| Type: | flatbread |
| Course: | Breakfast, Snack, Main Course |
| Place Of Origin: | Gujarat |
| Region: | Gujarat |
| Associated Cuisine: | Gujarati cuisine |
| Main Ingredient: | wheat flour, spices, methi |
| Minor Ingredient: | sesame, oil, Curd, fenugreek besan (chickpea flour), turmeric |
Thepla (gu| થેપલા) is a soft Indian flatbread typical of Gujarati cuisine[1] While extremely popular across Gujarat, it is especially common amongst the Jain community.https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/exploring-jain-food-recipes-during-paryushan-parva/articleshow/48942500.cms
It is served as breakfast, as a snack [2] as well as a side dish with a meal. Its common ingredients are wheat flour, besan (gram flour), methi (fenugreek leaves) and other spices. It is served with condiments such as dahi (yogurt), red garlic chutney and chhundo (sweet mango pickle).[3]
The various types of theplas are cooked by varying the ingredients. Common variants include methi,[4] mooli and dudhi.[5] Theplas can also be made with mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, or garlic. The most popular version of this traditional dish is methi thepla.[6]
Chapati dough is made with whole white flour (finer) and oil/ghee, seasoned with salt, and by binding flour mostly with water. Chapatis are an everyday food, cooked on a griddle usually without oil or ghee and often puffed up by cooking on open flame. After taking them off the flame, some ghee is spread on the top. Thepla is often multigrain, usually made with whole wheat flour with the addition of chickpea and millet flour. When made for travel, the flour for theplas is bound into a stiff dough using milk instead of water, and with extra ghee/oil. This is done in order to increase their shelf life.
To make methi thepla, you start by rinsing and chopping the methi leaves, and then adding them to a bowl with spices and millet flour. Stir the mixture well to release the leaves’ moisture and then add water and knead until the dough becomes soft and smooth. Divide the dough into even balls and let them sit for a few hours. Flatten the balls into patties, coat them with dry flour, and roll them into circles 6-8 inches in diameter. Heat a griddle on medium heat and place the thepla on it. Once bubbles form, flip the thepla, spread oil on it, and cook for 30 seconds. Flip it again, spread more oil on the other side, and cook until dark brown spots appear on both sides.