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    Home » Indian Breakfast recipes

    Methi Thepla - Gujarati Breakfast

    Published: Apr 9, 2014 · by Nisha

    Trains are so dear to me and I love, love train ride. Being a railway employee's daughter, train travels became inevitable in my life. Even though government jobs are looked down by many, nothing can match the flexibility and the work-life balance they give. I was fortunate enough to enjoy them because of my parents. One of the perks we had was the "free passes" thrice a year for travelling in trains. Those days, going in a A.C. coach was a luxurious ride that could empty your pay cheque when you take the whole family.  I am talking about some 10 to 12 years back.  Fancying someday that I would also go, I enjoyed my second class ride till my high school. Travelling in trains are a real fun. Every few minutes vendors pass by, selling variety of snacks and drinks. Children might be running here and there followed by helpless moms behind them. People boisterously chatting without the slightest worry of causing inconvenience to others.  For outsiders, it might seem very noisy and crowded, but this is one passes time on such long journeys.

    Methi Thepla _ Gujarati Breakfast

    My very first experience with the Gujarati food was about 10 years back in the same train ride. My first long travel, it took us a day to reach from Indore to Chennai. Luckily (for me though), my uncle got transferred to Indore, so we spent a week there for our Dussehra holidays and were returning home. Our standard travel food was roti and thakkali thokku. When we were getting ready to have our dinner, we noticed that the nearby by seats were getting filled.  A six seat coupe was filled with 8 adults and children.  My mom gave them a glare and the lovely middle aged women, immediately passed us a plate. My sister and I almost coughed up the food trying to control our laughter.  They had huge bag packed with food and snacks. She gave us such a flavourful, soft and mildly spiced rotis. It was only after tasting it, I realized that these were not rotis and they were theplas.  It was a Gujarati family that was seated next to ours. They were returning after attending some function in their hometown. Being a very good mom, she immediately started the conversation with the women about the recipe and details. Don't ask me if she made it or not.  We came to know that these were Gujju's staple travel food and it pairss very well the sweet and sour pickle. The whole family was munching it happily throughout the entire journey and never seemed tired of it.

    Methi Thepla _ Gujarati Breakfast
    These are most often had as snacks by the native people. But due to a need of variety in flat breads, these feature as a breakfast at our home. You can pair them with any Indian curry or a simple curd. 
    Methi Thepla _ Gujarati Breakfast

    Methi Thepla _ Gujarati BreakfastMethi Thepla _ Gujarati Breakfast

    A soft, mildly spiced theplas - a gujarati staple.

    Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Total time: ~30 Mins | Yields: 11-12

    Ingredients

    • 1 Cup Kadalai Mavu | Gram flour
    • 1 Cup Atta | Wheat flour
    • 1 Cup Loosely packed chopped Methi leaves | Fenugreek Leaves
    • 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Red Chilly Powder
    • 1 teaspoon chilli-ginger paste
    • ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
    • 2 tablespoon Oil
    • Salt to taste
    • Water for kneading
    Instructions

    1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Keep sprinkling water and knead it into a dough. Apply some oil on the dough and rest it for about half an hour. 
    2. Divide it into 10 equal portions. Start rolling out each portion like a chapathi but as thin as possible. 
    3. Heat a tawa | griddle. Once it is hot add the rolled out thepla.
    4. Cook until brown spots appear on both sides.  Follow the same with the rest of the dough. 

    Notes

    1. This is a very good snack to take along in your trips. If you want to keep it for long, dont add methi leaves. Just plain theplas will do. 

    This post falls under Gujarat, in western India. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 39

    View other "Indian Breakfast recipes" recipes

    • Sabudana Khichdi | Javvarisi Upma - Perfect & Non sticky pearls
    • Ginger chutney - Allam Pachadi
    • Adai recipe, South Indian lentils dosa ( pancakes )
    • Peanut chutney - Kadalai chutney for idli and dosa

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. vaishali sabnani says

      July 10, 2014 at 10:32 am

      Ok let me tell you Nisha that most of the Gujjus have a big travel box..specially created which has dry snacks..theplas along witth pickles and dry snacks..anyway your version looks grest.

      Reply
    2. Suma Gandlur says

      May 09, 2014 at 1:59 am

      Beautifully captured. Love these theplas.

      Reply
    3. Sreevalli E says

      May 02, 2014 at 3:58 pm

      Same pinch. I made them too for this marathon..

      Reply
    4. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      April 29, 2014 at 2:58 am

      Filling and delicious theplas! They are perfect for breakfast 🙂

      Reply
    5. Pavani N says

      April 19, 2014 at 3:22 am

      Lovely clicks and methi theplas look perfectly made..

      Reply
    6. Chef Mireille says

      April 19, 2014 at 12:14 am

      they look so colorful and tasty

      Reply
    7. Archana Potdar says

      April 18, 2014 at 1:02 pm

      I enjoyed reading about th etrain rides. Even I prefer trains even now and the journey used be so lovely especially when we were travelling for 48 hrs. As for the theplas they are awesome.

      Reply
    8. Srivalli says

      April 14, 2014 at 12:25 pm

      Such delicious looking theplas Nisha, perfect for the morning!..lovely pictures..

      Reply
    9. Nalini's Kitchen says

      April 12, 2014 at 6:27 pm

      Theplas look so flavorful and delicious...

      Reply
    10. Usha says

      April 12, 2014 at 12:38 am

      Theplas are on my to do list. Your theplas came out good. Nice clicks and composition

      Reply
    11. Harini-Jaya R says

      April 11, 2014 at 1:12 am

      Theplas make a very good snack/dinner!

      Reply
    12. Varadas Kitchen says

      April 11, 2014 at 12:41 am

      Funny story Nisha! I enjoyes reading your post. Your theplas have come out perfect.

      Reply
    13. The Pumpkin Farm says

      April 10, 2014 at 5:07 pm

      lovely pictures and love the theplas

      Reply
    14. Jayanthi Padmanabhan says

      April 10, 2014 at 8:50 am

      enjoyed the train story.. theplas look appetising

      Reply
    15. Gayathri Kumar says

      April 10, 2014 at 8:33 am

      Theplas look fantastic. I love the addition of methi leaves, which make them flavourful...

      Reply
    16. Nivedhanams Sowmya says

      April 09, 2014 at 10:14 am

      so delicious and flavorful!! I love methi theplas!!

      Reply
    17. Priya Suresh says

      April 09, 2014 at 7:20 am

      Thats really wonderful of her na, even we had almost the same experience and the family who travelled along with us to Hyderabad became a family friend after that trip, but its quite rare now. Theplas looks fabulous, i can have simply with some mango pickle.

      Reply

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    Nisha freelances as a food & product photographer/recipe developer & content creator in the F&B space.

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