Sweet Banana Thalipith – so very easy to make this delicious pillow-soft and fluffy flatbread, right on the stove-top, in under 30 min.
No need for an oven… just a good heavy-bottom frying pan is all you need. And…… no eggs, no milk, no nuts… So, it’s free from common allergens too! With just a few ingredients, mostly common pantry staples, you can make it on the fly whenever the craving hits. Hmm…. craving it already?
Perfect for using up some of those slightly over-ripe bananas – you know, the ones with way too many brown spots on the peels… you know you need to use them up fast. Sure, you could make some muffins or a smoothie or perhaps some Shikran (pronounce Shik-run, the popular Maharashtrian side-dish with mashed banana and milk). But what if you want a no-fuss, fast-fix warm snack to have with your coffee?
My Mom used to make these, sometimes for afternoon snack and sometimes for weekend breakfast. Coming home from school, I would smell them as soon as I entered the front door… My mouth watering in anticipation, I would rush to wash my hands! I loved the soft puffy texture, didn’t really care if it was warm or not; I just wanted to smear it with a bit of Ghee (clarified butter) and wolf it down!
Sweet Banana Thalipith – Wholesome goodness
So… what goes into this Sweet Banana Thalipith? Bananas, of course…. Whole wheat flour, Jaggery (Gud – pronounce ‘good’, Hindi; Gul – pronounce ‘Gool’, Marathi; unrefined sugar), oil and a little baking powder; and… a bit of crushed cloves and/or cardamom thrown in for that extra heavenly flavor. Delicious and wholesome … any time of day when you’re feeling a little peckish and craving something yummy.
I watched Mom like a hawk whenever she made them. She put the peeled bananas in a bowl, mashed them quickly with her fingers, then threw in all the other ingredients. In less than a minute, she had the soft, almost batter-like dough ready to cook. That’s when my mouth started watering….. and I knew the next 20 min would test my patience to the hilt!
Heavy-bottom pan is best for cooking Thalipith
Ideally, you should use a heavy bottom pan for cooking this Thalipith. Why? Because of the sugar from the bananas and Jaggery, it tends to burn rather easily on the bottom if you use a lightweight, thin-bottom pan. A heavier pan helps to deliver heat more evenly, allowing the Thalipith to cook properly without getting quickly scorched on the bottom.
What if you don’t have a heavy-bottom frying pan? Improvise! Go “double-decker” (pan-on-a-pan) – place a griddle on your stove-top and then place your light-weight frying pan on top of the griddle… Voila! Instant heavy-bottom pan!
I saw Mom use this simple trick whenever she wanted the bottom of the pan to be a bit heavier than what she had. She would just put her everyday Chapati/Roti Tava (griddle, iron/carbon steel) underneath the container she was cooking something in. She used it during the last stages of making diverse dishes like Pulao, Kheer, Sweet Saffron Rice (Keshari Bhaat), etc.
Spread the Thalipith dough and make some “holes”!
So… let’s see how you would spread the prepared dough on the pan – preparing it for cooking to golden perfection! Start off by greasing your frying pan (10 inch/25 cm) with a little oil (or Ghee) and quickly transfer the prepared dough.
Ideally, grease the pan and keep it ready before you begin the mix the dough. Why? The baking powder begins to work immediately after becoming “wet”, and the fluffiness starts to drop off pretty quickly. So, you have to get through the next steps quite fast. Start cooking the Thalipith as soon as possible after mixing the dough.
Wet your fingers in a small bowl of water and gently pat the dough to spread it out into a 6 1/2 -7 inch (16-18 cm) circle. Don’t spread it all the way to the very edge of the pan. The soft dough spreads quite easily, so use a very light hand. Remember the puffiness is from the baking powder in the dough and spreading with a heavy hand will defeat its purpose!
Dip your forefinger in water and poke a “hole” in the middle, all the way to the bottom of the pan. Wiggle your finger a bit to make the hole a little bigger – it tends to close up as soon as you remove your finger. Make 4 more “holes”, evenly spaced around the Thalipith.
What are these “holes” for? A clever little trick to deliver oil to the middle of the Thalipith, which helps to make the Thalipith evenly crispy and golden on the bottom. In addition, the oil delivered through the “holes” also helps keeps the Thalipith from getting stuck on the bottom.
Cook the Thalipith on low-medium heat
Now… time to start cooking. Place the pan on the stove-top and turn the heat on high, just for a minute or 2 to get the pan hot. Working quickly, drizzle a little oil into each of the “holes” and also around the edges of the dough. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low-medium and cook the Thalipith, undisturbed, for about 8-10 min. If you use a glass lid, you will see a fair amount of moisture condense on the inside of the lid.
A good way to keep the Thalipith moist is to let this moisture drip right back, evenly, all over the top of the Thalipith. So, when you lift the lid, do it gently and direct the condensed water drops all over. Watch as they get absorbed almost instantly!
At this stage, the Thalipith actually looks a little bigger – it is puffy, the surface looks dry and the “holes” look much smaller… because the dough also spreads a bit as it puffs up. Prepare to flip…..
Prepare to flip the Thalipith
Before flipping to cook the other side, you need to gently loosen the Thalipith from the pan. Drizzle a few drops of oil into the “holes” – this will help release the Thalipith more easily. Use a strong and sturdy long-handled turner/spatula (see pictures of suitable turners in Recipe Directions) to loosen the Thalipith. Start by slipping it underneath, just a little – about an inch (2-3 cm), working all around the edges. Continue, pushing the turner a bit further on the second go-around. Probe gently to the center and shake the pan a little to check if the Thalipith slides a bit.
Once you’re sure it is fully loosened from the pan, it’s tim to flip. Insert the spatula as far as possible- about 2/3 of the way – and deftly flip it in one quick motion. This step has to be done quickly, and with the right kind of turner. Otherwise, the fluffy and rather delicate Thalipith is likely to break apart.
You should see a gorgeous golden brown crust… just perfect! Another 8-10 min of undisturbed cooking on low-medium heat to brown the other side and that’s it! Turn the heat off… wait a couple min and get ready to attack …. hot off the press!
As you might imagine, those last 8-10 min are sheer torture…. The heady fragrance of banana, cloves and cardamom wafts through the whole house and makes you hop with impatience for it to be done already!
Simple sweet treat – packed with healthy nutrients
This simple sweet treat not only satisfies your sweet cravings, it packs a whole lot of health-promoting goodness too! Bananas, of course, need no introduction – even babies encounter “love at first taste!” Combined with whole wheat flour and Jaggery, this Thalpith makes for a very satisfying snack indeed. It boasts a goodly amount of fiber, along with carbs, protein and an array of micro-nutrients. All this … in a sweet treat that leaves you feeling well-fed and satiated? How amazing is that?
And the flavorful cardamom and cloves? They’re not just for making these super-tasty… Used since ancient times as medicines, they pack spectacular health benefits too. These spices support the immune system, act as antioxidants, and also exhibit anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.
Special Diets
As mentioned earlier, this sweet Banana Thalipith is vegetarian, nut-free, dairy-free, soy-free and egg-less. However, since it is made with whole wheat flour, it is obviously not gluten-free. I haven’t tried making it with gluten-free flour yet, but plan to and will post an update when I do.
So… use up some of those spotty-looking bananas and make yourself some sweet Banana Thalipith… Sit down and relax with your warm snack, smeared with Butter or Ghee, and a hot cup of coffee. Hmmm…. Want something to off-set the sweetness just a tad? Try it with a little smidge of a simple tart and spicy pickle – like this Green chilli pickle (shown in the featured picture for this post!) or this Upvas style lemon pickle…
If you’re feeling generous, invite a friend over to share this delightful treat…. Otherwise, save some for tomorrow’s snack attack!
Do leave a review and a star rating. Many thanks for your feedback.
Enjoy!
Sweet Banana Thalipith – Easy to Make on Stove-top
Equipment
- 1 Heavy- bottom frying pan: non-stick preferred if non-stick not available, cast iron or heavy stainless steel OK. May need more oil to prevent sticking; if pan is not heavy-bottom, see how to improvise in Recipe directions.
- 1 Sturdy spatula/turner preferably flat, or with just a slight angle between the handle and the turner. Do NOT use turners with a sharp angle between the handle and the turner, or one with a "lip" around the edges -they tend to break the Thalipith while flipping. See pictures in Recipe directions.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Banana – mashed coarsely – leave a little texture about 1 medium banana: fully ripe, slightly over-ripe OK; measure the mashed banana very carefully – do not add extra- it makes the Thalipith become soggy!
- 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Chapati Flour if not available – check Recipe Notes for alternatives
- 1 tbsp Jaggery powder also called Gud / Gul; if using chunk Jaggery, cut carefully into very small pieces – then crumble to a coarse powder – big chunks will not dissolve quickly into the dough; if Jaggery is not available, see Recipe Notes for alternatives
- 1 tbsp Oil – divided (1 tsp in dough + 2 tsp for pan-frying) I use Peanut oil; any other mild tasting oil is OK; I do not recommend using extra-virgin olive oil or sesame oil in this recipe
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/8 tsp Clove powder
- 1/8 tsp Green cardamom seeds- freshly ground preferred
- 1 pinch Salt about 1/16 tsp or less
- 2-3 tbsp Water adjust as needed
Instructions
- Peel slightly over-ripe banana – peel with several brown spotsDo not use banana with almost black peel.
- Mash coarsely with your fingers – a little texture is good; do NOT mash till smooth
- Grease a heavy-bottom frying pan (10 in /25 cm) with 1/2 tsp oil. Note:If you do not have a heavy-bottom pan, improvise: just place a griddle underneath your pan while cooking – now it is "heavy-bottom"!Also, if you're not using a non-stick coated pan (cast iron, stainless steel), you will need to use a bit more oil- about 1 tsp to prevent the Thalipith from sticking to the pan while cooking.
- Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl, except the water. Please measure the banana carefully, AVOID adding too much banana!(See Recipe Notes for alternatives for Whole Wheat Chapati flour and Jaggery)
- Mix quickly to make a soft dough – add 1-2 tbsp water, if needed, to adjust the consistency.NOTE: Do NOT add extra mashed banana to make the dough softer! It will make the Thalipith become soggy!
- Quickly transfer the fluffy dough to the greased frying pan. The next part must be done as quickly as possible, to make sure the fluffiness from the baking powder is not "lost"!
- Wet your fingers in a small bowl of water; with a light hand, quickly pat the dough into a 6-7 inch circle. The soft dough spreads very easily.Note: Do NOT press down hard on the dough while spreading, or the Thalipith will not become fluffy.
- Dip your forefinger in a bowl of water. Poke a "hole" in the middle, all the way to the bottom. Wiggle your finger a little, pushing the dough outward, to try to make the hole bigger. As soon as you remove your finger, the "hole" tends to slowly close upon itself.Make 4 more "holes", evenly distributed around the Thalipith.Place on the stove and drizzle a little oil into each of the "holes".
- Cover and cook 1-2 min on Hi; then reduce heat to low-medium and continue to cook, undisturbed, for 8-10 min. All stoves are slightly different, so you will need to be alert during this time, to make sure you are letting the Thalipith cook evenly without burning on the bottom.If you start to notice a "burnt" smell, immediately remove the pan from the heat for a couple of min, turn the heat to the lowest setting and then continue to cook for the remaining time. If you use a glass lid, you will begin to see water droplets condensing on the lid.Remove the lid carefully, and keeping the lid tilted at an angle, move it around, hovering over the top of the Thalipith, so that the condensed water droplets drip back on to the Thalipith. The water will be absorbed instantly and helps keep the Thalipith moist.Turn the heat off while you prepare to flip the Thalipith.
- Use a long-handled spatula/turner that is either completely flat or has only a slight angle between the handle and the turner – see the accompanying pictures.The Indian style flat turners, called Ulathna ("oo-luth-nuh" – Marathi), Palta ("Puh-l-taa" – Hindi) are typically made of metal and may scratch a non-stick pan – they would be fine to use with non-coated pans. Use non-stick safe utensils for non-stick pans. The picture shows turners made of nylon, wood and stainless steel. Do NOT use a turner with a sharp angle – like the red one on the extreme right in the picture – it will likely cause the delicate Thalipith to break when you try to flip it.Also do NOT use a turner with a "lip" around the edges – these too will likely make the Thalipith break while flipping.
- Drizzle a little oil around the edges, a few drops into each "hole" and a few drops around the top of the Thalipith. This will help to release the Thalipith more easily.Loosen the Thalipith from all around the edges by slipping the turner underneath the Thalipith – about an inch or so (2-3 cm) Repeat, this time pushing the turner a bit further under the Thalipith. Finally, push it through to the very center. Shake the pan a little to see if it slides a bit. If not, gently probe again to loosen it where it might be stuck.
- Once it has been completely released from the pan, push the turner past the center (about 2/3 of the way works well) – to get good leverage; lift it up just a little and quickly flip it. Note: If it does cracks/break while flipping, no worries. Just push the pieces back against each other. The pieces won't look as pretty, but will still taste just as good!
- Turn the heat back on – low-med setting; add a few drops of oil into the "holes" and around the sides, cover and cook for 8-10 min, till browned on the bottom. This side is usually much easier to flip to check for browning.
- Transfer to a cutting board, cool slightly, and cut into quarters.
- Serve piping hot with butter/Ghee and a spicy green chilli or lime/lemon pickle.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Don’t have Whole Wheat Chapati flour (also called Atta)?
The texture of the Thalipith is affected by the amount of gluten in the flour. Whole Wheat Chapati flour (Atta) typically has less gluten than American Whole Wheat flour. High gluten flour can make the Thalipith a bit tough and chewy, rather than soft and fluffy. So: Instead of 1/2 cup Chapati flour (Atta), use one of the following combinations with American whole wheat flour. Each combination will obviously have its own flavor variation, different from Chapati Atta-
- 6 tbsp American Whole Wheat flour + 2 tbsp oat flour
- 6 tbsp American Whole Wheat flour + 2 tbsp buckwheat flour
- 6 tbsp American Whole Wheat flour + 2 tbsp quinoa flour
- 6 tbsp American Whole Wheat flour + 2 tbsp almond flour
- 6 tbsp American Whole Wheat flour + 2 tbsp brown rice flour
Don’t have Jaggery?
Now worries… you can use any other sugar you like/have. Naturally, each variety will impart its own unique flavor to the Thalipith. Try one of these “dry” sugars (1:1 replacement for Jaggery powder):- refined/unrefined granulated sugar
- light brown sugar
- coconut sugar powder
- muscovado powder
- piloncillo powder
- panela powder
- etc.
- Definitely NOT what you want.
- How to adjust?
- Don’t use any water when you mix the dough – the liquid from the sweetener will probably be just enough to give you the consistency you need without adding any water. If it looks a bit dry, splash 1-2 tsp water as needed to make a very soft, fluffy dough.
- Don’t use any water when you mix the dough – the liquid from the sweetener will probably be just enough to give you the consistency you need without adding any water. If it looks a bit dry, splash 1-2 tsp water as needed to make a very soft, fluffy dough.
Storing leftovers:
Refrigerator: Store leftover pieces in a tight-lidded container, consume within 1-2 days. To re-heat: Use one of the following methods:- Warm on a heated griddle/frying pan for about a min, until heated through thoroughly
- Microwave for 10-12 seconds.
very good option for banana-lovers and good use of a little over-ripe banana. Shd try with sm flour used in fasting?
I haven’t tried it with any Upvas-suitable flour yet. Perhaps a combination of Rajgira and Tapioca (or Arrowroot) flour might work well. Rajgira flour by itself will probably not work well, – it does not have enough stickiness to hold it together, and the Thalipith might break easily while flipping. Going by instinct, I might suggest trying a 3:1 ratio of Rajgira and Tapioca flours, instead of Chapati Atta.
I will try it soon and post an update.
👍😊
YUM!! Excellent flavor. I only used seeds from 3 cardamom pods and will probably double/triple that next time. I also used multi grain chapati flour (9-ish grains) so it comes out to be about 8 g fiber and 8 g protein. I would call that healthy 💪🏻
Awesome! So glad you liked it- it is one of my favorites too!
I might suggest sprinkling the “extra” cardamom seed powder on top, after cooking, rather than in the batter while cooking – cooking makes the flavor “disappear” faster because the oils are so volatile.
It was delicious and so easy to make!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Anagha. Hope you make it again… I make it quite often, precisely because it is so easy and you can make it onthe fly… not much advance planning needed!
I had the good fortune of having Sushma make this for us and enjoyed this recipe! Heated a piece of it in our small oven and then ate it with ghee. It’s a nice snack, and a useful recipe when you have to use up bananas that may have over ripened.
It’s my favorite!
I didn’t have jaggery so I used one of the alternatives (light brown sugar) and I believe that was the perfect ingredient. I Highly recommend using that if you do not have jaggery. Nice little snack.
Ahhhh… one of my all-time favorite snacks! So glad you enjoyed it and that the light brown sugar worked well for you, David.
I have a similar recipe with pumpkin (or butternut squash) – that was my very first post on this blog – maybe you’d like to try that – it will take just a bit longer , though, since you have to cook the pumpkin first – but in the microwave, that only takes about 10 min, then you simply scoop it out, away from the peel, with a sturdy spoon.. Hope you try that too!
Here’s the link: https://theculinaryheart.com/pumpkin-thalipith-a-maharashtrian-delicacy/
Thanks for your thoughtful and kind review and the 5-stars as well! 🙂