Methi Thepla

Travelling by train in sleeper class, along with its own unique charm, brings forth the heavenly taste of theplas, especially for a Gujarati. They sure taste good, but after two consecutive meals from the train’s pantry car, they taste *divine*. . So, go ahead, try it and do remember to carry it with you while travelling.

 

Methi Thepla

Ingredients

1. Whole wheat flour – 2 cups
2. Rava/Sooji – 2 tbsp
3. Besan – 2 tbsp
4. Fresh methi – 1 bunch
5. Jaggery, finely grated – 1tsp
6. Sesame seeds (Til) – 1 tsp
7. Ginger – 1 inch piece
8. Garlic – 6 cloves
9. Green chillies – 3
10. Red chilly powder
11. Salt to taste
12. Curd
13. Oil

Method of preparation
Wash the methi well, pluck only the leaves and chop it finely. Grind the garlic, ginger and green chillies into a paste. Mix the wheat flour, rava, besan, methi, ginger garlic paste and everything else except the oil. Knead it into a soft roti-like dough with curd. Keep the dough aside for an hour. Make small balls and roll them out (slightly thicker than fulka roti). Then fry them on a griddle(tava) using a few drops of oil, like the usual parantha. They are typically served with a light touch of ghee(optional), curd, chutney and/or chhoondo.

 

Theplas have a long shelf life, they taste delicious even on the third day and are ideal to be taken along in trips. During train travel, you must’ve invariably seen them in your Gujarati neighbour’s plate. There are lots of variations of thepla and you can also make it with bottle gourd(doodhi) instead of methi. Grate the doodhi and make sure you squeeze out all the water from the grated gourd, otherwise the dough tends to get too soggy. The other ingredients remain just the same. One optional ingredient is a couple of spoonfuls of sweet mango pickle “ras”. If you can’t find this dont worry, they will still turn out fine.