Methi Thepla/Paratha

Though I love Methi,I totally detest the task of cleaning the leaves.Ever since I started making this pulao,methi makes a very regular appearance during our vegetable shopping.I finally sat with the bunch one morning while watching a Mohanlal movie on tv.I was hoping the movie would see me through the cleaning process,but the multitude of ads made sure I finished the task even before the interval!

I've been meaning to make Methi thepla/paratha ever since Raks posted this on her blog.I remember tasting it at a friends' place and was hoping to recreate the taste.I looked around for a few recipes and found that though all the recipes sounded very similar,every recipe had a unique ingredient very different from the other.So while one made use of Dried Methi leaves/Kasoori methi,one made it with the addition of banana.This recipe uses Besan and  this one used ginger and garlic!

I followed Raks' recipe mostly and should say it came out very close to the one I had tasted.Though it did not score any marks in the looks department,I am still wondering why it didn't come out round:-O,it tasted great.I served it with some Raita and Mango Chundo and it made for a very delicious meal.

Methi Thepla/Paratha

Ingredients

Atta/Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

Methi leaves - 1 cup,loosely packed

Besan/Channa dal flour - 2 tbsp

Sambhar powder - 2 tsp[or a mix of red chilly powder and coriander powder]

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Haldi/turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 3-4 tbsp

Buttermilk* - as required to make the dough

Method

Cut off the methi leaves from the stem using a kitchen scissor-makes the job much easier,clean and roughly chop it.Saute the cleaned leaves in a non stick kadai till it slightly changes in colour and reduces in volume.
Add the sauteed leaves along with all the other ingredients in a shallow pan and mix well to form a dough.Start with 4-5 tbsps of buttermilk and add more if required.
Knead for a few minutes to form a soft and pliable dough.
Make equal sized golf-ball sized balls and thinly roll into a round shape or whichever shape you fancy;).
Heat a tava and add a tsp of oil and cook the thepla on both sides till it is well cooked and starts browning.



Notes

• *I used around half a cup of yogurt diluted with a couple of tbsps water to make the dough.
• Methi thepla/paratha has a higher shelf life which makes it ideal travel food.