Methi Thepla

the definitive travelling bread of Gujarat: fresh fenugreek leaves kneaded straight into wheat dough with yoghurt, turmeric, and chilli, rolled paper-thin and griddled soft, keeping for days without refrigeration

Origin: Gujarat, Western India

From the journey of Fenugreek.

Thepla is the soft, thin, spiced flatbread of Gujarat, and the methi thepla, made with fresh fenugreek leaves, is the one that matters. It is the definitive travelling food of a famously travelling people: theplas keep for three or four days without refrigeration, need no accompaniment beyond a spoonful of pickle and a little yoghurt, taste as good cold as hot, and pack flat. No Gujarati family sets out on a journey without a tin of them, and the same tin has followed the Gujarati diaspora to Nairobi, to Leicester, and to New Jersey. What distinguishes a thepla from a paratha or a roti is that the seasoning is worked into the dough rather than laid upon it. A great quantity of chopped fresh fenugreek leaf goes in with the wholemeal flour, along with a little gram flour for softness, turmeric, chilli, ginger, garlic, and yoghurt or oil, and the dough is kneaded until the leaves are distributed through it. The fat and the yoghurt in the dough are what keep the bread pliable for days rather than letting it dry to a cracker. The leaf's faint bitterness runs through every bite, and in Gujarat that bitterness is cultivated rather than subdued: the leaves are not salted or squeezed as they would be in the Punjab, but chopped and used raw. Rolled as thin as the cook can manage and griddled with a smear of oil until soft and freckled brown, theplas are eaten at breakfast, packed into lunch tins, and served at any hour with chundo, the sweet shredded mango pickle, and a bowl of thick yoghurt.

Ingredients

Dough

200 g fresh fenugreek leaves (methi), picked from their stalks and finely chopped
300 g wholemeal wheat flour (atta), plus extra for dusting
3 tbsp gram flour (besan)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
0.5 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ginger and green chilli, finely grated to a paste
1 tsp fine salt
1 tsp sugar
4 tbsp plain yoghurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil, for the dough
60 ml water, approximately

To Cook

4 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee, for griddling

Method

Wash the fenugreek leaves well, drain them thoroughly, and chop them finely. Do not salt or squeeze them: in Gujarat the leaves go into the dough raw and their bitterness is wanted.
In a large bowl combine the wholemeal flour, gram flour, turmeric, chilli powder, ground coriander, cumin, ginger-chilli paste, salt, and sugar. Add the chopped fenugreek leaves and rub everything together with your fingers until the leaves are coated and evenly dispersed.
Add the yoghurt and the 2 tablespoons of oil and begin bringing the dough together, adding the water a little at a time. Knead for 5 minutes to a soft, smooth, slightly sticky dough, softer than a chapati dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into 14 to 16 balls. Roll each one out on a lightly floured surface into a thin round, about 16 cm across and as thin as you can manage without tearing.
Heat a tava or heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat. Cook each thepla for about 30 seconds until small bubbles appear, flip, smear the surface with half a teaspoon of oil, flip again, and smear the other side. Press gently with a cloth or spatula and cook until both sides are freckled with golden-brown spots, about 2 minutes in all.
Stack the cooked theplas in a cloth-lined tin or wrap them in a clean tea towel as they come off the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature with chundo or mango pickle and a bowl of thick yoghurt.

Notes

If fresh methi is unavailable, use 5 tablespoons of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaf) crumbled into the flour, and increase the water slightly; the result is good, though less green and less bitter. The bitterness is meant to be present, and Gujarati cooks deliberately do not salt and squeeze the leaves as northern cooks do. A tablespoon of sesame seeds or ajwain in the dough is a common variation. For a richer thepla, replace the water entirely with yoghurt. Theplas are traditionally eaten with chundo (sweet grated mango pickle), which sets its sweetness directly against the leaf's bitterness.

The Gastrographer

Name: Methi Thepla
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Western India
Ingredients: 200 g fresh fenugreek leaves (methi), picked from their stalks and finely chopped; 300 g wholemeal wheat flour (atta), plus extra for dusting; 3 tbsp gram flour (besan); 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp red chilli powder; 1 tsp ground coriander; 0.5 tsp ground cumin; 1 tbsp ginger and green chilli, finely grated to a paste; 1 tsp fine salt; 1 tsp sugar; 4 tbsp plain yoghurt; 2 tbsp vegetable oil, for the dough; 60 ml water, approximately; 4 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee, for griddling

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control