Thin, pliable little-millet theplas rolled paper-fine with methi and curd, cooked flat in oil until they turn translucent and speckled. Travel food.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Little Millet Flour 2 1/4 cups
Fresh
- Fresh methi leaves, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups packed
- Thick curd 1/2 cup
- Ginger-green chilli paste 1 tbsp
- Turmeric 1/2 tsp
- Red chilli powder 1 tsp
- Sesame seeds 1 tbsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Groundnut oil, for the dough 2 tbsp
- Groundnut oil, for cooking 4 tbsp
Method
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Curd, not water
Bind the Sprouted Little Millet Flour with curd alone if you can. Its acidity softens the dough and its fat keeps the thepla flexible for hours.
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Add methi raw
Fold in the chopped methi unsqueezed. Unlike a paratha, a thepla wants that leaf moisture to help it roll out thin.
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Oil the dough
Knead in the two tablespoons of oil last, working four minutes until the dough is soft, smooth and just short of sticky.
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Rest twenty minutes
A long rest matters here — the flour keeps drinking, and dough rolled too early tears at the rim.
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Roll paper-thin
Roll each ball to 18 cm, far thinner than a paratha. Dust with dry millet flour, not oil, so the layers stay separate.
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Cook fast and flat
Cook on a medium-hot tawa, turning after 30 seconds, then smear oil on both faces and press flat with a spatula — do not let it puff.
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Cool then stack
Cool the theplas in a single layer before stacking, or the trapped steam will make them soggy in the tiffin.
Why this works
Curd does three jobs: its acid tenderises the starch, its fat coats the flour particles so the dough stays soft after cooling, and its protein browns on the tawa. Rolling thin and pressing rather than puffing drives off enough moisture to keep theplas good for a day or more.
Make it your own
- Thick curd → Coconut milk with a squeeze of lemon Dairy-free, similar softness, slightly sweeter.
- Fresh methi → Finely chopped spinach and 2 tbsp kasuri methi Milder and greener, with the methi note still present.
- Sprouted Little Millet Flour → Sprouted Foxtail Millet Flour Cleaner tasting and a shade paler.
