Methi Thepla

Methi Thepla is favorite Gujarati snack bread. It is very flavorful and makes for a great travel or picnic food.
Recipe will make 6 to 8.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
• 1/4 cup gram flour (basen)
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes adjust to taste
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
• 1/4 cup dry fenugreek leaves (kastoori methi)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/4 cup yogurt (dahi)
• About 3 tablespoons of water as needed
• Approximately 1/4 cup of oil for cooking

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl: flour, gram flour, asafetida, cumin seeds, turmeric, chili flakes, salt, and fenugreek leaves.
2. Add oil and yogurt to the bowl and mix well. Add water as needed to make firm dough.
3. Knead the dough for 2 minutes on a lightly greased surface to make smooth and pliable dough.
4. Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough rest for at least ten minutes.
5. Divide the dough into 6 to 8 equal parts. Using your palm, roll each one into a smooth ball and press flat.
6. Take each dough and press it in some dry flour on both sides. Using a rolling pin roll each dough into 5 to 6” diameter circle. If dough starts sticking, dust it with more flour. However, do not use any dry flour towards the end of the rolling. This will make the Thepla dry.

Cooking the Thepla

1. Heat the skillet on medium high (iron skillet works better). To see if the skillet is ready, put a couple of drops of water and it should start to sizzle, immediately.
2. Place the Thepla over the skillet. As the Thepla’s cooking, the color of the dough will change and have a dryer look. Turn over the Thepla using a spatula. You should see golden-brown spots on the semi-cooked side.
3. Wait just a few seconds and place 1/2 teaspoon of oil onto the Thepla and spread with a spatula. Turn over the Thepla.
4. Using your spatula, lightly press the entire Thepla. This will help it cook all the way and it may puff up in some areas.
5. Turn over the Thepla again and press with the spatula making sure it is golden-brown on both sides. Remove from heat.
6. Repeat with the remaining dough, till they are all done.

Serving Suggestions
Serve as is or with plain yogurt or pickle.
Variation
This recipe uses dry fenugreek leaves as it is available year round. But using fresh fenugreek leaves is ideal if you can find it. Substitute the dry leaves for 1/2 a cup of fresh chopped fenugreek leaves.