Thepla Recipe
Updated: August 31, 2022, By Swasthi
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
Thepla Recipe (Methi Thepla)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1½ cup wheat flour (atta)
- ¼ cup bajra or jowar flour – millet flour (optional)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons besan (gram flour) (optional)
- 1 to 1¼ cup methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) (skip to make plain thepla)
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated or ginger garlic paste
- 1 to 2 green chili fine chopped or paste (skip for kids)
- ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chili powder (reduce for kids)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala (coriander powder)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
- 4 tablespoons curd (¼ cup yogurt) (skip to make plain thepla)
- 1 tablespoon oil for dough
- 2 tablespoons oil for frying
Instructions
Make Dough
- Skip if making plain thepla – Rinse methi leaves in lot of water and drain them well. Chop them finely and add to a mixing bowl.
- Add all the ingredients except oil to the mixing bowl. Begin to mix well all the ingredients to bring out the moisture from methi leaves.
- Sprinkle water just as needed and knead to a soft non sticky dough. Pour 1 tbsp oil and knead it well. Taste test and add more salt if you want.
- Keep it covered and rest the dough for 20 mins. Divide the dough to 8 to 9 portions. Make balls and keep covered.
How to make Thepla
- Lightly dust flour over the rolling area. Place a ball over the flour and flatten it slightly. Smear flour on both the sides.
- Begin to roll to a 8 inch thepla of medium thickness. Similarly make about 5 and keep them aside on the platform. If you want you can cut them with a 8 inch lid.
- Heat a pan or tawa on a medium high heat until hot enough. Transfer a thepla to the tawa.
- Cook on a medium heat until half cooked on the bottom, then turn it and cook until golden spots appear on both the sides.
- In between press down the thepla with a spatula for even cooking.
- Drizzle about half tsp oil or more on each. Stack them on a cloth or kitchen tissue to keep them soft.
- Serve methi thepla with curd, pickle or aam ka chunda.
Notes
- You can skip methi leaves in the recipe completely.
- Methi leaves can be substituted with half cup of grated bottle gourd or grated mix vegetables like carrots, lauki, cucumber etc.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
Follow Swasthi’s Recipes
Comments
Can we keep the batter/ goondha hua atta in fridge for later use?
yes you can keep for 2 days
Nice I’ll definitely try this yummy breakfast ?
The recipe mentioned both 6 portions and 8 portions. Which is the right number?
It is mentioned 8 portions. It does not say 6
Thank you for this methi thepla recipe! They turned out very good! I made my own GF flour blend and then used full fat sour cream since I didn’t have yogurt. Turned out beautifully and so delicious!
So glad you like them Rupali. Thanks for sharing back.
Thank you. Lovely theplas. This recipe is very easy to follow. I use ragi flour, dried fenugreek & avoid yogurt. A great way to use ragi flour.
Happy to know Snigda! Thanks for sharing back how you made.
I love thepla especially this combination of flour in the recipe makes them very delicious.
Thanks Revathi. Glad you like it.
Yummy Theplas. I just love how good these taste. Thank you
Thanks Devaki
I was looking for a Gujarati thepla online. I found this recipe to be the easiest because I had all the ingredients. They turn out delicious. Thank you for the video and photos. They are very helpful.
Glad the recipe helped. Thank you Evelyn
Wow so amazing. I am a Nigerian, just searching 4 Indian snacks recipe and I come across this amazing recipe. I tried it and it was fantastic. Thanks for sharing
Glad to know Naana.
The step by step description is so easy for a beginner!! Thanks a lot
Welcome Soniya
good presentation and with variantion.
Thank you!
Love it. I make the plan at my job and the plate has been in production for over a year. I serve it with egg whites and mixed vegetables and a hot salsa.. Amazing!!!
That’s amazing! Thanks Mark for letting us know!
Hi Swasthi,
Thank you so much for all the awesome recipes. Please share some cookie recipes for kids.
Welcome Neha
thanks for trying. Sure I will share