Thepla Recipe

Make delicious & flavorsome Thepla with my simple recipe. Thepla is a Western Indian flatbread made with whole wheat flour, millet flours, spices and herbs. Sometimes fenugreek leaves aka methi leaves are also added to boost the flavor & nutrition profile. In this post I share how to make Methi Thepla. If you want you can make them plain without the methi leaves.

About Thepla

Thepla is a spiced wholegrain flatbread from the Gujarati cuisine. It is a staple in the Gujju households and is eaten with aam ka chunda (mango preserve), Mango Pickle or with plain Curd.

Since Thepla are spiced & flavorsome they can be eaten on their own without any accompaniment or even with Masala Chai. Traditionally they are considered a travel-worthy food as they keep good at room temperatures for several days without the need to refrigerate.

If you ask Gujaratis for a Thepla Recipe, you are likely to find a zillion versions. The most basic theplas are simply a kind of Chapati made with wheat flour, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and oil.

But other variations are made with different kind of millet flour, gram flour (besan), fenugreek leaves, bottle gourd, radish, ginger, garlic and curd.

Thepla are great for the body because they are made with whole grain flour, plenty of spices and methi leaves. They can be eaten any time for a Breakfast, snack or dinner. Theplas also go well in school and office boxes.

Pro Tips

• If you are keen to use millets then you can use bajra (pearl millet) & jowar flour (sorghum).
• Besan enhances the flavor and increases the protein content in the dish.
• Always use curd or yogurt along with millet flour and besan to make soft theplas.
• However curd reduces the shelf life so they should be consumed with in 5 to 6 hours if kept at room temperature.
• Please note that using millet flour and besan makes the theplas slightly hard. So using a good amount of oil & curd is very important.
• Kneading & resting the dough well for at least 20 minutes helps to make soft theplas.

More related recipes
Poha
Akki roti
Aloo Methi
Methi Paratha
Easy Methi Rice
Methi Pulao

Photo Guide

How to make Thepla (Stepwise Photos)

1. For this recipe I use 1 to 1¼ cups methi leaves. If making plain thepla then skip this step. Pluck the methi leaves & discard the stalks. Rinse them well a few times. I sprinkle vinegar and salt. Leave for a while. Then rinse. Drain to a colander. Chop finely.

2. Add 1½ wheat flour & ¼ cup bajra flour or any millet flour. When I made the video I used only atta & besan. Replace bajra and besan with atta if the theplas are not for immediate consumption.

3. Then add & 3 to 4 tbsp gram flour (besan).

4. Next transfer chopped fenugreek leaves and the following spices

• ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chili powder
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger (about 1 inch peeled or ginger garlic paste)
• 1 to 2 green chilies chopped
• ½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain, optional)

5. Pour ¼ cup curd (4 tablespoons). Leave out curd if you prefer to store them for more than a day.

6. Mix every thing well.

7. Pour water only as needed and make a soft dough that is not sticky.

8. Pour 1 tbsp oil and knead well. If you are not using besan & bajra flour then you can reduce the quantity of oil.

9. Smear few drops of oil over the dough. Cover and rest for 20 mins. Taste test and add more salt if you want.

Rolling

10. Divide the dough to 8 equal balls.

11. Dust some wheat flour on the rolling area and over the ball. Flatten it.

12. Roll to a thin thepla. Do not roll very thin or very thick. If you add bajra or jowar flour and more fenugreek leaves, the edges may turn uneven. Though that doesn’t affect the taste, to please my fussy boys I use a lid to cut them round. Take a look at the main pictures.

13. Roll 5 of them and transfer them to the kitchen counter. Make the rest while you toast these.

Toast Thepla

14. Heat a tawa or griddle on a medium high heat until hot enough. Then transfer thepla to the tawa. Make sure you dust off the excess flour from the thepla before adding to the pan.

15. Cook until you see small bubbles. Turn it to the other side and cook pressing gently with a spatula. Make sure the pan is hot and the flame to medium high.

16. Turn them to and fro and cook until they have some golden to brown spots on them. Drizzle half tsp oil over the thepla on both sides.

17. Remove and stack on a plate lined with a soft cotton cloth or kitchen tissue. This helps to keep them soft. If you plan not to consume the same day, then do not stack them as the hot theplas will let out moisture.

The color of the thepla is different in the main pictures as they were made another time using bajra flour and more red chili powder. Serve thepla with curd, pickle or aam ka chunda.

Variations

In this post I have shared how to make methi thepla. You can make few changes to this recipe and make plain or sada, lauki or mooli thepla.

To make plain or sada thepla just skip millet flour,besan, methi leaves & curd from the list of ingredients mentioned in the recipe card below.

Replace methi with half cup grated bottle gourd or radish to make lauki or mooli thepla.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card