Roasted Multi-grain Flour (भाजणी) Cuisines - 1-Thalipeeth(थालीपीठ) Indian Bread

Thalipeeth(थालीपीठ): Indian Bread
Made from Roasted Multi-grain Flour (भाजणी)

Type:	Bread / Roti / Pizza / Bhakari	Hot	For: 2 Persons	Processes: Grinding, Mixing, kneading, Roasting.
Nutritive Value:	Carbohydrates, proteins, Fats		Minerals	Soluble and Non-soluble Fiber
Cooking Time:	Pre-preparation:	30 Min	Serving:	1 Min
	Preparation:	10 Min	Eating:	15 to 30 Min

Name:	Thalipeeth (थालीपीठ)
Preface:	Man thinks and imagines according to his basic nature. They also dream accordingly. Then they try to bring their dreams into reality and something is created. Bangali person must have dreamed that he has become soft paneer and somebody is pampering and rolling him and he is floating happily and contentedly in sugar syrup. Thus, the 'Rasgulla' must have born. It will be interesting to search the dreams of persons from different regions and to know the cuisines born out of these dreams. Similarly, Thalipeeth is a (may not be sweet but) round dream of Marathi man. Just like Marathi man, this is very simple, raw but useful. It is easy to prepare, tasty, nutritious and something one wants to eat daily.
	So, now we will prepare two Thalipeeths (for two persons).
Pre-preparation:	Prepare 'Bhajani' - roasted multi-grain flower. (For, how to prepare 'Bhajani', please see the process on this blog.) Cut onion and coriander.
Preparation:	·     We will need two bowls of homemade 'Bhajani' (prepared preferably according to our method. If not available, you can also use ready-made 'Bhajani' from market.);  half to one bowl finely cut onion; finely cut coriander,  1 teaspoon full turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon full red chilli powder (or green chili paste), 3-4 teaspoon full sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon full jeera; 1 teaspoon full ajwain (or ajowan) seeds, salt to taste, 1-2 teaspoons oil and water. If you like experimenting you can have ginger and/or garlic paste, black pepper powder, garam masala, grated coconut and grated carrot/cabbage or other vegetables.
Recipe:	Take all the ingredients (except oil and water) in a big shallow dish and mix them.  Add some fun and Kus-Khushi.  Then add some water slowly while mixing it, prepare a dough (not too loose) and knead it thoroughly.  Now make two potions of this dough and roll them into balls and keep them aside.  Spread some oil on a shallow wok and flatten the dough balls into discoid shape (just like pizza) in the shape of bhakri. Make some holes (5, 6, 7, 12 according to the size) and add some oil in them. spread a thin film of oil on the surface also and roast over medium flame.  After one side is roasted, turn it upside down and shallow roast other side also.   ·         ·
Fortification:	Thalipeeth is already very rich (in carbohydrates and Proteins) in the category of Bread/Roti/Pizza, because it is prepared from Roasted Multi-grain Flour (containing many cereals and legumes). So any type of two-dish-meal (like bread-Usal, Roti-Vegetable, Dal-Roti) becomes more enriched if we use Thalipeeth instead of bread or roti.  Roasting the grains before preparing the flour also makes it easily digestible and more tasty.    In traditional Thalipeeth only onion is used. But we can also use greated or finely chopped cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, radish, dudhi or red pumpkin, or any green-leafy vegetable.    Thalipeeth can also be used as a Pizza base with many types of veg/non-veg toppings. Thus, in these two ways, it can be converted into one-dish-meal.
Skills:	Thorough kneading of dough is very essential. Dough becomes loose if kept for long time. Initially, giving attention to the thickness is more important than the perfect round shape. Making holes gives idea of thickness at various places. Equalize the thickness accordingly. Equal thickness all over ensures uniform roasting. Apply some oil or water to fingers while flattering the dough to prevent sticking of the dough to fingers. Loose dough is more sticky. In that case, add some dry flour and knead again.    Initially, cover it with a lid and Roast on a high flame, to preserve energy. Then remove the lid and roast on a low flame.   Roasting a Thalipeeth is not an art. Just see it is cooked and not burnt. But perfect and uniform roasting according to our taste and preference (soft, crispy, hard, over roasted, etc.) definitely requires skill. (It also depends on the ingredients of Bhajani-flour; soft or coarse grinding; looseness of dough, thickness and amount of oil used.
Presentation:	It is enough to serve it in a dish with some butter (or Ghee) and any pickle. A boul of curds is welcome.    You can decorate it with chopped tomatoes, grated carrots, coriander, mint, basil and grated cheese.
Serving:	We wanted it for two. so we will share first Thalipeeth and start eating while other is getting ready. Then we will share another.
Tasting:	Thalipeeth should be eaten in very small portions and chewed thoroughly. that way its taste is enhanced. first half should be eaten without talking. Second half becomes more interesting with chatting.
Afterthoughts:	Bhalani is a very useful, nutritious and versatile flour. it should always be present in the kitchen. We can make many tasty, easy to prepare (anybody-can-cook dishes) and nutritious cuisines (Bhakari, Thalipeeth, Wade, Kadaboli, etc.) with this flour in very short time. These cuisines are useful as starters, snacks, side dishes,  breakfast, one part of two-dish-meal and one-dish meal.