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This Mother’s Day I had my mom teach me (and some of you guys) how to make spinach and avocado thepla and vaghareli dahi on my IG live! Thepla are Gujarati spiced flatbreads typically made with fenugreek leaves. My mom would forever stuff additional veggies, grains, and even leftovers into our thepla growing up. She’d sit there smiling while my sister and I would gobble up thepla with some homemade yogurt and then ask us after we’re finished “Want to know what I put in there? ” Sometimes it was leftover veggie curries, other times it was weird herbs. But to be honest, every single version tasted amazing! Thepla and dahi are my go to Gujarati comfort food and what’s more fitting for Mother’s Day than a recipe that my mom used to pack veggies into to trick me and my sister to eat healthy? Instead of fenugreek leaves, my mom uses finely chopped spinach and she adds a mashed avocado to give you a soft, supple thepla.
One of her other tricks to getting a soft texture is to roll it out on an oiled surface with an oiled rolling pin. You can use a floured surface dusted with all-purpose flour to roll the thepla out, but it can lead to crispier thepla, if that’s what you’re after. She also uses a stand mixer to make the dough, mostly because she’s older and her hands hurt as this is a stiff dough, but also because it helps combine the ingredients and create just the right amount of gluten.
Also the amount of water your dough will need to come together will be dependent on the type/brand of flour you use for the thepla. I used Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat flour, but other brands might require more or less water. In the end, you want a stiff dough that has JUST enough water for it to come together into a ball.
She serves her thepla with vaghareli dahi, or tempered yogurt. Vaghar is similar to chhonk or tadka. You heat up oil, add a couple of spices to it, and then pour it over your dish to create a flavor bomb of aroma and taste. In the vaghar for the yogurt, she adds cumin and a ton of garlic. If you’rea garlic- love I highly suggest trying the vaghareli yogurt. It is insanely good with the thepla (or with a poached egg on top!)
P.S you can freeze the theplas for future use by par-cooking them. Just Cook the thepla for 45 seconds on each side and then place on a plate to cool down completely. Then stack them and wrap them in a foil and place in a plastic bag and freeze. When you’re ready to make them just heat up your pan, and cook per directions.
I hope you guys try this dish, its honestly one of my favorite Gujarati dishes and it’s surprisingly easy to make. Also, a quick reminder that your thepla DO NOT need to be round to be delicious. If you do make them please be sure to tag me @milkandcardamom on social media!
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Spinach and Avocado Thepla with Vaghareli Dahi
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A healthy version of thepla, a spicy Gujarati flatbread, made with spinach and avocado served with yogurt with tempered garlic-y oil! This recipe makes 20 six-inch theplas.
Ingredients
SPINACH AND AVOCADO THEPLA
- 3 cups (375 g) whole wheat flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- Pinch of hing (asafoetida)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp ajwain (carom Seeds)
- Red chili powder or minced Thai chili to taste
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 4 gloves garlic, minced into a paste
- 1 ripe avocado, mashed
- 4 cups (5 oz) fresh spinach, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp water, room temperature ** (water depends on the brand of flour you are using, you could need more or less)
- additional vegetable oil for cooking and rolling out the dough
VAGHARELI DAHI
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- Pinch of hing (asafoetida)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- pinch of red chili powder
Instructions
Spinach and Avocado Thepla
- Add flour, oil, spices, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, and salt to taste to a bowl of a stand mixer. Use a spatula to mix well. Add avocado and spinach and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water to the flour mixture and mix until it’s slightly shaggy. Attach a dough hook to your stand mixer and mix the dough on medium-low (setting #2) for 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl down once or twice. It should look slightly dry. Use our hands to try and knead hte dough, if it feels to dry add the rest of the water and bring together until you have a semi-stiff dough. (You might need more or less water if you use a different flour brand).
- Knead the dough by hand for 1 minute and then form into a ball. Coat the dough ball with a little oil and place it back in the bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
- Heat up a non-stick skillet on the stove on medium-high heat.
- Take the small of dough and roll it into walnut size balls(40 g). Repeat until all the dough has been divided into small dough balls.
- Rub your work surface and rolling pin with a little oil. Place one of your dough balls onto the surface and press down. Roll the dough ball into a 6- inch circle or until it is 1/8-inch thick. Pick up the dough and rotate it as you roll to get a circular shape. Then gently place the thepla down on the hot skillet. While it cooks, roll out the next thepla. Then flip the thepla that is on the skillet and brush with a little bit of oil. Cook for 20 seconds, flip and cook for another 20 seconds. Continue flipping every 20 seconds until it thepla has brown spots on both sides. Place on a plate and cook the next thepla. Repeat until all the theplas are done!
- Enjoy while hot with vaghareli dahi or chai.
Vaghareli Dahi
- Season your yogurt with salt to taste and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add oil over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds start to sputter add hing and garlic. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until the garlic starts to turn golden brown. Remove from heat and add ap inch fo red chili powder. Stir well and pour over the yogurt. Mix well and enjoy with thepla!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Main, Snack, Breakfast
- Cuisine: Indian
