Methi Thepla
Methi Thepla is a high protein, savory Indian flatbread made with a few different flours and lots of herbs and spices! It is packed with flavor from fenugreek leaves, cilantro, cumin, and more! (soy-free, nut-free, yeast-free with gluten-free option)
Servings: 10
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour use Indian wheat flour (atta) for best results
- 1 cup chickpea flour or besan
- 1/4 cup quinoa flour or sorghum or millet or a mix of either of quinoa, oat, sorghum, wheat , chickpea flour
- 2 tbsp flax seeds or flax seed meal or chia seeds or hemp seeds, optional
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds or a mix of sesame and hemp seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon asafetida hing, optional
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes or to taste
- 3 to 4 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves kasoori methi or 1/2 cup packed finely chopped fresh fenugreek leaves
- 1/4 cup packed finely chopped cilantro optional
Wet Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil plus more for cooking
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup non dairy yogurt
- 1/4 cup water or more as needed
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 1 hot green chili grated
Instructions
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.
- In a blender, blend the yogurt, water, ginger and chili. Or grate ginger and chili and add to the dry bowl. Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until a dough is formed. Add teaspoons of water at a time if too dry, or add a tablespoon more wheat flour, if it's too soft and sticky. Mix initially with a spoon, and as soon as the mix starts to stick together a bit with some dry flour patches, get in there with oiled hands and bring the dough together. This dough doesn’t need too much kneading. Just bring it together until somewhat smooth.
- Brush a few drops oil onto the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Oil your hands and knead for a minute to smooth out the dough. Depending on your flours and water content, you might need to add a bit of flour if too sticky. Divide the dough into about 10 equal sized balls. Cover the bowl of balls with a towel while you roll. Take each ball, and using wheat flour or chickpea flour to flour your surface, roll it out into 7 inch rounds. Do not worry about the shape. Just roll the flatbread so it is generally even thickness. Roll out the rest, and keep covered with towel.
- Preheat a skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, place the rolled out flatbread on the skillet. Cook for 30 seconds, or until small bubbles start to appear, then flip. Cook for 30 seconds. Brush or spread a little oil on the flatbread using a spoon and flip. Cook for another 15 seconds, brush oil on the current side, flip and cook again for a few seconds until golden brown spots start to form. Remove from the skillet and place on a kitchen towel. Repeat to cook all of the flatbreads.
Notes
For gluten-free, substitute the whole wheat flour with the same amount of chickpea flour.
To make traditional thepla, use 1 cup wheat flour, 1 cup chickpea flour and 1/4 cup flours like millet or sorghum.
For variation, roast the chickpea flour for 3-4 minutes before using to make a dough for a nuttier flavor profile.
Storage Directions: Store on the counter for up to 2 days, in the fridge for a week, or freeze for months. Reheat in the microwave or skillet.
Thepla is naturally nut-free and soy-free, as long as you use a nut-free and soy-free nondairy yogurt. For gluten-free, use more chickpea flour in place of the whole wheat flour.
Nutritional information is for 1 piece of thepla.
Nutrition
Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 194mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 64IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg