Parsley Pesto

Ashu's-Baked wholewheat flour Thalipeeth — Ashu’s-Baked wholewheat flour Thalipeeth

Thalipeeth is a flat bread made of a mix of multigrain flours, mixed with dry spices and onion and cooked on the gas stove in a frying pan. It is one of the most loved Maharashtrian breakfast recipes. This multigrain flour mix called as Thalipeeth Bhajani is sold in some grocery stores and also some people make it at home by mixing the pulses and wheat and getting it ground in any nearby flour mill. Most often I do not have this flour readily available at home to use and hence I always make this baked version using only wholewheat flour. We can add Gram flour and rice flour too along with the wheat flour, but for making this thalipeeth I always use only wholewheat flour, it is always readily available and I prefer this taste.

This thalipeeth is the baked version and the dough is made medium soft. Instead of making plain wheat flour fulkas and sabji, one can make this as a wholesome meal alternative.

This is a nutritious and healthy recipe, I have added ingredients to make it one. Using wholegrain and nuts increases the fiber content in the diet. The sesame, and groundnut and flaxseed chutney also adds the nutty taste. The flaxseeds are also good source of fiber and also has the Omega -3s. The fiber or roughage in diet is the undigested part of the plant food that helps with proper bowel movements, forms the bulk of the stools, absorbs water and softens it. It aids to relieve constipation. The caraway seeds too aid in digestion. I have added freshly ground paste of green coriander, green chilies and garlic, and added chopped onions and also greens of spring onions. Yogurt is also added that has milk proteins as well as calcium.

BAKED WHOLEWHEAT FLOUR THALIPEETH

INGREDIENTS:

Wholewheat flour: 350 gm

Onion: 1 big

Spring onions: 1 Bunch (small)

Green coriander + Garlic + Green chili paste: 1 1/2 Tbsp

Curd: 2 Tbsp

Carom seeds: 1 Tsp

Sesame Seeds: 1 Tbsp

Ground Groundnut + Flaxseeds chutney: 1 Tbsp

Red Chili Flakes: 1 Tbsp (optional)

Dried Thyme: 1 Tsp

Water: 200 ml (use as required)

Oil: 50 ml

Turmeric: 1 Tsp

Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp

Salt: To taste

METHOD:

Using few coriander leaves, 1-2 green chilies, and 1-2 garlic cloves make a roughly ground paste. You can add roasted groundnut and flaxseeds to this mix while grinding. I keep groundnut and flaxseed chutney ready in my house.

Chop the onion and spring onion greens finely. Assemble all the ingredients required for making the dough.

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Grease a round pie dish with oil and sprinkle with the dried thyme herb and groundnut chutney.

Greased pie dish for making baked thalipeeth.

Mix the wholewheat flour with all the ingredients shown in the pic, add the turmeric, salt, 1 Tbsp oil and using water make a medium soft dough.

Ingredients to make Baked Wholewheat flour thalipeeth

Spread the dough on the pie dish and press firmly so that we get an even flat thalipeeth. I have shared this recipe using a square oven tin, click here to check that recipe.

Ashu’s-Baked Thalipeeth

Bake this in the preheated oven at 200 deg C for 40 min or until the Thalipeeth is cooked and the sides appear crusty. (Note: Oven used in houses are different, hence the oven timing may be a little less or more, use self-discretion).

Apply a coat of oil on top once it is half cooked.

Mid way remove the pan from the oven and apply a coat of oil on top. This gives a shine, does not make the top dry, and also makes it crusty.

This is how it should be after it is removed from the oven. Serve it with a dip of choice or with the parsley pesto as seen in the picture.

Ashu's- Baked Wholewheat flour Thalipeeth served with Parsley Pesto. — Ashu’s- Baked Wholewheat flour Thalipeeth served with Parsley Pesto.

Click here for the Parsley Pesto recipe. You can also search the archives for my Tomato dip recipe.

I added Tandoori mushrooms and Baked mashed potatoes to the menu to make it a complete meal keeping in view the demand for mashed potatoes from my Jr.

Ashu's-Baked mashed potatoes, tandoori mushrooms and baked Thalipeeth dinner menu. — Ashu’s-Baked mashed potatoes, tandoori mushrooms and baked Thalipeeth dinner menu.

One could also add vegetable or Chicken soup to the above menu. This is one of the baked dinner menus made last week and the family enjoyed it. The freshly made parsley pesto dip added a more enhanced, tangy & herby flavor to the thalipeeth.

Go ahead and try making this ashu’s baked version of the Maharashtrian recipe of Thalipeeth, and have a happy baking time in your kitchen :).

Enjoy.

ashu.

Today sharing with you all my Parsley pesto recipe, I have started making this only recently, from the last 2-3 years. I have always loved the Basil pesto in all the dishes that it is used, but it is not easily available in the nearby stores around my residence. Parsley is abundantly seen in every vegetable selling supermarkets, hence always on hand, and always in the list of purchased vegetables. While staying in India I always made the coriander chutney or coriander-mint chutney for any savory snacks, but this is one pesto that is equally loved by my kids. It has a strong and distinct flavor and has a different taste and hence quite a change for us from the regular green coriander and mint chutney (dhania & pudina).

Parsley has been added to my food list and cooking only after I started living here in the UAE. Parsley is used in many dishes in the middle east. It is seen in salads, well known being the Tabbouleh in which it is mixed with Bulgar wheat (will keep that as a separate post for future 🙂 ).

The recipe I am sharing is how I make this Parsley pesto in my kitchen, adjusted to our taste preferences and hence the selection of ingredients too. This may not be the traditional way of making the pesto. I used the pistachio nuts the first time I made this, pine nuts were not in my kitchen pantry, and hence have continued using them every time I make this pesto. The taste, different flavors and texture of the ingredients makes the dip a much relished condiment in my house, kids love it with sandwich, flat-breads, and toasted baguette slices. You can add it to your egg omelette too. When my elder sister visited my place this year, she too loved the dip, hence this post is also for all my family and friends who would like to use Parsley in regular meals but might have double thoughts whether to use or not because of its strong flavor. Go ahead and try it out and see if you like the taste. Parsley is a very good antioxidant, also good source of Folic acid, Vitamins C and A etc.

PARSLEY PESTO/CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

Parsley: 1 bunch

Pistachios: 50 gm (increase the quantity if you want more nutty taste)

Green Chili: 2 small (Adjust it to own taste prefrence)

Garlic: 3 cloves

Olive oil: 3 Tbsp

Lemon: 2 Medium-sized

Salt: To taste

METHOD:

Clean and wash the Parsley leaves. Chop them roughly.

Put the chopped parsley leaves, chilies, garlic and pistachio nut in a mixer pot and grind to make a smooth paste.

Ashu's-Parsley pesto — Ashu’s-Parsley pesto

Add the lemon juice and olive oil after every few whisks, it becomes easier to grind to paste. Finally add the salt and give the final whisk. Remove the contents into a bowl, check the taste and adjust if more lemon or oil is needed.

We can add the extra oil, if required, when using as a dip.

The above picture shows what was made for dinner last Sunday along with the Parsley pesto as a dip, I will make that as the next post, so do visit to find out what the new recipe would be :). Our weekend starts, wishing you all a good day and a happy weekend to those who reside in this part of the world.

Enjoy!

ashu.