Thalipeeth – The Maharashtrian Delight
Thalipeeth in the past had one specific recipe. Now, there are many recipes that build on or alter the original to suit for taste and nutritional reasons. The typical thalipeeth is made with bhajani. Bhajani is made with bajri (millet), wheat, Harbhara daal (split Bengal gram), Urad daal (Split black gram), Jwari (Sorghum), sometime Tur daal (Split pigeon peas) etc. This combination is sure to raise the acidity for some… Make bad GERD worse if eaten before sleeping!
IMHO: The past generations did a lot of physical work and travel. And so their digestion capacity was definitely better than this generation’s. So were their times of consuming food. Most grandparents still continue to eat before 7:30pm and continue to have better metabolisms. The original thalipeeth that follows the technically correct recipe was popular because of the taste, ease of making and the last generation’s good digestion! You eat it late or in a large quantity, and you are sure to get acidic response. There’s another recipe here. Delicious and healthy!
The customisation
I usually follow this simpler method I learned from my mother. This is the healthier, high protein, high fiber version for this decade and next ones. It is also convenient and can be made with ingredients that can be store bought so it does not require a lot of pre-planning. If you taste the original thalipeeth, then the taste of this one pales! But I’d still recommend this thalipeeth over the original recipe. Made mainly with sorghum, this one is also a tasty treat! You can add leftover vegetables, daal or curd to the dough to make the thalipeeth “Khuskhushit”… Customizations as per your family taste will get you the version you love.
Served hot with a dollop of homemade white butter or curd and lemon pickle, this one is sure to get on your weekly dinner menu fast! With the current availability of fusion ingredients, my son loves this with schezwan chutney or even tomato ketchup for accompaniments… To each his own I say! No judgments 😉
When I read Dushyant’s recipe of Koki… I marveled at how similar it is to our Maharashtrian Thalipeeth. There are definitely some differences between the two. Oh, I plan to make Koki sometime. In the meatime, here’s my recipe of the Thalipeeth that is on the dinner menu at least once every week.
Once you start making them, make sure you catch up on a TV show, or bring a chair in the kitchen… It takes about 3-4 minutes per thalipeeth. If you make them in small to medium size, a regular eater is sure to eat 2… And the big eaters can pull off 3 and a half!
[sp_recipe]
