Oats Thalipeeth
- 15 min prep
- 50 min
- Pan-fry
- Serves 4
- 250 kcal
- 7.9 g protein
A Maharashtrian thalipeeth made with oat flour and a little besan: patted thin by hand, holes poked in, crisped on the tawa. No rolling pin needed.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (150 g) oat flour (or 1⅔ cups rolled oats, ground fine)
- ¼ cup (22 g) besan (gram flour)
- 1 medium onion (100 g), finely chopped
- 1 small carrot (60 g), grated
- 2 green chillies (6 g), finely chopped
- 1 tsp (5 g) grated ginger
- 3 tbsp (9 g) chopped coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp (9 g) white sesame seeds
- ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp coriander powder, ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp red chilli powder and ½ tsp garam masala
- ¾ tsp salt, or to taste
- ½–¾ cup (120–180 ml) water, added gradually
- 4 tsp (20 ml) oil, for the tawa
Method
- 1In a wide bowl, combine the oat flour, besan, onion, carrot, green chillies, ginger, coriander, sesame seeds, all the spice powders and salt. Rub everything between your fingers so the onion releases a little moisture into the flour.
- 2Add water a few tablespoons at a time and bring it together into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Oat flour has no gluten, so it will not stretch; it should simply hold when pressed.
- 3Cover and rest the dough for 10 minutes. The oats drink up water in this time and the dough firms enough to shape.
- 4Divide into 8 balls. Grease a cold tawa or a sheet of parchment with a few drops of oil, place a ball on it and, with damp fingertips, press outwards into a 12 cm round about 4 mm thick.
- 5Poke 4 or 5 holes through the disc with a finger and drop a little oil into each hole and around the edge.
- 6Set the tawa over medium heat (or flip the parchment disc onto a hot tawa and peel the paper away). Cover with a lid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside is golden with darker brown spots.
- 7Flip and cook uncovered for another 2 to 3 minutes, pressing lightly with a spatula, until both sides are crisp and the centre no longer looks pale or damp.
- 8Repeat with the remaining dough, wiping the tawa with a damp cloth between batches if you are shaping directly on it. Serve hot.
Notes from the Department
- Shaping on parchment or a greased banana leaf lets you keep the tawa hot and make thalipeeth back to back.
- If the dough cracks at the edges while patting, it needs another tablespoon of water.
- Grate the onion instead of chopping it if you want a smoother, more even disc.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 7.9 g
- Carbohydrate
- 34 g
- Fat
- 9.7 g
- Fibre
- 4.8 g
- Sugars
- 2.8 g
Why this works
Traditional thalipeeth uses bhajanee, a roasted multigrain flour that takes a day of roasting and milling. Oat flour stands in well: it is soft, slightly sweet and toasts to a nutty crust on a hot tawa. A spoon of besan adds savouriness and helps the dough hold together, and the sesame seeds go crunchy as the disc cooks.
The holes are not decoration. They let oil reach the middle and steam escape, so a thick, hand-patted round cooks through instead of staying gummy at the centre. Covering the pan for the first side does the same job.
Swaps
Add a handful of chopped methi or spinach for a greener version, or swap the carrot for grated bottle gourd (squeeze it first). For no onion, use an extra carrot and a pinch more ginger. Jowar or ragi flour can replace up to a third of the oat flour if you want something closer to bhajanee.
To keep it gluten-free, use certified gluten-free oats and skip hing, which is often cut with wheat.
What to serve it with
A spoon of white butter or thick curd is the classic pairing; green chutney, thecha or lime pickle all work. Two thalipeeth with a bowl of curd make a full breakfast. The Department of Breakfasts considers this sufficient.
Storage
The dough keeps, covered, in the fridge for a day; bring it back to room temperature before shaping. Cooked thalipeeth keep for a day in a box and reheat best on a dry tawa for a minute a side, which brings back the crunch the microwave takes away.
Questions people ask
- Can I make oats thalipeeth without besan?
- Yes. Replace the besan with the same amount of rice flour or jowar flour. The dough will be slightly more fragile, so pat it a little thicker and flip it gently.
- Why does my thalipeeth stay soft in the middle?
- Usually the disc is too thick or the heat too high, so the outside browns before the centre cooks. Keep it around 4 mm, poke holes, cover the pan for the first side and cook on medium.
- Is oats thalipeeth gluten-free?
- It can be. Oats are naturally gluten-free but are often processed alongside wheat, so use certified gluten-free oats or oat flour, and leave out hing unless the label says it is wheat-free.
Inspired by Cookpad. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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