Gujarati Thepla Recipe, How to make Sada Thepla

Authentic Gujarati thepla recipe with step by step pictures – What’s for breakfast? theplaas 🙂 In an average Gujarati home this dish is made on every alternate morning. Thepla is made by mixing indian dry spices like turmeric, red chili powder etc in wheat flour and fried on tawa. This is known as sada thepla or plain thepla. The more popular version of thepla is one where finely chopped feenugreek leaves (methi) or coriander (dhaniya) is mixed in flour. Sometime bottle gourd (lauki/dudhi) is also grated and mixed with wheat flour.

Related recipe: methi thepla | gujarati bhakri

Thepla goes really well with sweet mango pickle called chunda. There are two Gujarati sweet pickle made from mango: chunda & katki. In chunda the mango is grated while in katki it is cut into small pieces. I like Thepla with chunda while my husband enjoys them with katki. Our food habits are quite different 😀 But we also have a cup of tea with thepla.

The secret of making best gujarati thepla not only lies in the thepla dough but also in the way it is roasted on tawa. While the dough should be absolutely soft and not too stiff, the roasting also needs to be done on medium to high flame. If thepla is roasted on low / slow flame, then it will become hard/crispy. Hard theplas are not good. Trust me if you are taking theplas for long journey or picnic you don’t want it to be hard and chewy. I will share few tips that will help you make perfect gujarati thepla everytime.

A lot of time we the question arise “what is the difference between thepla & paratha?” isn’t both same. Well actually no. Thepla & paratha are two different Indian flat-breads that are served both as breakfast and for dinner. The main difference is not just the looks; while theplas have authentic yellow color. The parathas have distinct brown color. The dough for thepla is sometime kneaded by adding yogurt in flour whereas for parathas the dough is kneaded with water. Also parathas are stuffed with different kind of filling while in theplas, vegetables/greens are finely chopped and mixed in flour.

Tips to make perfect Gujarati thepla

1. Always rest the thepla dough for about 10 min after kneading.
2. Cook thepla on medium high flame and not on low flame so that thepla will be soft. If cooked on low flame, thepla can become hard & chewy.
3. You can also add yogurt while kneading the dough by this thepla will become soft but the shelf life will reduce.
4. If you are making the thepla for travel then add littel more oil while frying to increase the shelf life.
5. If not able to roll the thepla easily then take little dry flour to roll thepla.
6. I have tried theplas with ready made flour and also with homemade / grinded flour. Theplas made from home grinded flour are much better then the ready made counterpart.

Let us get back to the step by step recipe of traditional gujarati thepla.

Recipe of Gujarati Thepla with step wise pictures

Let us first knead the dough for gujarati thepla recipe. For this take the chappati atta (wheat flour) in a mixing bowl.

Add a teaspoon of red chili powder (lal mirch) in chappati atta.

Also add coriander powder (dhaniya) in the flour.

Now add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder (haldi) in wheat flour. Haldi gives the traditional yellow color to gujarati thepla.

I prefer adding a little hing (asafoetida) in the thepla dough. However you can avoid if you want.

Now season the flour by adding salt as per your taste. Mix well all the spices with wheat flour.

Make a well in the center and pour 1 teaspoon oil. Oil is known as “moun” in Gujarati language. It helps making the dough soft.

Combine well the oil and other ingredients. Now start adding little water at time and knead dough.

Knead a smooth dough which is similar to chappati dough.

Pound the dough and make it soft a bit. Once the dough for thepla is ready let it rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the thepla dough in small round lemon size balls (lohi).

Now to roll the theplas we will take one dough ball and place it on rolling board. If you prefer then you may dust the rolling board with dry wheat flour.

Start rolling the thepla using a rolling pin.

Roll into 5 to 6 inch diameter disc. Repeat these two steps and roll all the remaining thepla dough balls.

Now let us roast the gujarati theplas on tawa. For this first heat a tawa / skillet on medium flame. Once the tawa is hot, place a rolled thepla. Cook until bubbles starts appearing on top. Then flip the thepla and apply oil on top side. This way apply oil on both sides of thepla & cook until it becomes golden brown in color. Repeat these steps & roast all remaining theplas. Place the theplas on paper napkin / kitchen towel.

Delicious gujarati thepla are ready to serve. Serve the traditional gujarati thepla with a cup of tea or red chili pickle or masala dahi.

Gujarati Thepla Recipe Box

Other Gujarati snacks recipes similar to Thepla

• jowar vada | bajra vada
• masala puri
• vaghareli rotli
• besan cheela
• masala peanuts