Thalipeeth (Maharashtrian flat bread)

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 1: Maharashtra -- Thalipeeth

After a week of combo meals from around the world, our theme for the second week of our mega marathon, Buffet on Table, is Indian States. So each day of this week, I will be sharing a dish from different states in India.

With the amount of time we had to plan for this marathon, I should have made elaborate dishes and meals for this week. Though I had plans to make it 'mega', when reality really hit me it was a little too late in the game. I stuck to very simple dishes, but I have to say I enjoyed them all very much and I will be making them often in the future.

First up is a simple Maharashtrian roti called Thalipeeth. It is made with bhajani or thalipeeth flour. Bhajani is nothing but a mixture of various flours and is sold with the same name in Indian stores. There are many various recipes with different flours and different proportions on the internet, so I think it differs from family to family.
I followed Madhura's recipe from here because I had all the flours in the pantry. Also it scares me when a gluten free flour like jowar or bajra flour is the main ingredient because it is difficult to make rotis with them as they tend to bread while making. So this recipe with atta (wholewheat flour) as the main ingredient looked doable for me.

Thalipeeth turned out delicious. Addition of spices, onion and cilantro adds lot of flavor. These can be eaten without any spicy side dish, just a simple pickle or green chutney or yogurt should suffice. (I put some leftover potato curry on the plate too).

Recipe adapted from here:

Ingredients:

Atta/ Wholewheat flour - 1cup

Jowar flour - ½cup

Rice flour - ½cup

Besan/ Chickpea flour - ½cup

Thick Poha (flattened rice flakes) - ¾cup

Ginger - 1" piece, grated

Green Chilies - 2, finely chopped (adjust as per taste)

Garam Masala - 1tsp

Ground Coriander - 1tsp

Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Ajwain seeds - ½tsp

Turmeric - ½tsp

Cilantro - ½cup, finely chopped

Onion - 1 small, finely chopped 

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Soak poha in water for a few minutes. Drain and keep ready.
• Combine the flours in a mixing bowl along with the drained poha.
• Add ginger, green chilies, garam masala, ground coriander, cumin and ajwain seeds, turmeric, cilantro, onion and salt.
• Mix everything to combine.
• Add enough water and knead to a stiff dough. Cover and set aside for 15~20 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 12~15 balls. Roll each ball out into a 5~6" roti. Alternately, slightly dampen a small piece of foil and spread out the dough on the foil using your finger. Poke a small hole in the middle of the thalipeeth.
• Cook thalipeeth on a hot tawa/ pan until golden spots start to form on both sides. Brush with oil while cooking.
• Serve hot with green chutney, pickle or yogurt.

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