These flat breads from the Indian state of Gujarat are soft, thin and have great shelf life.
By Anamika Sharma
Methi Thepla is a staple flat bread in the Gujarati Cuisine in western India. It’s cooked almost daily in many Gujarati homes. I love eating methi thepla and so do my kids. These flat breads are so soft and thin, unlike the Parathas made in my native Punjabi cuisine. And once you start eating them there is no point keeping count.
It is also a perfect travel food. They last long and have a great shelf life. They stay fresh for a couple of days at room temperature and taste great with pickles too.
PrintIndian Flat Bread – Methi Thepla
- Total Time: 1 hour
Description
These flat breads from the Indian state of Gujarat are soft, thin and have great shelf life.
Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Flour – 1 cup
- Chick pea Flour – 1/3 cup
- Methi Leaves – 1 cup (chopped) – I like to add more for the thepla’s ( you can adjust accordingly)
- Sugar – 1 teaspoon
- Sesame Seeds – 1 tablespoon
- Minced Ginger / Garlic – 1 tablespoon
- Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Cumin Seeds – ¼ teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Red Chilli Powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Oil for cooking / kneading – 2 tablespoons
- Water – 1 cup
Instructions
- Wash and chop the methi leaves.
- Take a non-stick kadai/wok and add 1 ½ tablespoon oil, heat the oil.
- Add cumin seeds and let it flutter, now add minced ginger garlic to it and stir for few seconds.
- Add turmeric powder and after few seconds add rest of the dry spices along with the sesame seeds except the salt.
- Add sugar to it now.
- Add the chopped methi leaves and stir well.
- Now add about ½ cup water and close the lid of the kadai let it simmer on low flame for few minutes. Occasionally stir in between.
- If required add little more of water to it and close the lid and again let it cook on low flame for about 5 minutes.
- Switch off the flame and let the mixture rest for few minutes before you start kneading the methi thepla dough.
- When it cools down, to make the dough, we need to combine the flours, add the Oil mix well till it is incorporated well with our hands. Now add the methi mixture slowly and knead the dough, use the same water in which we cooked the methi with the spices. Add salt now.
- Once the flour comes together in dough, knead it for few minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil in your hands and knead it again.
- You now need to cover this dough with a damp clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 20-25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, heat the tawa on medium flame, divide the dough and make equal sized balls.
- Start preparing the thepla’s one by one.
- Take one ball and flatten it with your palms and sprinkle some whole wheat flour and start rolling it on a flat surface into a round shape like a chapati. It should be thin like a chapati only.
- Place the rolled thepla gently over the tawa and after 2- 3 seconds turn the side and ensure it does not stick on the tawa and allow it to cook on both the side till you feel it’s done.
- Apply oil on the thepla, spread it with the flat spatula and flip the side, press gently and turn.
- Apply oil on the other side too and press gently.
- Take off from the tawa.
- Serve immediately with pickle or yogurt.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
Hey nice blog Anamika… Simple and to the point…
Thepla’s are yummy snack to have and take along wherever you go… :)
Even I cooked thepla- Methi theplas well as Methi, Dudhi and Mulli Thepla’s… You can see them on this- Foodies’ Fun
Both in India and online I’ve seen the raw chopped methi added directly to the dough. It seems this preserves the vitamins better than putting the green methi though a few minutes pre-cooking. Of course it’s nice to have the flavour of spices, ginger, etc. roasted and blended, but do you really find that the methi is better if it’s cooked beforehand?
as a South African non Indian person – who LOVES Indian food – I am trying this tonight. Currently resting for 25 min. Will keep you posted!!!! :-)