Methi Thepla

About this recipe

Methi Thepla is Gujarati cooking at its most portable—thin, speckled flatbreads studded with fresh fenugreek that stay soft inside and crispy-edged on a hot tava. These are the breads you pack for travel, the ones that taste just as good cold the next morning, the ones that make people ask for the recipe. Fresh methi must be finely chopped so it distributes evenly through the dough rather than creating dry pockets. The dough is built with wholewheat atta, the chopped methi, ginger and green chilli paste, a blend of spices (turmeric, coriander, cumin), and sesame seeds. Curd is whisked in slowly to bring the dough together into something soft and smooth—it's the curd that gives these theplas their characteristic tang and helps them brown beautifully on the tava without burning. The dough rests for ten minutes before rolling, which relaxes the gluten and makes everything easier to work with. Rolling thin (18 cm circles) is the key. The thepla cooks for 45 seconds per side on a hot tava, then oil is smeared onto both sides and the bread is pressed against the pan so brown spots form and the whole thing becomes crispy at the edges but stays soft inside. These stack between a cloth to stay soft and pliable. Serve warm, or pack them for travel and eat them cold the next day. They keep for five days in an airtight container, which makes them perfect lunchbox bread. They freeze for months, so make a batch and have them on hand.