काकडीचे थालीपीठ | Kakadiche Thalipeeth ..Maharashtrian Style Cucumber Pancakes | Step Wise | Breakfast Recipe | Lunch Combo-2

 

Hi Friends!
It is always challenging to make an interesting and healthy breakfast everyday. The items that frequent my kitchen during breakfast are Indori Kanda Poha, Avarekalu Uppittu, Upma, Shavage Upma, Ukadpendi,  Idli, Dosa…etc. I would love to hear, in which way you make your breakfast interesting, do let me know if you have interesting recipes to share.

Summer invites more cucumbers into our diet as it’s a good hydrating agent and  I do keep a good stock of them in my refrigerator all the times. Mostly I eat them raw with some salt, lime and red chilli powder on it, it’s simply superb. Because of the heat, I have lost the interest of indulging into elaborate cooking.

One of these days when I was trying to fix a decent breakfast and searching for ideas, I realized that I had not made Thalipeeth (pancakes) in  a long time. The name thalipeeth made me go down the memory lane making me realize further, that I had never fed my family Cucumber Thalipeeth, which happened to be my ‘childhood favourite’.  I was left shocked with the self realization and was pushed  deep in thoughts. I was wondering, how could that be possible!!! How could I completely forget making such an amazing preparation for so long especially when they have been my personal favourites… . I gave a deep sigh and did not waste a single minute after that. I collected all the ingredients fast and geared up to make these extremely flavourful, spicy and savoury pancakes which are called Thalipeeth in Maharashtra.

 

Trust me friends these pancakes taste awesome and when served along with curds/buttermilk and some clarified butter, it makes a wholesome lunch combo or if served in the morning, makes a  filling breakfast item too. The best part is that they are made with multi grains which makes them nutritious and thus healthy. This particular pancake can also be made during fasting with minor changes in the ingredients, the recipe of which I will share later.

 

When I tasted the pancakes I was reassured that the taste of thalipeeth was too good to resist. The yogurt added a mild sour taste, the chillies gave a nice kick, sesame a nice crunch and the cucumber a delectable flavour. I would personally recommend you to try this. When I served the thalipeeth to my family, I was overjoyed by their response. The family just loved it and asked me to make them more frequently. Also, to my utter surprise the fussy eater (my younger one) demanded to have some more of those again for the lunch, sadly they were over so had to promise him, that I would make them soon. I missed my father a lot while eating  them, as they are his favourite too.

 

I am surely going to make them often in my kitchen but for now, let’s check the ingredients and how I made it..

 

 

काकडीचे थालीपीठ

Maharashtrian Style Cucumber Pancakes

Preparation Time: 20mins | Cooking Time:4-5mins/pancake | Makes:6-7 | Serves:2-3 | Difficulty Level: Easy

 

Ingredients

3 cucumbers grated

(5-6) green chillies* chopped finely (depends on how spicy the chillies are)

4-5tbsp chopped cilantro**

3tbsp sesame seeds

3-4tbsp sour yogurt

a cup of wheat flour

3-4tbsp gram flour

1/2tsp turmeric

1tsp red chilli pwd ( optional, add only if the green chillies are not spicy)

5-6tbsp rice flour*** (one can add more too)

salt to taste

oil for cooking

 

Method

 

Cut the sides of the cucumber and rub it on the cucumber to remove the latex (do not avoid this step). I had used organic cucumber which has a thin peel so I avoided peeling else peel the cucumber and grate it. Do not squeeze.

 

 

Mix in all the ingredients and make a semi solid (tooth paste like consistency) dough, normally the juice of the cucumber is sufficient to make the dough else use a little water. A semi solid dough helps in spreading the pancakes easily on the pan/ griddle.

 

 

Divide the dough into6-7 equal portions.

 

 

Smear oil on a non stick pan.

 

Wet hand and take a ball of the dough and spread it thin on the pan. Traditionally it is spread on a banana leaf and then pressed on the pan, else one can use a greased plastic sheet or a wet cloth or a greased aluminium foil to make the pancakes. I had used an aluminium foil as I was making many and I needed to make them continuously.

 

Transfer the patted pancake on the pan with the help of the aluminium foil. Leave it for a few seconds, once steam starts forming, pull out the foil. Put a little oil on top and along the sides.

 

Cover the pancake with a lid and cook on a medium flame. Let the pancake cook from one side and then flip it, put oil along the edges again. Cook till it gets golden colour (kharpoos bhajane) on either side.

 

 

Serve it with ghee/ curds or both.

 

 

Tips-

 

*Keeping the spice level high with green chillies is recommended else it tastes a bit bland.

**Cilantro adds a great flavour so do not avoid that.

***One can add more rice flour if they like the pancake more crispy.