Luxury bread
Methi means fenugreek, na means of and thepla is a thin round bread from the state of Gujrat, southwest India. These loaves are rolled thin like sausage loaves, but they taste much better. Now I know that it is difficult to get hold of fresh fenugreek, but then you can use dried fenugreek and soak it in the water you are going to make dough from. Remember that in a dried state, herbs have a very strong taste, so only use 10 grams in dried form . They can be made with just whole wheat, but traditionally they are often made with chickpea flour. In consistency, it is a little firmer than bun dough.
The difference between parantha and thepla is the thickness and less fat, but both are used for breakfast. They are delicious, filling and very popular as a packed lunch due to their long shelf life; even in a very hot climate. If you meet someone from Gujrat on a trip, there is a 99% chance that they have thepla in their packed lunch, especially on long journeys.
It's a bit strange for Norwegian palates to have chili in bread, even though we've become accustomed to spices in foccacia and garlic in nan . Of course, the chili can be omitted, since there's enough flavor in the other spices.
Tip: make your own gluten-free flour by grinding quinoa , oatmeal, flaxseed or anything else you can tolerate.
THEPLA
150 g whole wheat/ gluten-free flour
50 g chickpea flour (own advertising)
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh chili as desired
50 g fresh methi
½ teaspoon thyme seeds
¾ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chili powder
2 cloves grated garlic
3 teaspoons sesame seeds
½ tsp garam masala
1 dl kefir/ plant-based yogurt/ farris
½ cup water
Procedure:
- Mix everything together into a dough and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes so that the gluten is released.
- Spread ½ teaspoon of oil on the dough and knead it a little so that it becomes pliable.
- Shape into small balls the size of a lime and carefully roll them into thin loaves, using a little baking flour to roll them out if they stick.
- Fry them in a hot frying pan on both sides. Feel free to brush with a little oil or ghee while frying.
- They taste delicious with a good dollop of sour cream, mango & lime chutney and good masala chai.
