Dudhi Che Thalipeeth / Multigrain Bottle Gourd Flatbread

Dudhi Che Thalipeeth is a healthy and delicious breakfast recipe from Maharashtrian Cuisine. It is basically a savory multigrain flatbread made with grated bottle gourd. Here, I have used a blend of pearl millet flour, chickpea flour and rice flour along with spice powders, sesame seeds, herbs, and grated bottle gourd to make the thalipeeth dough which is then thinly patted directly on a heated skillet and roasted until you get a crispy irresistible dudhi thalipeeth. This vegan and gluten-free recipe is easy to follow and ready under 30 minutes from scratch. Dudhi che thalipeeth is traditionally topped with homemade butter and served with a spicy pickle and  ( spiced buttermilk).You may pair it with curd as well and serve as a filling and nutritious breakfast or mid-day snack.

What is Thalipeeth?

Thalipeeth is a spiced multigrain flatbread popular in Western India, especially Maharashtra. A typical Maharashtrian pantry will always have bhajani, a flour prepared from roasted grains, legumes and spices. Various vegetables like fenugreek leaves, onion, bottle gourd , cucumber,  herbs, and spices are added to this bhajani flour and dough is made which is traditionally patted directly on a heated skillet and roasted from both sides in little oil until golden brown and crisp. I have already shared the recipe of Bhajaniche thalipeeth here on the blog and the method of making bhajani as well.

                                  

What goes into this Dudhi Thalipeeth?

The obvious star ingredient of this dudhi thalipeeth is bottle gourd. Select a fresh tender bottle gourd which is slender, blemish-free with soft edible seeds. This is a multigrain thalipeeth and I have used a blend of pearl millet (bajra ata), chickpea flour (Besan) and rice flour (chawal ka atta). This is my mom's recipe and I have been relishing on a variety of such thalipeeth since my childhood. You may also add sorghum (jawar) flour and whole wheat flour or use homemade or storebought bhajani (thalipeeth flour mix). Peeled and grated bottle gourd is mixed with spice powders( turmeric powder, red chili powder,garam masala, and coriander powder), herbs(curry leaves and coriander leaves), sesame seeds, ginger-garlic, and green chili paste and salt. A dough is made using it. Chopped onions are added to the dough just before making thalipeeth as the onion releases water which makes the dough moist. You can make this dudhi thalipeeth without onion as well. Traditionally the thalipeeth is made by directly patting the dough on a heated skillet. This requires both patience and practice. So, I have showed another method also here, in which the dough is first patted on a moist muslin cloth and then transferred to a greased heated skillet and roasted from both sides until it turns crisp and golden brown.

What can you serve with this Dudhi Thaliepeeth?

Dudhi thalipeeth tastes good on its own. Hot thalipeeth is traditionally topped with homemade butter (loni) and believe me it tastes heavenly. You can serve the thalipeeth with any pickle of your choice, curd or mattha (spiced buttermilk). Here are few pickle recipes from this blog to pair with this thalipeeth. Green chili pickle, amla achar, spicy raw mango pickle, instant lemon pickle, bharvaan lal mirch ka achar. 

     

Nutri Brekkie @ Foodie Monday Blog Hop

Its Monday today and we bloggers @ our Facebook Gourmet group, Foodie Monday Blog Hop have come up with yet another healthy theme this time. It was Sujata di's turn to propose the theme for our 233rd week on the group. Sujata di is a versatile blogger and shares her culinary journey at BatterUpWithSujata. Her blog is full of authentic Bengali recipes, mostly desserts. I am amazed with the different Sandesh varieties on her blog. I also look upon her blog for the healthy bakes which she comes up with interesting wholesome ingredients. Her Olive Chutney with jaggery and panch phoran is next on my to-do list. Sujata di suggested that we come up with any breakfast treat that is made from healthy ingredients and does not use refined flour, refined sugar or butter in it. This Multigrain Thalipeeth made from the healthy goodness of bottle gourd is my humble contribution towards the theme.

                                               

Before moving ahead with the recipe, let us have a look at the health benefits of including bottle gourd into our daily diet.

Bottle gourd is a vine grown for its fruit. It is known as dudhi in Marathi and Lauki in the Hindi language. Bottle gourd fruit which is used as a vegetable is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, high in dietary fiber, Vitamin C, riboflavin, zinc, thiamine, iron, magnesium, and manganese. Bottle gourd has about 96 % of water content. 100 grams of bottle gourd contains 15 calories.

                               

Health benefits of including bottle gourd in our diet: source

• Bottle gourd is rich in both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. It is easy to digest and helps in curing constipation, flatulence, and piles.
• The vitamin , minerals and dietary fiber in bottle gourd keep the body well-nourished and as it's fat and cholesterol content is extremely low, it helps in weight loss. 
• Since it is 96% water, it is a great thirst quencher. It keeps the body cool and refreshed during summers and prevents fatigue.
• As it contains sodium and potassium, bottle gourd is also an excellent vegetable for people with hypertension.

If you are looking for more bottle gourd recipes, click on the following links from this blog. Dudhichi Koshimbir/Lauki Raita, Lauki Ki Kheer, Gulkand flavored Bottle Gourd Fudge.

                     
                                             
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 small bottle gourd around 200 grams
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 2 green chilies
• 1 small bunch coriander leaves
• 2 sprig curry leaves
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 cup pearl millet (bajra flour)
• 2 tablespoon rice flour
• 2 tablespoon chickpea flour (Besan)
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander-cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 tablespoon oil to roast the thalipeeth

Method:

1. Wash, peel and grate the bottle gourd. Transfer it to a mixing bowl.

2. Make a paste of garlic, ginger and green chili. Add it to the grated bottle gourd in the bowl along with sesame seeds, chopped curry leaves, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder, red chili powder, garam masala, and salt. Mix the spices well with grated bottle gourd.

3. Next, add pearl millet flour, rice flour, and chickpea flour to it and incorporate everything well to form a dough.

4.  Just before making the thalipeeth, add chopped onions and fresh coriander leaves to the dough. Mix well. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts.

5. Now, for those who may not be able to par the thalipeeth directly on a heated skillet, i am sharing an easy alternative method. For that, cover the rolling board with a muslin cloth and wet it with water. Now take a portion of thalipeeth dough and start patting it with wet hands on the moist muslin cloth. Make a thin thalipeeth which you can easily transfer on to your hands from the wet cloth and further to the heated skillet. Make a hole in the center of the thalipeeth with your index finger. Spread some sesame seeds on the thalipeeth and pat lightly.

6. Now delicately lift the thalipeeth from the cloth on your hand and transfer to a greased and heated skillet. Drizzle about a teaspoon of oil at the edges and in the central hole of the thalipeeth. Cover the thalipeeth with a lid and cook on low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

7. Now, flip the thaipeeth and cook on the other side as well until it is crisp and golden brown in color.

8. To make the thalipeeth in the traditional way, heat the skillet on low flame and add some oil over it. Now sprinkle few sesame seeds and place the thalipeeth dough portion over it. With wet hands pat the thalipeeth as thin as possible on the heated skillet. Make a central hole and sprinkle a few more sesame seeds on the top portion. Drizzle little oil at the edges and center and cover cook until crisp and golden brown from both sides.

9. Make all the thalipeeth in any of the two ways. Top the thalipeeth with butter for the authentic taste and serve hot with pickle of your choice. I have served this healthy and delicious dudhi thalipeeth with amla pickle.

Recipe Notes:

• Select a fresh tender bottle gourd which is slender, blemish-free with soft edible seeds to make dudhi thalipeeth.
• I have used a blend of pearl millet (bajra ata), chickpea flour (Besan) and rice flour (chawal ka atta) in this dudhi thalipeeth. You may also add sorghum (jawar) flour and whole wheat flour or use homemade or storebought bhajani (thalipeeth flour mix).
• Chopped onions are added to the dough just before making thalipeeth as the onion releases water which makes the dough moist. You can make this dudhi thalipeeth without onion as well. 

I hope some of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

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For more healthy Indian flatbread recipes check out the following

• Adai Dosa

                            

• Broccoli Paneer Paratha

                            

• Gobhi Ke Parathe

                            

• Achari Aloo Paratha

                           

• Besan Dhirde

                          

• Pesarattu / Mung Bean Dosa

                         

• Amritsari Aloo Kulcha