Thalipeeth

Its funny how things change once you get married, have kids and become 'Responsible' for everything that happens in your home. More so in terms of your food habits. You could ask for anything you wanted to eat, refuse to eat something you did not want or generally throw tantrums around. Now you have to make do with whatever is available in the market at that particular time and think about how you can utilise whatever is already there in the refrigerator.

I remember when I used to get irritated when my mom used to ask every evening, what I would like to have for dinner and I always said anything will do and then end up complaining at the dinner table..'what? Methi again today? Don't we get any other vegetables in the market? And why cant you make Aloo methi instead of this one with besan/dal in it? and the whining would go on every evening.

I now think what a fussy person I was, considering that my mom always made a variety of things. I loved her cooking but was just fussy about everything. She would try her best to make different things for dinner so that we get a change from the routine. Pulao, PCP, Various stuffed Paranthas (Aloo, Mooli, Gobhi, Methi, Bathua) etc. Thalipeeth was also one such speciality of hers. I don't know why but I had this notion that I whenever I ate Thalipeeth I would get a stomachache! So i never ate it or just tasted one whenever it was made at home. But now I miss them very much and every time I make them, I try to recreate the same taste & texture but haven't succeeded so far. I guess its something to do with how Moms cook. I keep asking her about the proportion every time I make them and they do turn out well but never the same as my Mom's.

A different variety of this is the Bhajniche Thalipeeth where a special flour called Bhajni is used which consists of different lentils. Learn more about it and the recipe here.

This one uses wheat, gram & Jowar flours.

Makes about 5-6 Thalipeeths

Ingredients

1 cup Wheat flour

1/2 cup Besan (Gram flour)

1/2 cup Jowar flour

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1 small cucumber, grated

1 small carrot, grated

1-2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
Finely chopped coriander

1 tsp Haldi (Turmeric Powder)

1-2 tsp Red Chili powder

1 tsp Ajwain (Carom seeds)

Salt

Oil for roasting.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except oil and knead into a soft dough with the help of a little water. Grated pumpkin can also be added along with the other veggies. We have to be careful while adding the water as the vegetables used will also let out water. This dough should not be rested for a long time otherwise it becomes soggy. It is best to put the Tava on the flame and then get this ready and start making thalipeeths right away.

Divide the dough into 5/6 equal portions and shape them into balls. Now there are 2 methods that I know for making thalipeeths. The first one is to take the dough ball on a sheet of plastic, apply oil, spread the dough with your hands into a round as thin or as thick you want. Then carefully remove this with the help of a spatula and put on the Tava to cook.

The other method that I generally use, and also my mom, is to spread the dough on a piece of paper after applying generous amount of oil to it. Then the thalipeeth along with the paper is inverted onto the tava. After a minute or so when it starts getting cooked, the paper can be easily peeled off and can be used to make the next one.

You have to make sure that the paper that you use is a white & blank paper, otherwise the print/colour will get transferred on the thalipeeth! Also you have to be careful that the paper does not touch the flame or the tava when you invert it.
Drizzle some oil on the sides & also apply on each side & cook.

Serve with raita, any chutney, ketchup or pickle and don't forget that dollop of butter on each Thalipeeth! I served it with Chutney Pudi and Dal.
Another version of the same Thalipeeth is made in a small cast iron butti/kadai. It is smeared with oil and the dough is spread in it to take the shape of the kadai. This kadai is then kept on slow flame, covered and cooked, turning the Thalipeeth to cook the other side as well. There is no change in the dough but this tastes so divine that even during my 'Non Thalipeeth' days I would easily devour 2-3 of them and then ask for more, to be reminded by Mom that it will then surely give me a stomachache :)

After the stupendous success of Dosa Mela, Srivalli of Cooking for all seasons has announced her Roti Mela just as I am drafting this. So I am sending it to this event right away!