
Ekadashi/Upvas Thalipeeth
EVENT: MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON#92
THEME: A-Z FLATBREADS AND MORE – INDIAN FLATBREADS
What is Mega Blogging Marathon?
Well, its a group of bloggers who get together to post a dish for 26 days according to the chosen theme. For more details check out the initiator Srivalli’s page here. For this theme we had a choice of 3:
1. A-Z Indian Flatbreads that are not made using batter e.g. like rotis
2. A-Z Indian Flatbreads using batters e.g. dosa
3. A-Z International Flatbreads.
I decided to opt for option number 1. India has such a huge variety of flatbreads to offer that are made on the stove top, in the tandoor, in the oven, under the grill or fried. Its going to be a challenge to look for flatbreads beginning with all the letters of the alphabet as for this group cannot use batter based flatbreads. However, am up for this challenge.
Letter E has not been easy. I was searching for parathas or flatbreads with E and kept on coming up with egg parathas . Realised that I’d have to come back to that letter and proceeded to look for ideas for F and G. A glance at the calendar and I realized that the day we have to post our flatbread beginning with E its Ekadashi. Therefore wouldn’t have felt comfortable posting an egg recipe. I already have Ekadashi or Farali Roti and Thepla recipes on the blog. So now what? Then I came across the recipe for an Ekadashi or Upvas thalipeeth, again by Tarla Dalal. Letter E was sorted out with E for Ekadashi Thalipeeth.
What is thalipeeth? Its usually made with a mixture of flours, pulses, grains and spices called bhajanee. Chopped onion, coriander etc are added. Its a famous Maharashtrian flatbread usually enjoyed for breakfast.
Before we go into the recipe, let me explain to you what is Ekadashi? Also known as Agheeyaras. Ekadashi in Sanskrit is 11. Every 11th day of the lunar calendar, meaning that in a month there would be two 11th days. On the first 11th the moon is waxing or growing and the second half the moon is waning or shrinking. These two days are considered spiritually important by the Hindus and is observed by full or partial fasting. By this I mean whereby no grains, pulses, beans are consumed. Root vegetables, fruits, pumpkins, dairy products like milk, paneer and yogurt, herbs etc can be consumed. Its best to fast the whole day consuming only water. However, if that is not possible then the above mentioned foods can be eaten. When my kids were young my mother in law would encourage us to make Ekadashi fun by making different kinds of food. That way the kids felt they were getting a special treat and loved fasting. While grains and pulses are not allowed, one is allowed to use samo,(Shama millet, not a true millet), buckwheat, tapioca balls (sabudana), amaranth (rajgira)and water chest nut (singhada) flours.
Read more about Ekadashi here.
Making a thalipeeth has been on my ‘to do list’ for a long time. Making an Ekadashi Thalipeeth presented that opportunity to me. Tarla Dalal’s recipe uses rajgira flour but I decided to use a fasting flour mixture which I had bought from India. Its usually a mixture of rajgira,singhada and sama flours. Thalipeeth is usually patted directly onto the hot pan or tawa. I can’t do that so opted to use a wet cloth to pat the thalipeeth on and then flipped it into the pan. I tried using parchment paper but the thalipeeth was getting stuck even though I had oiled it.
EKADASHI THALIPEETH
Makes 5-6
¾ cup falari (fasting) flour
1 raw plantain, peeled and grated
2 tbsp sabudana (tapioca pearls)
2 tbsp lightly roasted peanuts
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
1-2 fresh green chilis finely sliced
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tbsp yogurt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp rock salt (sendha namak)
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp cumin seeds
2- 3 tbsp water
oil/ghee for roasting
a clean handkerchief or a piece of cotton cloth
- Soak sabudana in ¼ cup water for 30-40 minutes.
- Drain out the water.
- Lightly crush the roasted peanuts.
- Put the flour in a big bowl.
- Add all the ingredients except water and oil.
- Mix well.
- Add water little by little till you get a very soft dough. It should be softer than roti dough but a manageable dough.
- Heat a frying pan or tawa over medium heat.
- Take a small piece of cloth and wet it completely.
- Lay it flat on the rolling board or work top.
- Wet your hands and take a lemon sized piece of the dough.
- Shape it into a ball. Place it on the wet cloth.
- Dip your fingers in water and pat the dough into a circle about 5 – 6 inches in diameter.
- Lightly grease the pan with some oil or ghee.
- Lift the cloth at the two corners away from you and flip it over onto the hot tawa or pan. At this stage the thalipeeth should be facing the pan.
- Peel the cloth away.
- Let it cook or roast for 1-2 minutes.
- Flip it over and let it cook or roast.
- Apply about a tsp of oil or ghee and roast the thalipeeth, flipping it over till you have light brown spots on both sides.
- Serve hot thalipeeth with some yogurt and a mango coriander chutney or any green chutney.
Tips:
- Use rajgira flour if you don’t have farali flour.
- Replace the grated plantain with mashed potato or a raw grated potato.
- I use a clean lady’s hankerchief. Its just the right size to handle it.
- The number of thalipeeth you get will depend on the size your make.
- Don’t pat it too thin.
A little request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
You may want to check out what flatbreads I’ve made so far for this event:
A for Akki Roti
B for Bhakri
C for Chousela
D for Dalpuri
Check out what other Blogging Marathoners have made:

Sending this recipe to the following event:
54 Comments
vaishalisabnani
September 6, 2018 at 10:18 am
Mayuri , I love your pick for E ! I am wondering why it didn’t strike me ! Ha ha .. egg paratha ! Even I thought of that but posted another one .
Excellent vrat ki thalipeeth , must try this , must be so delicious with all these ingredients .
mayurisjikoni
September 6, 2018 at 3:49 pm
Yes Vaishali, made it yesterday for the post sake, but warmed it up today in the micro and had it for lunch. It was still amazingly soft and loved the taste too.
Annapurnaz
September 6, 2018 at 2:53 pm
If I can get such a delicious treat during a fast, I’m ready to fast everyday. Thalipeeth looks so yum and all the ingredients like plantain, coconut, peanut nad sabudana speak about it
mayurisjikoni
September 6, 2018 at 3:42 pm
Thank you so much Ritu. This is one thalipeeth that I’ll be making often.
Sowmya:)
September 6, 2018 at 4:29 pm
I have never come across plantain in thalipeet….such a unique and interesting dish! Yum
mayurisjikoni
September 6, 2018 at 6:02 pm
Sowmya wanted to add potato and then had just one plantain left over and thought why not use it up for thalipeeth before it gets spoilt.
gayathriraani
September 7, 2018 at 5:28 am
Love this version of thalipeeth Mayuri. Looks so inviting and nice pick for the alphabet. After looking at all the amazing Indian flat breads, I am now feeling guilty for not choosing the theme.
mayurisjikoni
September 7, 2018 at 9:07 am
Thanks Gayathri…after looking at yours, Priya’s and Sandhya’s flatbreads I wonder if I made a mistake not doing international.
harini
September 7, 2018 at 7:54 am
Wow! Very innovative use of the word Ekadashi for this Thalipeeth. Addition of plantain is new to me. Bookmarked.
mayurisjikoni
September 7, 2018 at 9:05 am
Thanks Harini. With letters we have to be innovative 🙂
spiceaffairs2016
September 7, 2018 at 10:35 am
This is such a tempting recipe for fasting love the combination of flavours and texture in the dish. Lovely share.
mayurisjikoni
September 7, 2018 at 10:43 am
Thank you so much Soma, I too loved it.
Shobha Keshwani
September 7, 2018 at 12:14 pm
Thanks for sharing the ekadashi thalipeeth recipe.. I will skip the green chillies as we only eat black pepper.
mayurisjikoni
September 7, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Most welcome Shobha.. I’m sure it will taste good with black pepper, I too will try that next time.
Priya Suresh
September 8, 2018 at 4:59 pm
Thalipeeth looks absolutely filling and healthy,and definitely a lovely pick for E. With all those ingredients went in it, this thalipeeth will definitely please my tastebuds.
mayurisjikoni
September 8, 2018 at 5:24 pm
Thank you Priya.
poonampagar
September 8, 2018 at 7:20 pm
This falhari thalipeeth is loved at my place too..so filling and lipsmacking ! Never added plantain to it though. I make it with boiled sweet potato. Great share di !
mayurisjikoni
September 9, 2018 at 9:42 am
Thanks Poonam, adding sweet potato is a good idea. Next time will try with that and you can try with raw or boiled plantain.
Renu Agrawal Dongre
September 9, 2018 at 9:55 am
It must have come super crisp with the addition of plantain.. upvas thalipeeth looks yum, would love to do upvas and invite myself to your house 🙂
mayurisjikoni
September 9, 2018 at 11:19 pm
Thanks Renu, more than the plantain it was the sabudana that made it a bit crispy, it was like tasting a flat sadudana vada.
Rafeeda – The Big Sweet Tooth
September 9, 2018 at 10:09 am
Believe me the reason I don’t take the blogging marathon is I would die trying to match each alphabet as per theme! Hehe… love how you landed up on this recipe and looks very interesting and soft…
mayurisjikoni
September 9, 2018 at 11:18 pm
Rafeeda, thanks and I know its a challenge, but fun at the same time. There are some recipes that I’ve changed at the last minute, a few haven’t worked the way I would like it.
Malini
September 9, 2018 at 7:07 pm
Interesting recipe for Ekadashi fast.. Plantain in Thalipeeth.. Very new for me. Such a delicious meal for Ekadashi.. I would say Excellent “E” recipe 😊
mayurisjikoni
September 9, 2018 at 11:09 pm
Thank you so much Malini and plantain in thalipeeth is great.
themadscientistskitchen
September 9, 2018 at 8:15 pm
This is one option for ekadashi Thalipeeth that I love. Looks yummy.
mayurisjikoni
September 9, 2018 at 11:08 pm
Thanks Archana.
Nand
September 9, 2018 at 8:48 pm
Thalipeeth during ekadashi is a simple yet classic recipe. I love thalipeeth and this is perfect for fasting.
mayurisjikoni
September 9, 2018 at 11:08 pm
Thank you so much Nandita.
code2cook
September 10, 2018 at 12:49 am
wow sabudana thalipeeth looking so tempting, such a inviting platter you have prepared for fast. Love it.
mayurisjikoni
September 10, 2018 at 1:03 am
Thank you so much Bhawana.
Seema Doraiswamy Sriram
September 10, 2018 at 4:38 am
This looks really good. I will like to try it, but I dont find fasting flour here… What can i use in its place?
mayurisjikoni
September 10, 2018 at 9:20 pm
Thanks Seema, you could use rajgira flour, add a bit of singhada atta and a bit of samo flour. Usually 1 take the ratio of 1:1/2:1/2 Grind samo to a fine powder in the grinder.
Uma Srinivas
September 10, 2018 at 7:36 am
What an healthy treat during vrat! Love to have these kind of food. Looks so delicious.
mayurisjikoni
September 10, 2018 at 9:14 pm
Thanks Uma.
Anshu
September 10, 2018 at 9:37 am
First of all, what a beautiful insight about Ekadashi. Coming to the thalipeeth, it looks absolutely delish with lovely combination of the fasting flours. Addition of plantain is quite new and interesting. Would love to try it out during the upcoming Navratri festival.
mayurisjikoni
September 10, 2018 at 9:12 pm
Thanks Anshu and do try it…its yummy.
Geetanjali Tung
September 10, 2018 at 12:20 pm
Thalipeeth looks so inviting! Love the texture!! The ingredients you have used including the raw banana.. i can get the flavour right from here 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!!
mayurisjikoni
September 10, 2018 at 9:11 pm
Thank you so much Geetanjali.
jagruti
September 11, 2018 at 12:27 am
I have made sabudana vada and khichdi but not tried thalipeeth, sounds so delicious and tasty. I love sabudana recipes, so this one is right up my street. Must make soon.
mayurisjikoni
September 11, 2018 at 7:17 pm
Me to Jagruti love using sabudana… try it, tasty and easy to make.
Maria
September 11, 2018 at 5:02 am
Good job on coming up with this brilliant idea for the challenge. The bread looks amazing! And what fascinating background information.
mayurisjikoni
September 11, 2018 at 7:17 pm
Thank you so much Maria.
Sasmita Sahoo Samanta
September 11, 2018 at 9:34 am
Sabudana thalipeeth is looking so yummy !!!!
Perfect for festive time…. love these to grab any other day as well di 🙂
mayurisjikoni
September 11, 2018 at 7:13 pm
Thanks Sasmita.
Srivalli
September 13, 2018 at 5:04 am
Wonderful use of the word. I too had to resort to this for a previous edition and enjoyed these Vrat ki dishes. your thalipeeth looks to have turned out great!
mayurisjikoni
September 13, 2018 at 7:15 pm
Thank you so much Srivalli.
Lathiya
September 13, 2018 at 5:09 am
I wonder how you make each day a new recipe for blogging marathon and doing blog post…I love this thalipeeth and I too love tarla Dalal recipes
mayurisjikoni
September 13, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Thanks Lathiya and Tarla Dalal is still my favorite. Its the idea of learning new recipes that keep me motivated.
Padmajha PJ
September 18, 2018 at 4:07 pm
Since I had my E sorted out, I didn’t even think about Ekadasi! Wow, this is a super pick for the alphabet and the thalipeeth looks super yum!
mayurisjikoni
September 18, 2018 at 5:09 pm
Thank you so much Padmajha.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
September 19, 2018 at 6:45 am
This is a treat during fasting and I would happily fast any time just to eat this. I also love how you have been creative and used this recipe for E. Love the concept and idea!
mayurisjikoni
September 19, 2018 at 7:53 pm
Thanks Sandhya… for me to think of Ekadashi was easy as that’s the only fast that I do on a regular basis.
Simply Tadka
October 12, 2018 at 12:40 am
Love the prefix which you used for E… Thalipeeth looks so inviting and tasty.
mayurisjikoni
October 12, 2018 at 9:59 pm
Thanks Preeti.