A classic Gujarati goodie, Protein Packed Methi Thepla, whole wheat flatbread with fresh fenugreek leaves and spices along with vegetarian plant protein.
Being a Gujarati, my love for thepla is way bigger than my love for tortilla. It is truly unmatched! Methi thepla is a very famous Gujarati dish. It is made out of fresh methi (fenugreek leaves), multigrain flour, bunch of spices, jaggery, yogurt and oil. Methi – fenugreek leaves are bitter in taste. So when it is combined with garlic and some jaggery, it tastes amazing. There is no household in Gujarat that does not make these theplas on regular basis. Thepla can be made with any leafy vegetables, but the most common and popular one to be used in thepla is Methi!
As many of you know that I am in my high protein high fiber era to keep up with balanced meals and support healthy aging. I had to play around with my OG THEPLA RECIPE to add much needed protein without compromising the taste and texture. And I can finally say that I have nailed the recipe. So instead of gate keeping it, I am sharing it with you all so you can also keep up with your health goals without compromising on foods that we all love!
There 4 main ingredients in this recipe that brings the protein content significantly. And those are 1) unflavored plant based protein powder, 2) vital wheat gluten, 3) tofu and 4) fat free greek yogurt. The rest of the ingredients are pretty simple. And the being Whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, spices, fenugreek leaves and oil. Methi thepla can be served with any hot or cold beverages like chai, coffee, milk etc. You will find a very detailed recipe below mentioning every single steps on how to make the dough, roll and cook the thepla.
The below recipe and measurements are for a batch cooking of 50 thepla. That beign said, this recipe is a very freezer friendly recipe. I make an exact amount as the recipe mentioned, and place them in thick double zip lock bags then freeze them. I simply take couple of them out of the freezer, warm them up in toaster oven for few seconds. Then top them with fried eggs, sliced avocado and dry achar masala. Not only it satisfies my thepla cravings but it also keeps me full for hours while keeping my macros in check!
My whole family enjoys these thepla, including kids. They pair well with pickled jalapeños or INSTANT RAW MANGO PICKLE. If you end up making them and liking them, tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would love to see your recreation of this deliciousness!
Happy and Healthy Eating!
Methi Thepla with Protein
Ingredients
- 4 cup Whole Wheat Flour Sujata whole wheat 100% chakki atta
- 2 scoops Truvani Plant Based Unflavored Protein Powder 2 servings, can be sub with 1/4 cup chickpea flour
- ½ cup Vital Wheat Gluten can be sub with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup Chickpea Flour, Besan
- 6 large Garlic Cloves
- 3 inch Ginger
- 5 Thai Green Chili less for less spicy
- 14-16 oz Extra Firm Tofu I prefer soy free big mountain tofu, but regular tofu works exactly same way
- 1 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt
- 3 tbsp White Sesame Seeds, till
- 1 tbsp Carom Seeds, ajwain
- 5 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Garam Masala
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 2 tbsp Cumin Coriander Powder, dhana jiru powder
- 2 tbsp Jaggery, gud
- ½ cup Avocado Oil more for cooking the thepla
- 4 cup Fresh Fenugreek Leaves OR baby spinach washed, dried, finely chopped
- ½ cup Water only if needed to bind the dough
- ¼ cup Avocado Oil this is to cook the thepla
- ½ cup Rice Flour/Whole Wheat Flour/All Purpose Flour this is to roll the thepla
Instructions
- Boiled cubed tofu in salted water for 5-7 minutes, once done drain the water out and let it sit until cool enough to handle. This step helps remove access water from tofu as well as slighly removes the tofu smell.
- Blend boiled.drained tofu with fat free greek yogurt and jaggery. Once done keep it aside. This creamy mixture is needed to form the dough and to add protein.
- Chopp/grind ginger, garlic, thai green chili together and keep it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour, chickpea flout, unflavored protein powder, vital wheat gluten and all the dry spices listed above.
- Mix in chopped fenugreek leaves. Be sure to remove big stems, wash thoroughly, dry completely before chopping it.
- Mix in ½ cup of oil then start using tofu/yogurt/jaggery creamy mixture to start forming the dough. If the dough does not seem to come together, keep adding little more water at a time to make the dough. I ended up using ½ cup of water ot get the right consistency.
- The dough consistency should be like playdoh (the one kids play with!). In other words, the dough consistency should be a little firmer than pizza dough. You should be able to roll the thepla easily with just a small amount of dry flour.
- Cover the dough for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, if the dough feels sticky, kneed the dough again with 2 tbsp of oil to smooth it out. Make 50 equal sized balls out of the dough. The bigger the dough ball, the thicker your thepla will be.
- Start warming up your flat pan/tawa.
- Massage one dough ball between your palms to smooth it out and press it a little to flatten it. Dust it with dry rice flour (any dry flour like rice flour, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour works just fine).
- Start rolling thepla. Roll it as big/small or thin/thick you like with the help of dry flour. The less dry flour you use the better it is! Thicker thepla will stay softer for longer.
- Place your rolled out thepla on the hot tawa/flat pan. Cook it on one side on low heat for 15-20 second or until you see some white and light brown spots on the side that is facing the hot tawa.
- Flip the thepla so now the other side is facing the tawa. Cook it on low heat for 20-30 second and then turn the heat to medium. Cook more on medium heat for another 5-10 ish seconds or until you see the side that is facing the tawa is somewhat cooked with some brown spots on it.
- Once the second side is somewhat cooked, add ¼ to ½ tsp of oil on the thepla (on the side that is facing up) and flip it.
- Put some pressure on thepla and spin it with the help of Wooden Roti Chapati Presser or spatula.
- Flip it after 10-15 seconds and cook the other side the same way by putting some presser on thepla and spinning with the use of tawa presser or spatula. It is cooked now, take it off the tawa!
- Repeat the same process of rolling and cooking for rest of the dough balls.
- Serve thepla with any pickles, tea, coffee, milk, yogurt, chutney or even peanut butter! I prefer topping each thepla with fried egg, sliced avocado and dry achar masala (sambhario masalo)
- These theplas freeze well. Pack it up in a double ziplock bags and freeze them. It stays good for 3-4 months in the freezer. Take it out of freezer and warm it up in a toaster oven and eat!
Hi Hetal, can I substitute the chickpea flour with anything else in the theplas? A family member is allergic to chickpeas. Thank you…
You can use whole wheat flour instead of chickpea flour
Hi! Can you check your blog post once please? I cannot seem to find the measurements
please check again, it has been resolved!
Hi Hetal, I saw the video on Instagram and came here to find the measurements but the recipe card seems to be missing 🙁 could you please help? Recipe looks incredible!
The issue has been resolved, please check again!