, I'm so happy that you'll give them a try and hope you enjoy them:) Talking of unusual ways to eat celeriac, I'd love to try the ice cream and cupcakes. Haven't found vegan recipes though, gotta think of something;) Thanks very much for writing:)

Vegan Magic

Ally, that's a great idea indeed:) I haven't posted the sweet potato and parsnip versions, they were good, but not as spectacular as the other ones. Mooli tastes good too in parathas, not sure how it would be in these wraps. Now I'm dreaming chocolate wraps and crepes, cos I seem to have exhausted the vegetable list:) It would be nice to try something sweet for a change. Let's see how that goes.

Gayathri Ramanan

dosa looks delicious.. you got a nice collection of recipes new follower to your blog

Vegan Magic

Gayathri, thank you very much for your comment, I'm happy you like my recipes:) I've just been over to your blog and seen a lot of wonderful curries and dals that these cheelas would be great with:) Thank you for visiting!

Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond

Yummy yum yum! These wraps have just FORCED me totally overeat, and know I am as stuffed as an old sofa! I have just made them for my dinner, and even though one with my curry was more than enough, I wanted to get another taste, and so went for a second (with extra curry). So I feel over-indulged, but they are GOOD! I didn't have any garlic in (WAAAH! What cook worth their own salt doesn't have garlic in?!) so opted for garlic granules, reducing the standard salt slightly. I *think* I may add a tiny bit more ginger next time, but this amount as per the recipe imparts a lovely delicate flavour which doesn't overpower it. I will certainly be making this again, thanks Adriana!

Vegan Magic

Andrea, that's fantastic! I am thrilled to know you enjoyed these wraps, especially since they are my favourite. It's usually the beet and carrot wraps that get the attention:) One was more than enough??? I very rarely have less than four at one meal:)) Oh and guess what, these wraps (all of them) were the antidote to your chickpea omelette "drug". I got so caught up in this new series that I almost forgot about the omelette...until recently when I had some chestnut mushrooms and it all came back to me;) Thank you so much for the feedback, it's made my day!:)

Gerard

I made these today din't have celeriac but had a jar of asparagus and used some sun dried tomatoes it was yummy and so filling .
the good thing I found is that we needed no eggs .
Im mostly raw but like pancakes on sunday mornings.
Im so glad I stumbled on your side.
Thanks for sharing awesome.

Vegan Magic

Gerard, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes sound great in these wraps, that's one combination I have to try. Thanks so much for letting me know how it all turned out, I'm very happy you enjoyed them:)

Anonymous

Thank you so much for this recipe! :) This saved me. I didn't know what to with the rest of the celeriac I had bought and then I found this recipe. These pancakes are absolutely delicious and so easy and fast to make.

Vegan Magic

Hi, thanks for stopping by and giving these a try. They're so easy to make and delicious, it would be a shame to let the leftover celeriac go to waste. I appreciate the comment, thank you.

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