Dudhi Theplas or Opo Squash Theplas are very common in Gujarati cuisine. Theplas are typically made with fenukgreek or Methi, but when it is not in season, mom would make dudhi theplas. The only difference between the 2 recipes is that since dudhi has more water content, you require little to no water to bind the dough compared to methi theplas, which does require more water to bind the dough. The ingredient list remains the same. Typically theplas are eaten with Bateta Nu Shaak or Potato Curry and Chundoo or Sweet and Spicy Shredded Mango Pickle. You can find the recipe of the Bateta nu Shaak here. It is the most popular recipe on my blog! Chundoo is one my of favorite pickles and mum used to make big glass jars of it in the summer season, since it is “cooked” by the sun. The sugar, salt and spices helps to “cook” the raw mango in the sun and releases the water in the raw mango. The Theplas taste really good with some yogurt, mixed with chaat masala as well!
I had the absolute pleasure of cooking on IG live with Chef Meherwan Irani, who is the owner of 4 restaurants in North Carolina and Atlanta area! The chef is so very accomplished! He hails from Maharashtra, from Ahmednagar. He left his job in Sales in 2009 to start the Chai Pani restaurant which has an awesome menu of Indian street food flair. Chef Meherwan made the Tomato-Sev nu Shaak from my blog, and I demoed the Zucchini Theplas on the IG live. The tomato-sev nu shaak is a very simple vegetable that I grew up eating, and it literally takes 10 minutes to make! The chef loved the curry, and that made me so very happy that he enjoyed it! Meherwan is warm, friendly, and genuine, and he made it so easy to converse with him. This article in Bon Appetit, best describes his persona as “warm and engaging, genuinely curious and experimental!” This was a very fun experience, and I am humbled to be invited to cook with the Chef. I hope I can meet him in person someday and have a real conversation with him! He is Parsi and Gujarati and Parsi cuisine is kinda similar because of a huge Parsi population in Gujarat.
Coming back to the theplas, since Dudhi may not be available easily, I have been making Zucchini Theplas. They are more easily available around the year at grocery stores, and they fall in the same squash family as Opo Squash. Zucchini has a lot of water content as well, so it works well in terms of binding the dough with the Zucchini water. The key to making good Zucchini Theplas, is to always grate the zucchini fine. That way the dough also comes out very smooth, and the zucchini melts into the dough. Also when adding the ginger, garlic and green chillies, always make a paste of the ginger, garlic and green chillies in a mini food processor rather than chopping with a knife. The difference is that when you put it in the food processor it gets minced, and hence makes for a smooth dough to roll out. Also adding yogurt to the dough makes for a very moist and soft thepla, as opposed to when you make the dough with only water.
*TIPS FOR THE DOUGH”*
It is also important to let the dough rest for a good 30 minutes, that way it helps for the gluten to develop and you can roll out the dough easily. When rolling out the dough always have extra flour on the side and use it generously, to ensure smooth rolling of the dough and to get thin theplas. It takes a lot of practice to get to the round theplas, but practice does make perfect! When rolling out the dough, use a light hand on the dough. You are understanding the dough, reading it, and the dough sort of guides you how to treat it. This comes with experience, and as you practice more, you will learn to control the pressure on the rolling pin with the palm of your hands better.
When making the theplas, I do add less oil than generally used back home in India. They still come out moist and delicious. Theplas keep in the fridge for upto a week, wrapped up nicely in aluminum foil. Theplas are an anytime meal – eat it for breakfast, or lunch or dinner. We never grew up eating sweet breakfasts, so theplas and masala chai was one breakfast that I really enjoyed a lot. If I do have theplas left over, then they make for a wonderful breakfast with my morning Masala Chai.
If you do make these theplas, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram, and/or leave a comment on this blog post! I would so appreciate it!
XO
Amisha
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Ingredients
- Makes 16 theplas:
- 300gms whole wheat flour
- 170gms finely grated zucchini (1 medium)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Pinch of asafetida
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp carom or ajwain seeds
- 3 tsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 2 ½ tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 green chilli
- 1 ½ tsp brown sugar
- 120 gms Greek yogurt (1/2 cup)
- 1 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp vegetable oil for massaging the dough
- Extra whole wheat flour for rolling, dusting
- Oil for cooking the thepla
Instructions
- 1. In a mini food processor, add in the garlic, ginger, green chilli and make a paste of it. If you do not have a mini food processor, grate the garlic and ginger using a hand grater, and finely chop the green chilli.
- 2. In a large bowl, add in the dry ingredients like whole wheat flour, asafoetida, cumin seeds, carom seeds, sesame seeds, ground turmeric, red chili powder, salt, brown sugar, and whisk to combine. Add in the grated zucchini, ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, yogurt, oil and cilantro, and mix with your hand, while holding the bowl with your other hand. Combine as much as you can without adding water. The zucchini has a lot of water content, so it will bind with the water from the zucchini. Add about 2 tbsp of water and mix well. If you feel it is still a bit dry add one tablespoon at a time and check. The dough will come together, be patient! Knead the dough properly on a flat surface for 2-3 minutes. Then massage with one teaspoon of oil. Keep it back in the large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- 3. Now break the dough into 16 portions, each about 40 gms in weight. Roll each portion between the palm of your hands in a clockwise motion with one hand, and anti-clockwise motion with the other hand and roll till it forms a nice round ball. Press it slight to flatten. Keep it back in the bowl. Repeat for the other 15 portions of dough.
- 4. Heat a flat medium pan, on medium heat. Let it get hot for 5 minutes.
- 5. On a flat surface or a chakla or a marble piece, take a round flat piece of dough, dunk it in the additional flour that is kept aside in a bowl, and using a rolling pin, start rolling the dough in a continuous motion, with light pressure to roll out the dough evenly. Pause, lift the pin, turn the dough and roll, and repeat the process to get an even round smooth 7 inch circle. It takes a lot of practice to get it round. So do not worry if the you do not get it the first few times. The goal is to roll it out thin enough, to about 2mm thickness.
- 6. Gently take it off the surface, and put it on the pan. Let it cook for 30 seconds, flip the thepla. Now add about 1-2 tsp of vegetable oil around the thepla and spread it on the top as well. Flip it again and spread a tiny bit of oil on the other side too. Let it cook for 30-40 seconds on each side more, until you see brown spots on the thepla, that is when you know it is cooked well. Set it aside on a plate.
- 7. Repeat the same process for the remaining 15 theplas.
- 8. Enjoy with some pickle of your choice, and masala chai, or Greek yogurt with some chaat masala on the top!
- 9. The theplas keep in the fridge, wrapped in aluminum foil for about a week.
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