My recipe for making traditional Gujarati theplas is
here . I grew up eating theplas so I always took them to be a staple food for all Indians. It’s only after my several visits to India did I realise that theplas are a typical Gujarati dish. When a friend from Bangalore asked me for a recipe, I was surprised as I assumed that everyone in India would be used to eating theplas. Every Gujarati person you meet will have their own version of making these and all of them will agree that theplas are a life saver at times when we are busy or travelling as they can be eaten on their own with tea, with any pickles especially
chundo, or yogurt and garlic chutni or with a simple potato curry. Recently, I made them by adding a sachet of the
apple and cinnamon oatmeal. The
oatmeal is a quick and easy to make cereal which is great in the winter. Adding the oatmeal and some sesame seeds to my
basic thelpla recipe took my theplas to a higher level. They tasted great and the scent of apple and cinnamon also made them very tempting.
Ingredients: (makes 15-17 theplas)
- 1 cup of millet flour
- half cup of chick pea flour
- half cup of wheat flour (preferably chappati flour or strong flour -NOT plain flour)
- half a bunch of finely chopped fenugreek
- 6 or 7 cloves of garlic, blended into a paste.
- 1 teaspoon ginger is optional
- 1-2 teaspoons of ground chilies is optional. (You can use chilly powder or even pepper)
- Sunflower oil : You will need 2 to 3 tablespoons for the making the dough and a another cup to fry the theplas in. If you have the spray oil – that works wonderfully with my recipe.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 sachet of instant oatmeal cereal (the sachet is 33 gms which is less than half a cup)
- 2 tablespoons of yoghurt (optional)
- 3-4 tablespoons to wheat flour to flour the surface when rolling out the theplas.
Method:
1. Mix and sieve the 3 flours
2. Add the fenugreek, garlic, ginger, green chilly paste plus the salt, turmeric and sesame seeds.
3. Soak the oatmeal in half a cup of warm water for 5 minutes and add it to flours and spices.
4. Add the yoghurt. This makes the theplas taste nicer – similar to sour dough bread.
5. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil and mix well. Using some warm water, bind the dough.
6. Grease your hand with oil to pick up the dough to transfer it to a new container and keep it covered for 10 -15 minutes.
7. Divide your dough into 12 to 13 small balls.
8. Roll out the theplas by sprinkling some wheat flour on your work top.
9. Half cook the thepla on a hot griddle or tawa before transfering them to a frying pan.
10. Using a non stck frying pan, either spray the theplas with oil and cook them until golden brown or lightly brush them with cooking oil and cook them.
11. Transfer them on to a kitchen paper to remove excess oil if any. Try and use as little oil as possible.
12. Theplas made this way will stay fresh and if stored in an air tight container, they can be eaten for a couple of days.
