Gujarathi Methi Theplas | Spiced Fenugreek Indian Flat Bread

I have heard about and seen beautiful pictures of methi theplas for many years but have never tasted them before. It is after we relocated to the US, I have been regularly eating theplas at many places and have become fond of these. Almost all of my relatives here have atleast one Gujju friend who sends over yummy methi theplas when they host parties :). Surprisingly this is not a common item in the menu of Indian restaurants, I wonder why - it would make a great addition. Methi theplas are Indian flatbreads made from wheat and chickpea flour flavoured with a spiced fenugreed mixture and a staple in a Gujarathi household. Needless to say its a great way to smuggle in these very healthy and bitter tasting methi/fenugrek leaves into our system. There is no way you could say it had methi leaves in them, no bitter taste at all. These Methi theplas are extremely soft and stay good for 2-3 days in room temperature and so they are perfect choice for travel food. They are quite easy to the make and the only time consuming activity would probably be picking the methi leaves, if you have that ready its as easy as making normal rotis :).

Ingredients

Serves - 3-4
Spice Level - Moderate
Prep Time - 10 min
Cook time - 10 min

Fresh Methi/Fenugreek leaves/Vendhaya Keerai - 1 to 1.5 cups
Yogurt - 2.5 Tbsp
Lukewarm water - 1/4 cup +/- 1-2 Tbsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 Tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - 1 Tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1.5 Tsp
Green chillies minced - 2
Oil - 1.5 Tbsp
Wheat Flour/Atta - 1.5 cups
Chickpea Flour / Besan/ Kadalai Maavu - 1/2 cup

How do you do it

1. Pick the methi leaves and wash them well, drain and keep them aside.

2. Sieve/ Sift the chickpea flour and keep aside.

3. Now mix the wheat flour, chickpea flour, all spices powders [ cumin, coriander, red chilli, turmeric, hing], ginger garlic paste, minced green chilli and salt together well.

4. Add the methi leaves and yogurt now and mix well again.

5. Now add the water little by little and knead to make a smooth pliable non-sticky dough similar in consistency to your roti/chapathi dough. The Methi leaves give out some water and we have added some yogurt too, so be careful while adding water and kneading, make sure you dont add too water much resulting in a very sticky mass. If at all you have used some excess amount of water, add some wheat flour and knead again.

6. Once done, rest it in a container for 15 minutes covered with a damp cloth.

7. Divide the dough into 10-12 medium sized balls. Take a small bowl with some wheat flour in it. Take one of them and dip into wheat flour and using a rolling pin, roll into a thin circle, dust with flour as when necessary to prevent sticking.

8. Heat a tava/flat griddle, once its hot, transfer one of the rolled theplas on to it. When you see small pockets forming flip the thepla. Apply ½ or 1 tsp oil on the cooked side. Now again flip and apply ½ or 1 tsp oil on the other side. Flip again twice. Once the thepla is cooked as well as browned, remove from the pan. make all the theplas this way.

9.Stack them up in a roti basket or in aluminium foil until ready to eat.

Serve these Yummy theplas with your favorite pickle or a simple Jeera Aloo or some delicious Tomato Thokku [pickle].

Notes

1. Lukewarm water is used to make sure the theplas are softer for a long period.

2. These theplas can be refrigerated and they keep good for 2-3 days. To warm them up, do not use the microwave, microwaved rotis/chapathis turn hard after some time. You can quickly warm them up using a heated tava/griddle or steam them.

3. As soon as you buy methi/fenugreek leaves, pick the leaves and store in an air tight container , it keeps fresh for more than a week and its quick to use in a recipe like this.

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Gobi Parathas

Of all the parathas, gobi is my most favorite one.  For the most delicious parathas, I prefer sauteing the shredded gobi with some green chillies and spices rather than the using a raw filling. I have been making parathas more often these days and make them with ease now :). I figured that using some quantity of maida [All-purpose flour] along with wheat flour for making the dough helps in stretching the dough easily and makes rolling of the parathas much easier. Do try using this method if you are a beginner in making parathas, am sure it will help you.

Ingredients

For the dough

Atta/Wheat Flour - 1 + 1/4 cup
Maida/All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
Water - 1 cup or as per need
Salt - 1 Tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp

For the filling

1 small sized cauliflower
green chilli - 3, chopped finely
Red chilli powder - 2 Tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Curry powder - 1 Tsp
Salt -as per need
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp

How do you make it

1. Using your food processor grate the cauliflower pieces like below. Keep aside.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add jeera seeds to roast. Add in the chopped green chillies, shredded cauliflower and saute for a minute. Add salt, turmeric, curry and red chilli powder. Mix well and saute until the filling is cooked well. Keep aside. Cool the filling completely before making parathas. if the stuffing is hot, when you roll the parathas they tend to break out.

3. Now to make the dough, mix the atta, maida, salt and oil together. Add water slowly and knead well to make a smooth dough. I use my food processor for this and my job gets done in minutes :). I use about 3/4 to 1 cup water to get a really soft and smooth dough.

4. Take a dough ball, roll it to a small circle as shown below, dust it with little flour and then and place a tbsp of shredded gobi filling inside it.

5. Bring the edges of the paratha together and cover the gobi filling and gently flatten it using your fingers.

6. Dust with flour as and when necessary while rolling. Gently roll the paratha into medium sized circle without the filling oozing. Parathas are usually on the thicker side, so dont make them very thin

7.  Place the rolled paratha on a heated tava. Once tiny spots occur on both sides of the paratha, drizzle oil on both sides and cook them until they have dark brown spots on them.

Serve with Dal Tadka or yogurt-pickle combo.

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