Soft, flaky, mildly spiced with hint of sweetness that is balanced with sourness Bajri-Methi na Thepla can be termed as Gujarati equivalent to Aloo Paratha. It is a flatbread that is much loved amongst the Gujarati households for its versatility, nutrition, ease of making and keeping and its ability to be paired with any accompaniment. The longer-shelf life of these flatbreads is the reason you see well traveling Gujaratis carrying stacks of methi-thepla on their desi-videshi sojourns whereas, the health quotient of this preparation makes it a ideal choice for kids lunch box.
Ideally, the Methi Thepla were made during winters when fresh methi greens make an appearance in the markets. These days however, they are a regular feature as methi is now available round the year. Nonetheless, it is a better choice to make them during winters when methi is at its fragrant best. There are many versions of this flatbread some families make them using just whole wheat flour, some make them with whole wheat and besan (chickpea) flours while some like us, make it with whole wheat and bajra (pear millet) flours. Winters also bring along fresh green garlic and this is the other star ingredient of this flatbread. If you have a choice do make it a pain to use only green garlic for this recipe.
As a kid, a bout of food poisoning because of the stale thepla I ate made me averse to the Methi Thepla, for more then 15 years I maintained a distance from these fantastic breads. But, the post-graduation days that required long stays in the remote corners of the state made me fall in love with the methi na thepla and tikha chopra (spicy paratha). Thepla and Sukhdi became my new companions. I would carry stacks of these essentials to be had with chai on the road side kitlies (tea stalls) that dot the countryside and the most secluded of places. The much adored foods like Thepla are also a good conversation starter when shared with fellow travelers. They seldom fail to win a favorable response!!
The recipe I share here today is how Devyaniben, our trusted and very dear cook makes it. She has been with my maternal family for more than 20 years. Bajri and Methi make a flavorful and earthy pairing while jaggery and yogurt lead the balance of the sweet and sour elements. We do love methi a lot and hence go overboard with the methi leaves in this flatbread.
As it is with most traditional recipes there are no staunch rules with this recipe, you may choose to play around with the proportions and ingredients. Add methia masala if you like, red chili powder insead of fresh green chili or a combination of both, why not?? Make it the way you like to suit your taste palate!! The only thing I’ll not compromise on is the amount of oil used in the recipe. Oil here is a prerequisite to soft and flaky Bajri-Methi na Thepla…..
Go ahead, make it and use it to scoop any of the winter pickles or chutneys…
Bajri - Methi Na Thepla
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour/atta
- 1 cup bajri flour/pearl millet flour
- 2 cups methi/fenugreek leaves
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup jaggery
- 4 green chilies
- 2 inch piece of ginger
- 7 (small)cloves garlic or handful of green garlic shoots
- 2 tablespoons yogurt
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 4 tablespoons oil + more to shallow fry the thepla
- 1/4 cup warm water
- salt to taste
Instructions
In a small pan mix the warm water and jaggery. Allow the jaggery to seat in the water until it dissolves completely.
Wash the methi leaves until the water runs clean. Ideal way to clean the leaves is to soak them in water for a while and keep changing the water until it runs clean.
Roughly chop the fenugreek leaves.
Make a rough paste of chillies, ginger and garlic cloves in a chutney grinder.
To make the dough - in a parat or large mixing bowl add both the flours, oil, sesame seeds, chilli paste mixture, yogurt, turmeric powder, salt and chopped fenugreek leaves.
Using the jaggery water and curd knead the dough. The jaggery mixed water and yogurt mentioned are enough to knead the mixture in a semi-stiff dough.
Allow the kneaded dough to rest for 8-10 minutes, not any more. If allowed to rest more the leaves will release water and it would be difficult to roll the thepla.
Divide the dough in 15 lemon sized balls.
Using some bajra or wheat flour to aid rolling, roll the thepla in small disks of 5 inch diameter with 1/4 inch thickness. You may adjust the thickness of the thepla to your preference. These flatbreads are not very thin.
As you begin to roll, put a griddle on medium flame and once it has pre-heated begin cooking the thepla. First dry roast them on both the sides and then shallow fry them using a teaspoon of oil for each thepla. The thepla need to have the light brown spots on the surface.
Repeat until all the dough balls have been rolled into thepla.
Arrange them on a wire rack and once they have cooled completely stack them and store in an air tight container.
The thepla remain well for couple of days after which they begin to dry up and loose their softness.
Serve the Methi Na Thepla with chutney and pickle of your choice.
Enjoy them as breakfast or quick lunch or with tea.
Notes
If you wish you may increase or decrease the ratio of whole-wheat and bajri flour. Bajri is a millet that provides warmth and strength hence, urban Gujarati household prefer having more of Bajra flour during winters. You may not use oil at all for cooking but the oil-free thepla will need to be eaten straight away and might not taste as soft as fried thepla would.
2 Comments
Bhavisha Patel
April 10, 2020 at 9:20 pmCan I substitute all purpose white four for whole wheat flour?
Sheetal
April 11, 2020 at 3:27 pmHi Bhavisha,
You can try but the taste and texture wouldn’t be the same. I have never eaten or made these using APF.
Hope this helps.