Thepla is an Indian flatbread that is one of the most popular items in the regional cuisine of the state of Gujarat. Thepla can be enjoyed as a breakfast meal or can even be made part of lunch or dinner. The humble thepla is typically made from besan or gram flour or sometimes whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta), along with methi or fenugreek and some salt and optionally other spices. Theplas are usually very thin and are enjoyed with pickles or chutneys. Theplas might look similar to chapatti (thin wheat flour flatbreads) that can be typically paired with any Indian curry. But the dough for chapatis is plain, whereas thepla dough is made by mixing fenugreek, salt and other spices.
Thepla is served in a number of Indian restaurants around the world. Nowadays, ready-to-eat packaged theplas are also sold in grocery stores and at food joints on railways stations. People prefer to carry theplas during long train journeys, as these are easy to pack and delicious, even if consumed without any condiment or accompaniment. Theplas taste the best with some lemon pickle or raw mango jam (also known as chunda or chundo). The salty taste of theplas pairs amazingly well with the sweet and sour taste of these two condiments. Theplas are very easy to prepare. All you need to do is make a dough of gram flour, fresh methi leaves, some turmeric, salt, red chilli powder, a little bit of curd and optionally, even cumin.
Also Read: 13 Best Gujarati Recipes | Popular Gujarati Recipes
Here we give you three different recipes of the Gujarati favourite thepla, to brighten up your morning meal:
1. Mooli Thepla Recipe
Instead of fresh fenugreek leaves, this recipe contains radish leaves in a delicious twist to the original methi thepla. The grain flour used here is the nutritious water chestnut flour or singhare ka atta. The thepla is served with potato bhaji or aloo ki subji.
2. Bajre Ka Thepla Recipe
Pearl millet or bajra is the single most widely grown type of millet. It's an ancient grain cultivated in the Indian subcontinent and some countries in Africa. This thepla recipe uses the wondrous pearl millet to give it a more nutritious twist.It contains fenugreek and is flavoured with ginger, garlic and coriander powder.
3. Classic Methi Thepla Recipe
Nothing beats the classic thepla recipe though. The paper thin gram flour parathas made from a deliciously spiced dough containing fenugreek leaves is an evergreen dish. Try this simple recipe for thepla that uses just a handful of ingredients.
Try these thepla recipes and let us know in the comments section below about your personal favourite!