Here is my version of zucchini thepla – a delicious flatbread from the Gujarati cuisine made with whole wheat flour and amaranth flour with the goodness of fresh zucchini.
Check out how I made my zucchini thepla with step-wise pictures.
Theplas are popular flatbreads from Gujarat, the western state of India. All you need is some whole wheat flour and some assorted spices for the thepla. You can also combine different flours like chickpeas flour and millet flour and make theplas.
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Methi thepla is quite popular in Gujarati cuisine, more like the methi paratha that I shared yesterday. You can relish thepla as a snack/tiffin or enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s a famous travel food, and its shelf life is longer, especially for those made without any yogurt.
When life throws zucchinis at you – you make zucchini noodles, raita, rice, soup, and thepla. :-) Today I am going to share zucchini thepla with the zucchinis harvested from our backyard.
Before getting into the recipe, I would like to thank Aayushi of The Whisk Addict blog for sharing this thepla recipe and clarifying my doubts. :-)
Flours that I used for thepla
While you see besan and wheat flour commonly used for theplas, I use wheat and amaranth flour. I went with equal measures of wheat flour and amaranth flour.
As for the spices -I went with the basics as well. I am using some fresh ginger and cilantro along with red chili powder. The jaggery and the yogurt balance the heat, making this thepla a delicious one and perfect for all.
There is no set measure for the spices and the flour. You can mix and match according to your preference. I always combine gluten-free flours with whole wheat flour so that rolling is comparatively easy. Like methi paratha, you can very well make it only with whole wheat flour also.
Key things to remember when making zucchini thepla
- After grating zucchini, make sure to squeeze as much water you can. Also, discard the zucchini pith and seeds before adding it to the grated zucchini to the dough.
- After preparing the dough, I usually make the balls and roll them right away, especially for this zucchini thepla. Do not let it rest for a more extended period. Zucchini, along with salt, might ooze out water. If the dough becomes sticky after the rest time, add more flour and knead it.
- Do not roll the thepla too thin nor too thick. Use generous flour while rolling but make sure to shake off the excess flour.
Other zucchini recipes from my blog-
Now without any further ado, let’s see how to make this zucchini thepla.
How to Make Zucchini Thepla
Prep-Work
- Wash the zucchini and grate them with the skin.
- Coarsely grind the green chilies and ginger. You can also grate them.
Prepare the dough
- In a mixing bowl, add the whole wheat flour, amaranth flour, ground ginger-green chili mix, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, sesame seeds, jaggery, asafoetida, and 1 tbsp of oil.
- Mix this well and make sure all the spices are incorporated well.
- Now add the squeezed zucchini and the yogurt. Gently mix and form a smooth and soft dough. I used 2 tbsps of zucchini water as well. Add water only if required as zucchini has lot of water content and with salt it will ooze out more water.
- Divide the prepared dough into equal parts and roll them into smooth balls. I divided my dough into 13 balls. Do not let the thepla dough rest as zucchini will ooze out water. Make the balls and roll them right away.
Roll the thepla
- On a dusted surface, take one ball and using the rolling pin, evenly roll the thepla into a 6 to 7-inch circle. The paratha dimensions are to provide a rough idea. Depending upon the dough size and your preference, roll them. Also, you can roll into triangles or squares as well. Roll it gently and apply equal pressure when rolling. Shake off the excess flour.
- Similarly, make all the parathas and keep them ready.
Cook the thepla
- Heat an iron tawa and make sure it is hot. The flame should be at medium heat or medium-high heat. Tawa should always be hot.
- Place the rolled thepla on the hot tawa. Let it cook for 30 seconds or so, spread ½ to ¾ tsp of oil around the edges, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Now flip the parathas and spread some oil (¼ tsp) on top of the paratha. Gently press the paratha with the spatula and cook until you see the brown spots like below.
- Place the prepared paratha separately. And cook the remaining parathas similarly.
Recipe Notes
- I went with the combination of whole wheat flour and amaranth flour and did not use besan. Along with wheat flour, you can use a choice of your flour-like bajra flour or any other millet flour and besan as well.
- Adjust the spices according to your preference.
- Yogurt adds a nice flavor in this recipe, but the shelf life of the thepla will be comparatively less. You can skip the yogurt and use water instead and make it completely vegan.
- Do not let the dough rest after preparing the dough as zucchini oozes out a lot of water before adding grated zucchini, squeeze the water as much as you can, and adding.
- If you find the dough is sticky, add little extra flour.
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📖 Recipe
Zucchini Thepla
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Tawa or Griddle
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp=15ml; 1 tsp=5ml;
To grind-
- 2 green chili
- ½ inch ginger piece
Other Ingredients-
- 1.5 cups zucchini grated (approx 220 grams) Squeeze the water and reserve it.
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1.5 cups amaranth flour
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp jaggery
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- ¼ cup yogurt
- 2 tbsp water preferable the squeezed zucchini water
- 5 tbsp oil divided (1 tbsp oil for the dough and remaining to cook the thepla)
Instructions
Prep-Work-
- Wash the zucchini and grate them with the skin.
- Coarsely grind the green chilies and ginger. You can also grate them.
Prepare the dough-
- In a mixing bowl, add the whole wheat flour, amaranth flour, ground ginger-green chili mix, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, sesame seeds, jaggery, asafoetida, and 1 tbsp of oil.
- Mix this well and make sure all the spices are incorporated well.
- Now add the squeezed zucchini and the yogurt. Gently mix and form a dough. I used 2 tbsps of zucchini water as well. Add water only if required.
- Divide the prepared dough into equal parts and roll them into smooth balls. I divided my dough into 13 balls. Do not let the thepla dough rest as zucchini will ooze out water. Make the balls and roll them right away.
Roll the thepla-
- On a dusted surface, take one ball and using the rolling pin, evenly roll the thepla into a 6 to 7-inch circle. The paratha dimensions are to provide a rough idea. Depending upon the dough size and your preference, roll them. Also, you can roll into triangles or squares as well. Roll it gently and apply equal pressure when rolling. Shake off the excess flour.
- Similarly, make all the parathas and keep them ready.
Cook the thepla-
- Heat an iron tawa and make sure it is hot. Make sure the heat is at medium to medium-high. Tawa should always be hot.
- Place the rolled paratha on the hot tawa. Let it cook for 30 seconds or so, spread ½ to ¾ tsp of oil around the edges, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Now flip the parathas and spread some oil (¼ tsp) on top of the paratha. Gently press the paratha with the spatula and cook until you see the brown spots like below.
- Place the prepared paratha separately. And cook the remaining parathas similarly.
Notes
- I went with the combination of whole wheat flour and amaranth flour and did not use besan. Along with wheat flour, you can use a choice of your flour-like bajra flour or any other millet flour and besan as well.
- Adjust the spices according to your preference. Yogurt adds a nice flavor in this recipe, but the shelf life of the thepla will be comparatively less.
- You can skip the yogurt and use water instead and make it completely vegan.
- Do not let the dough rest after preparing the dough as zucchini oozes out a lot of water before adding grated zucchini, squeeze the water as much as you can, and adding. If you find the dough is sticky, add little extra flour.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
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Interesting use of Amarnath flour here Srividhya. Will be multi flour as well as add to the health portion of this thepla.
Yeah, these days I am adding amaranth and millet flour to all the roti and poori recipes
Theplas looks more healthy and nutritious with zucchini and flours used. Looks so soft and delicious too.
Thanks Narmadha
These theplas are fantastic! We love these blended rotis surely makes it so delicious to enjoy with just curds and pickles. Enjoyed all your flatbreads this week..
Thanks a lot, Valli.
That is a new one to make thepla with zucchini. Also interesting is the addition of sesame seeds in the aloo.
Thanks Harini.
Amaranth flour is a nice alternative to besan and besides you have used more of it in the recipe making them more healthier. Theplas with home grown zuchchini have come out soft and look great.
Thanks so much Suma.