Whole Wheat Naan: For a Healthier Me!

Whole Wheat Naan

It is one of those ‘frozen brain’ days where I am I am not able to put my feelings into words or sentences (well, in my case lengthy rants). So till I try to thaw my brains, my friends, enjoy this rare moments where you will not be tortured with my ramblings or stories. All we going to talk are food, food and only delicious food!!!

Today I have this delicious Whole Wheat Naan that I had prepared to go with Malai Koftas.
Now before going to recipe part let me give you a brief note on what is Naan.

The first recorded history of naan can be found in the notes of Amir Khusrau (AD 1300) as naan-e-tunuk (Persian: نان تنک) (light bread) and naan-e-tanuri (Persian: نان تنوری) (cooked in a tandoor oven) at the imperial court in Delhi. In Mughal times, Naan, accompanied by qeema/Kheema or kabab, was a popular breakfast food of the royals. The word is believed to have originated in Central Asia within the Persian speaking nations of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Tajikistan, the word naan literally means "bread." The word and bread later spread to South Asia, into present-day Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and the surrounding regions. (Source: Wiki)

Traditionally Naan is cooked in Tandoor or an earthen oven which works on the same principle as of the modern day ovens. Interestingly, the biggest advantage of cooking in Tandoor is that it provides complete wrap around heat due to the way it is built and by controlling the draught and the fuel, Tandoor can be heated up to 400 degrees C, which is something no other traditional cooking oven can achieve (Source: buzzle.com). To bake breads like Naan or Tandoori Roti, the rolled circular dough is stuck inside the Tandoor with the help of a hooked stick or even bare hands. When the Roti or Naan is cooked, it falls off and is then collected using long pointed stick. The aroma and the taste of Rotis or Naans cooked in Tandoor oven is something hard to describe and one needs to taste the hot, soft Tandoor Roti or Naan to experience how delicious bread can taste! Since we don’t own a Tandoor or have no plans of owning one in future, we use simple method of making Naan using stove top or gas/electric oven at home! I usually use simple iron griddle and make Naan on stove top.

Unlike my previous recipe for Butter Naan which is made using Maida/All Purpose Flour, this one is a healthier version and hence, guiltless indulgence (and works very well for my current diet plan)! I wasn’t too sure as how it would taste in the beginning as Naan meant flat bread made with Maida and Maida alone! But to my surprise (a pleasant one too!), it not only tasted wonderful, it also remained soft even when I served it again for dinner! Yes, none of that unpleasant rubbery texture which requires you to use both your hands to tear the Naan into pieces! ;) All I needed to do was wrap it in a paper towel and pop it in a microwave for a minute and voila, soft, aromatic and delicious Naan was ready to be served with in minutes. Next time I am thinking of freezing it and see how it turns out. If you have already tried freezing it, do leave a line as how it tasted. Before I sign off, I would like to send this bread basket to dear Dee of Ammalu's Kitchen who is guest hosting this month's Think Spice: Kalonji, a wonderful event started by dear friend Sunita and also Susan's Yeastspotting.

White Sesame & Nigella Seeds for topping

Print This Recipe

---

Whole wheat Naan (Indian flat bread made using whole wheat flour)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Resting Time: 2-3 hours
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes: 10-12
Recipe Level: Medium
Spice Level: Low
Serving Suggestion: With any curry of your choice

---

Ingredients:
2½ cups Whole Wheat Flour/Atta
½ cup All Purpose Flour/Maida (Optional. If you want to omit Maida simply increase the amount of Wheat flour used to 3 cups)
¼ cup warm Milk
¾ - 1 cup Yogurt
1 sachet Yeast
½ tbsp Sugar
¼ tsp Baking Powder
1-1½ tsp Salt
2 tbsp Oil
Warm water for kneading

Other Ingredients:
Choice of ingredients for topping (I used Nigella seeds, Sesame Seeds & finely chopped Coriander Leaves)
Ghee/Butter
Wheat flour/All purpose flour for dusting while rolling the Naan

Whole Wheat Naan

Method:
For the Dough:

Dissolve yeast in warm milk and keep aside for 10 minutes. Soon the yeast will start to react and will become all bubbly and frothy.
Next, sift wheat flour and all purpose flour along with sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a small well in the centre and slowly add yogurt, oil and yeast dissolved milk. Add little warm water if needed and kneading till you get soft pliable dough.
Cover this dough with a wet cheese cloth or cling film/plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for 1½ to 2 hours till the dough rises and doubles its original quantity.
Punch down this raised dough to release air and divide it into equal sized lemon sized balls.

Whole Wheat Naan cooking on cast iron tawa/griddle

For Cooking the Naan:

Heat tawa/griddle at medium flame. Roll this dough ball in little wheat flour and flatten it on flat surface. With the help of rolling pin, roll it into a ¼ inch thick oval shaped roti. Sprinkle little sesame seeds, nigella seeds and coriander leaves or any topping of your choice and gently press them using rolling pin.
Flip the naan and sprinkle little water and gently place it on the heated iron tawa. Remember to put the water side down.
When you see bubbles forming on the surface of naan in few seconds time, increase the heat to high and lift the tawa and turn it down so that the surface of naan is directly exposed to the flame. While keeping the flame on high, move the tawa so that naan is cooked evenly and dark spots starts to appear.
Well, Whole Wheat Naan is ready to serve. Apply butter or ghee and serve hot with any Curry of your choice.

Continue Reading...

Paneer-Matar Parathas: Frozen Food Lovers Delight!

Paneer-Matar Parathas

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.”
~Calvin Trillin

But I can easily argue there are many leftovers that taste better than the fresh ones and in my honest opinion Indian curries belong to that category of food that tastes best when served on next day or still after 2 days since it was cooked. And how can I even forget to mention one of my favourite rice dish Bisi Bele Bhath that builds more flavour when served on next day. So Mr. Trillin, think again. May be you been served the best tasting food all the way in the form of leftovers! ;)

These days our kitchen adventures are limited to twice or thrice a week. With our ever growing workload, which by the way is giving serious competition to Mt. Everest, we either don’t have the energy or mood to cook anything when we get back home. So it’s either leftovers or a canned soup which comes to our rescue as we absolutely loath the idea of ordering food from takeaways. Hence the great need to cook in bulk quantity and storing it in fridge or freezer has arisen and we have been cooking the foods that can be easily stored for long time.

One such food item that can be easily cooked in bulk and tucked in freezer is Parathas. Just the thought of rolling stuffed Parathas was biggest nightmare for me few months ago. I was known for creating funny looking roties that had very unique shape as that of different countries and states in world map. May be that was the reason I didn’t venture into stuffing and rolling the Parathas for quite a long time till one day I couldn’t hold the temptation of devouring freshly prepared Parathas with yogurt and spicy pickle. That’s how my love for homemade Parathas took different dimension and I have been enjoying the whole process of kneading, stuffing and rolling almost-perfect Parathas. And best thing about it is you can make them in big batches and freeze them to be savoured whenever you feel like. Don’t we just love leftovers?

Paneer-Matar Parathas

There few basic tips for beginners when it comes to making Stuffed Parathas. First, don’t worry too much if you end up getting some funny shaped Parathas. Remember amoeba from your school biology classes? My roties were compared to them in the beginning by my family and friends and surprisingly, the very last crumbs of roties were devoured by the same people. So its taste that matters, not how they look. Second, go for the easy and simple stuffing/filling for Stuffed Parathas in the beginning. IMHO, the best stuffing is simple mashed potatoes, with no lumps, flavoured with spice powder. As long as you have well mashed potatoes it is quite easy to stuff them and roll. Take small quantity of stuffing and roll them into parathas or place the stuffing between two rolled chapattis and seal the edges. Once you are comfortable with simple stuffing you can try with other fillings like cauliflower, radish, zucchini, carrot, green peas etc. The choices are endless. Third, the quality of wheat flour or Atta is very important when it comes to soft, fluffy Parathas. I prefer Annapurna, Ashirwad and Pillsbury Chakki Atta brands where they use the age old technique of grinding the whole wheat into fine powder. I have tried other brands but they don’t come half as good as the qualities of these three brands (hey, I am not paid by these companies to endorse their product). Given a choice I would opt for freshly ground Atta from girNi shops like my Amma. If you keep these basic tips in mind, it won’t be too long for you to get perfectly shaped stuffed parathas.

Coming to today’s recipe, we have delicious Paneer-Matar Parathas. Sweet green peas and grated Indian cottage cheese flavoured with green chillies and heady spice powder is one of the simple yet exciting combinations. Instead of mashing the cooked peas, I roughly ground them in food processor which helps you to get evenly stuffed parathas without oozing. When these Paneer-Matar Parathas are served with a bowl of cool, creamy yogurt and spicy pickle along with fresh vegetable salad it becomes a comforting and very satisfying meal. I am sending this stack of Paneer-Matar Parathas to dear Roma who is guest hosting JFI-Wheat, an event started by Indira of Mahanandi.

Paneer & Peas Filling for Paneer-Matar Parathas

Print This Recipe

---

Paneer-Matar Paratha (Flat bread of whole wheat flour stuffed with spiced Indian cottage cheese and green peas)
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes: 10-12
Recipe Level: Intermediate to Difficult
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any curry of your choice or with a bowl of raita/yogurt and pickle

---

Ingredients:
For Paratha:
2-2½ cups Atta/Whole Wheat Flour
¼ cup Yogurt
1-2 tbsp Oil/Ghee
Warm Water for kneading
Salt to taste

For the Stuffing:
1½ cups Paneer/Indian cottage Cheese, grated
1 cup Green Peas
1 small Red Onion, finely chopped
3-5 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
Little Atta/Whole Wheat flour for dusting
Little Oil/Ghee

Paneer-Matar Parathas

Method:

For the Dough:
Sieve atta and mix in salt, oil/ghee and yogurt.
Slowly add warm water little at a time and knead well to make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For Stuffing:
Place green peas in a microwave safe bowl with lid. Add pinch of salt and cook at high power for 3-5 minutes. Drain the water produced during cooking and let it cool for a while. Now you can either mash it using a potato masher or use food processor. I usually go for the latter. Place cooked green peas, garam masala and salt to taste in a food processor and grind to coarse paste. Mix this paste with grated paneer, finely chopped onion and green chillies and mix well. If possible use your hand to combine all these ingredients. Make small lime sized balls and keep them aside.

For the Paratha:
Knead dough again for a minute or two and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and place them on a flat surface. Flatten it little using your palm and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place one panner-matar ball in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on hot griddle and cook on both the sides till brown spots start to appear on top and the parathas are cooked well. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Panner-Matar Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Paneer-Matar Parathas with Yogurt & Pickle

---

Notes:

If you find it too difficult to roll the parathas with stuffing, add ¼-½ cups of maida/all purpose flour when kneading the dough. Maida gives little elasticity to the dough and helps in rolling the stuffed parathas without the stuffing oozing out.
Make sure that you drain any excess water generated while cooking the green peas. The filling should be dry or else it will ooze out when you roll it into paratha.
The leftover parathas can easily be frozen. To do this, cut few square sheets of butter paper or baking sheet of equal size so that it covers the paratha well. Place a paratha on one sheet and cover it with another square sheet. Place another on top of it and repeat till all the parathas are over. Place this in a large zip lock bag and store it in a freezer. It is better to write down the date on which the parathas were cooked. I usually use them by one month.

Continue Reading...

Aloo-Methi Paratha: My Never Ending Love Affair

Aloo-Methi Paratha

Grocery shopping is never simple, at least in our case! Reason? Oh, the usual one!!! I feel like a kid lost in candy shop. I am one of those nut cases who spend more than required time gazing, touching, picking, thinking, re-picking, re-thinking, re-picking all those vegetables and fruits and even canned tomatoes till people waiting behind me start to throw darts from their eyes, fire from their mouth and are about to run their cart over me. Every time it’s a same story, go for just few ingredients and end up buying a cart load. I have no idea how we end up with bagful of things when we all wanted to buy was just a bar of soap or bag of potatoes!!! I say to myself, just last time but in the end we leave the supermarket with few extra bags and few extra pounds (wish it was weight!!!) lighter. Well, this is what being expected from me when you do weekly or fortnightly shopping at supermarkets. Well, Krish says he can’t take the high risk of taking me for grocery shopping on weekends when he can watch his favourite sports on telly. Men!!!

Few weeks back something different happened. I was looking for a bunch of indispensable coriander leaves at herbs sections and found out they were moved to different aisle. Just when I was about to get annoyed I spotted something which made me almost scream with joy. There it was, one whole shelf filled with Indian greens and vegetables. Bottle gourd, Okra, Bitter gourd, Plantains, Palak, Methi, Sugarcane and big bunches of Coriander and Mint leaves unlike the usual few stings. And to top it all they had even stocked Curry leaves. I did a virtual cartwheel with joy and pushed my cart at record speed towards them like a horse with a carrot dangling in front of it. And I did another virtual happy dancing when I saw 2 for a pound offer for all green leafy vegetables. 2 big bunches of palak, another two bunches of fresh methi leaves and big bunch of coriander, curry and mint leaves were picked at lightening speed.

For next few days we had marathon cooking series of Aloo Palak, Dal Palak, Aloo Methi, Methi Matar Malai, Methi Dal and still were left with half bunch of Methi. Not wanting to cook another curry we decided to make stack of hot and delicious Aloo-Methi Paratha. Oh yes! I am still in honeymoon period when it comes to stuffing and rolling parathas since I made first batch of Aloo-Peas Parathas few months ago. And every time I stuff and roll them I feel giddy with joy of getting evenly stuffed and perfectly shaped parathas.

This time I kept the filling very simple and minimal. Few green chillies for heat, amchur powder for tanginess, and cumin for fragrance is all I needed. Hing is added for digesting starchy potato. All these ingredients complimented little bitter fenugreek leaves and creamy potatoes. Served with a bowl of creamy Yogurt and spicy Garlic Pickle, it was one very fulfilling and delicious rainy and gloomy weekend brunch. Off my stack of Aloo-Methi Parathas go to dear Latha who is guest hosting this month’s WBB-Combi Breakfast initiated by lovely Nandita and also to dear Redchilli who is guest hosting Herb Mania-Fenugreek initiated by Dee.

Wishing all my fellow Indian bloggers a very Happy Independence Day... Jai Hind.

Print This Recipe

---

Aloo-Methi Paratha (Indian Flatbread stuffed with mashed Potatoes and aromatic Fenugreek Leaves)
Prep Time: 10-20 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 10 Medium Sized Parathas

---

Ingredients:
For Dough:
3 cups Chapatti Atta/Whole Wheat Flour (I used Pillsbury Chakki Atta)
2 tbsp Yogurt
Salt to taste
Warm water to knead

For the Stuffing:
2 packed cups of Methi Leaves, picked, washed and chopped
2 large Potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed well
2-3 Green Chillies, very finely chopped
½ tsp Amchur Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds, roasted
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Needed:
Oil/Ghee to brush while cooking the Paratha
Little Atta/flour for dusting

Aloo-Methi Stuffing

Method:
For the Dough:

Sieve atta and mix in salt, yogurt.
Slowly add warm water as and when required and make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Filling:

Mix in chopped green chillies, dry mango powder, roasted cumin seeds, salt to taste with chopped methi/fenugreek leaves and mashed potatoes. Make sure the filling is lump free as it will be easier to stuff and roll the paratha without the filling oozing from the sides.
Make equal lemon sized balls and keep them aside till needed.

For the Paratha:

Knead the dough again for a minute and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place one aloo-methi ball in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on hot griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked well and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Aloo-Methi Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Aloo-Methi Paratha

---

Notes:

Before mashing the potatoes let them cool completely. This way the filling will remain dry and filling will not ooze out from covering.
Make sure that the potatoes are mashed without leaving any lumps. This helps in rolling the parathas with even surface.
The leftover parathas can easily be frozen. To do this, cut few square sheets of butter paper or baking sheet of equal size so that it covers the paratha well. Place a paratha on one sheet and cover it with another square sheet. Place another on top of it and repeat till all the parathas are over. Place this in a large zip lock bag and store it in a freezer. It is better to write the date on which the parathas were cooked. I usually use them by one month.

Other Stuffed Paratha recipes blogged so far

• Aloo-Peas Paratha
• Mooli/Radish Paratha
• Gobi/Cauliflower Paratha
• Zucchini/Courgette Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha
• Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

---

Reminder for JFI-Soya:

I invite you all to celebrate Jihva for Ingredients with this month’s theme JFI-Soya. Choice of Soya products, the recipe, ingredients, method etc is entirely left to you. I would greatly appreciate if you can send me any Vegan or Vegetarian recipes but I leave it to your choice. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.

Deadline: 31st August, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and also in your e-mail while sending your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish, Type of Dish and Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.
Continue Reading...

Modest Miss.Slender: Zucchini/Courgette Parathas

Zucchini/Courgette Paratha served with Dal and Baby Corn & Green Peas Curry

“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.”
Jim Davis, 'Garfield'

And zucchini bread is what I made, but dressed up in Indian ishtyle! Zucchini or Courgette is something I was introduced to after coming here. First time I bought it from Farmer’s market thinking it was Cucumber only to realise later it being a vegetable from a family of gourds. Although in culinary context it is treated as vegetable and cooked in savoury dishes, it is in fact an immature fruit being the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower. It is called as Courgette (diminutive of courge, French for squash) here in UK, France and Ireland.

It being a water-based vegetable, I often use them in Dals or simply grilled with other vegetables and served with Guacamole, a safe bet me thinks. This time around I wanted to try it in a different way and used it in making stuffed Parathas. My obsession with stuffing the Paratha is not diminished even a bit since I made those Aloo Parathas. With no potatoes (can you believe that??? No potatoes in my pantry for one whole day), cauliflower or radish in my well stocked refrigerator and pantry, I just thought of giving up making parathas in the end.

Then my eyes fell on modest Miss. Slender, Courgette, I bought from farmer’s market. She was sitting there looking not that happy. May be the male counterparts were giving her hard time. I stared at her, she stared back-neither of us blinking for long. She seemed to be pleading to take her away from cold shelf and all male attention she was getting. Well, it looked like it was just Miss. Blush-y Cheeks, Tomato, who enjoyed all male attention. I decided to take away all her misery by using her in stuffing the Parathas. She happily obliged and transformed herself from almost-tasteless self to savoury delight. She beautifully blended with other ingredients and turned herself into a perfect treat for our weekend meal. This stuffed Zucchini Paratha is my entry for Valli’s Roti Mela and Archana’s One D events. Ladies I hope you like my entry.

Print This Recipe

---

Zucchini/Courgette Paratha (Indian Flat Bread Stuffed with Spiced Courgette/Zucchini )

Prep Time: 20 mins (Excluding Resting time)
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 10 medium sized Parathas

---

Ingredients:
For Dough:
3 cups Chapatti Atta/Whole Wheat Flour (I used Pillsbury Chakki Atta)
2 tbsp Yogurt
Salt to taste
Warm water to knead

For the Stuffing:
2 medium Corgette/Zucchini, trimmed and grated
1 medium Onion, very finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
½-1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Needed:
Oil/Ghee to brush while cooking the Paratha
Little Atta/flour for dusting

Zucchini/Courgette Filling for Parathas

Method:

For the Filling:
Add salt to grated zucchini/courgette and keep it covered for about 10 mins.
Take handful of courgette at a time and squeeze out the water (which can be used while kneading the dough) as much as possible. They should be as dry as possible or else the moisture content will make it difficult when rolling the stuffed paratha.
Mix in chopped onion, chillies, dry mango powder, garam masala, chopped garlic, and roasted jeera powder and keep it aside.

For the Dough:
Sieve atta and mix in salt, yogurt.
Slowly add the squeezed water from zucchini/courgette and warm water as and when required and make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Paratha:
Knead the dough again for a minute and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place about 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Zucchini/Courgettes Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Zucchini/Courgette Paratha

---

Note:

Squeeze out as much of water as possible from courgette/zucchini to avoid from getting soggy parathas. If the water is not squeezed well then there is high chances of it getting difficult to roll them with out the stuffing oozing from the dough and breaking them.
If you are a beginner, start with small amount of stuffing/filling and roll into parathas. Once you learn the technique and are comfortable with the process, you can gradually increase the amount of filling.

Other Stuffed Parathas posted in Monsoon Spice

• Aloo/Potato Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha
• Gobi/Cauliflower Paratha
• Mooli/Radish Paratha
• Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

Many thanks to dear JZ (Good Chat Blog Award), Alka (Rocking Girl Award and Inspiration Award) and Vandana (You Make My Day Award) for passing me these awards. Thank you ladies.

---

Reminder (Just 8 more days to go):

MBP-Street Food ends on 24th of June, 2008. Start patrolling the blogs and cook your favourite Street Food that your tummy begs and heart desires and spread link love.

Deadline: 24th June, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

Continue Reading...

Cooking Therapy: Methi Thepla

Methi Thepla with Yogurt, Priya Garlic Pickle & Mango Slices

My friend was surprised when I told him I find cooking very relaxing and therapeutic. How can getting out pots and pans, chopping and grinding, sautéing and stirring be considered therapeutic, especially when you have to not only cook, but also wash, wipe and put them away was his question. Well, cooking becomes just a task or chore when you think it that way. For me cooking is more than day to day chore. While I find chopping vegetables and fresh herbs quite relaxing, the heady aroma of roasted spices makes me slow down and enjoy little pleasure of life has to offer. The steam coming out of pots and pans gives me free facials every day and the flexibility of adding or substituting any ingredients of my choice gives me a sense of freedom. The colour of various fresh leafy, green, yellow, red, orange and multi-colored fruits and vegetables fascinates me and makes me happy. The process of transforming raw, solitary ingredients into a savoury amalgamation of flavour, taste, smell, texture and colour is always magical. And the ultimate pleasure is when you are rewarded by ohh’s and ahh’s, mmm… its so good, comments coming from the people you love busily licking the food you cooked. This kind of therapy is inexpensive, fun and also tasty! Well, not every task or chore gives you this kind of pleasure. Do you think I am right? What makes you relax and enjoy?

These days I am having real rough time at office. With project deadlines to meet I feel emotionally drained and exhausted by the time I reach home. I find solace in my kitchen with my HD next to me. By the time we finished cooking our dinner I was calm and relaxed and enjoying the moment. Food cooked was simple; Methi Thepla served with bowl of cool Yogurt, Garlic Pickle and sweet Mango Slices. Simple task as picking the leaves from big bunch of fresh Methi/Fenugreek Leaves can be therapeutic and cheer you up and punching and rolling of dough can take away all the frustration and leave you content. Now that’s something I prefer rather than sitting in one dark corner and sulking!!!

Here is the recipe for simple Guajarati flat bread called Methi Thepla which is one full meal by itself. You can serve it alone or accompanied with just Pickle or Yogurt and hence without any doubt it serves as an excellent travel food. Fresh Methi/fenugreek leaves are mixed with few spices and wheat flour to form stiff dough and rolled out and roasted. Uses or Methi/Fenugreek Leaves are many as they are high in iron and minerals content. Read more about them here and here. This is my entry for Valli’s Roti Mela and Priyanka’s SWC-Gujarati Cuisine. Methi Thepla also goes to Susan's Beautiful Bones, an event focused on bringing awareness about Osteoporosis.

Print This Recipe

---

Methi Thepla (Gujarathi flat bread made with fresh Fenugreek Leaves)
Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes: 15 medium sized Theplas

---

Ingredients:

3 cups Wheat Flour/Atta (I used Pillsbury Chakki Atta)
½ cup Gram Flour
1 packed cup fresh Methi/Fenugreek Leaves (just the leaves, no steams)
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
2-3 Green Chillies, very finely chopped or minced
½ tbsp Garlic, very finely chopped or minced
½ tbsp Ginger, very finely chopped or minced
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder (Optional)
1 tbsp White Sesame Seeds
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Warm water as needed

Other Ingredients:
Wheat flour for dusting
Rolling Pin
Ghee/Oil for roasting

Methi/Menthe Soppu/Fresh Fenugreek Leaves

Method:

Pick just the leaves from a bunch of methi/fenugreek leaves and wash thoroughly.
Mix in all the ingredients listed above and form stiff dough by adding little water at a time. Keep it aside covered for about 20-30 minutes.
Knead the dough again for about one minute and make large lime sized balls.
Roll the balls on wheat flour covering it well and press it down with hand. With the help of a rolling pin, roll it into circle to form a roti with ½ cm thickness. Dust off the excess flour.
Mean while heat a griddle/tawa and place the thepla on it. Cook on both the sides at medium to low heat till both the sides are cooked well and few brown spots start to appear.
You can apply the ghee/oil if needed and serve these Methi Thepla hot with chilled Yogurt & Pickle or with a curry of your choice and enjoy.

Methi Thepla

---

Note:
Special thanks to Prema of My Cookbook and Srimathi of Few Minutes Wonders for passing me "The Yummy Blog Award". I really appreciate it girls :)

Other Indian Flat Breads on Monsoon Spice are

• Mooli/Radish Paratha
• Aloo/Potato Paratha
• Gobi/Cauliflower Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha
• Tofu Stuffed Kulcha
• Butter Naan
  

---

Reminder:

MBP-Street Food ends on 24th of June, 2008. Start patrolling the blogs and cook your favourite Street Food that your tummy begs and heart desires and spread link love.

Deadline: 24th June, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

Continue Reading...

One Stinking Flower: Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha

Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha

I was a typical headstrong, independent, strongly opinionated teenager who never hesitated to say “NO” for food cooked using particular vegetable or greens. With 90%+ vegetables and greens which belonged to my black list, it was not an easy task for my Amma to cook something which every family member loved. For me Green Leafy Vegetables were simply horrible to look at let alone taste it. Root Vegetables were loaded with little too much of carbohydrates for my taste. This strange piece of information I seemed to have picked from our Botany class taken by handsome lecturer with cute dimple on his left cheek whenever he smiled and I could see every girl in my college falling for!!! And there were not many vegetables which grew above ground level that caught my fancy. So what did I really eat as a teenager? If your answer is junk food containing lots of deep fried, greasy, spicy, bubbly, unhygienic food cooked every other place except home, then think again.

Like many millions caring, smart mothers all over the world who knows what to cook for their opinionated kids, my Amma too smartly belonged to that category. Amma always made it a point to sneak vegetables in our diet without giving us much choice other than eat it grudgingly. Grudgingly because I knew it contained the greens and vegetables which I simply hated but still the taste made it for everything else. Amma made Uttappas, Stuffed Parathas, low fat Veggie Burgers, grilled Vegetables which I couldn’t resist in spite of not being very fond of veggies and greens. Now when I think of it I cant help but wonder how Amma managed to hide her smile when she saw me stuffing all these goodies one after another with a typical teenager ‘don’t you dare to laugh at me or lecture me’ look on my face. Its not easy being a cool and bindas teenager in India I say!

One vegetable I loved to hate was Cauliflower. I was never fond of this stinking vegetable and always rolled my eyes at people who would go gaga over its shape, texture and taste. It was great unsolved puzzle for me to see people adoring this vegetable which smells (read stinks) and tastes like cabbage, yet another vegetable that topped my hate list. As usual all my theories of why we should ban Cauliflower dishes went to deaf ears of my Mommy dear and as if I really had any fat chance of making her change her mind. Right when I was grumbling as how bad it smells, Amma grated it while I covered my nose with a hanky. My entire lecture on ugly cauliflower, how stupid it was to look at and how I had rather eat cow dung in its place, went to deaf ears. She gave me knowing smile and went on adding a pinch of this and a dash of that and with in few minutes this stinky vegetables dressed with aromatic spices was stuffed in a whole wheat dough and rolled flat. Cooked to perfection with little bit of Ghee on both the sides it smelled almost heavenly to my utter disbelief. She placed this perfectly round, hot, delicious smelling Gobi ke Paranthe with a small bowl of Yogurt and my favourite Pickle in front of me and asked me to taste it if I wanted. I not only tasted it but reluctantly asked for more.

Since then I am completely hooked to this delicious Cauliflower/Gobi Parathas which is second best thing to Aloo/Potato Parathas for me. Served simply with a cup of thick home made Yogurt and spicy Pickle, it sure to win every Cauliflower haters hearts. Amma, this is to you if you are reading it by any chance :) This Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha also goes to my dear friend Srivalli who is hosting Roti Mela after hosting successful Dosa Mela. Valli, I am eagerly looking forward for yet another wonderful round-up.

Print This Recipe

---

Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha (Stuffed Indian Flat Bread with Spiced Cauliflower Gratings)
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 10 medium sized Parathas

---

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour/Atta (I use Pillsbury’s Chakki Atta)
¼ cup Yogurt
Warm Water for kneading
Salt to taste

For the Filling:
2-2½ cups Cauliflower Florets, grated
1 small Onion, very finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Roasted Jeera/Cumin Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1 tbsp Lime/Lemon Juice
½ tsp Garam Masala
¼ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
½ tbsp Kasuri Methi
1 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp Oil (If cooking the Cauliflower)
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Needed:
Oil/Ghee to brush while cooking the Paratha
Little Atta/flour for dusting

Cauliflower/Gobi Filling

Method:

For the Dough:
Sieve atta and mix in salt to taste and yogurt.
Slowly add warm water as and when required and make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Filling:
For the Paratha stuffing you can either cook Cauliflower for few minutes or just mix in all the ingredients with out cooking and then stuff the Parathas. If you prefer to cook it a little bit then follow the following steps.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle, add finely chopped onions, green chillies and sauté it on a medium heat for about 1-2 minutes till onions becomes translucent.
Now add roasted cumin powder, turmeric, dry mango powder, garam masala, kitchen king masala and sauté it for about 30 seconds.
Mix in grated cauliflower florets, salt to taste and kasuri methi and sauté it for about a minute till all the spices are mixed well.
Turn off the gas and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves and let the stuffing come to a room temperature. It is important to make sure that the filling is completely cooled before stuffing as it might ooze from parathas while rolling due to moisture content.

For the Paratha:
Knead the dough again for a minute and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place about 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Cauliflower/Gobi Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha

---

Notes:

Always make it a point to see that the stuffing is as dry as possible. If not there is a high chance of it oozing out while rolling the parathas due to moisture content.
If you are a beginner, start with small amount of stuffing/filling and roll into parathas. Once you learn the technic and are comfortable with the process, you can gradually increase the amount of filling.
Other Parathas posted in Monsoon Spice

• Aloo Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha
• Mooli/Radish Paratha

---

My blog is Yummy!!!
"Yummy blog award is given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

Thank you Swati and Dee for thinking of me and passing this award. I really appreciate your kind gesture. I pass this award to every food blogger as only we know how difficult it is to maintain and update your blog with new posts filled with yummilicious pictures and interesting recipes and articles. You all deserve a tight hug and pat on your back.

Continue Reading...

From India's Bread Basket: Mooli Paratha with Lassi

Mooli/Radish Parathas

There is a land that is drenched by five rivers, their shimmering magical water making it India’s ‘bread basket’. It’s the land that has its own colour, aroma and unique life style with cheerful and most lively people. In this same magical land there is one beautiful farm house with white washed walls and a large courtyard right in a centre of lively, lovely, golden mustard farm with delicate mustard flowers swaying with the cool breeze spreading their earthy aroma all around. It’s early morning time. Birds are singing their welcome songs as the sun rises and spreads his golden rays making everything to gleam and glitter as he touches them. Women of the house are up and awake even before the sun rays could touch the mother earth and they are found in the courtyard busy with their rolling pins.

All ladies are busy as they roll thick poories and then stuffs them with a spoonful of spiced and flavoured vegetables and rolls again it into thick paratha. The Chulha in one corner cooks delicious flat breads one after another and with in no time you see stacks of parathas smudged with dollops of Desi Ghee. They hurry up as they know its just matter of time when the whole household will get up and get ready to face another morning. As one of the ladies cooks last few parathas, another starts making sweet/salty Lassi to go with the Parathas. In few minutes time all the members of the family sit together and enjoy home made delicious Parathas dripping with Desi Ghee and gulping big brass glass of Lassi. Who can resist second servings of these parathas served with dollop of mother’s love? The feeling of fullness, satisfaction and contentment that comes from eating these delicious parathas cooked with mother’s love is emotional family heirlooms for every kid and even grown-ups.

Whenever I make parathas this is the scene which comes into my mind! I guess I have been getting little too much of Bollywood dose these days. After all this is very common scene in most of the movies. Whenever I used watch those ladies (in real and reel life) squatting next to hot tava (griddle), slapping together dozens of roties for their family, I would always wonder if I could make at least one roti at that time period. With little bit of practice and patience I have come a long way from rolling geographical maps to round-puffed roties and neatly stuffed Parathas. Making perfect round shaped stuffed Parathas without the filling oozing is an art in its own way and I am still learning to master this art. We owe a lot to land of five rivers for giving us this opportunity to cook and explore this extraordinary culinary delight, fresh from home.

Paratha dripping with Desi Ghee and a big glass of refreshing Lassi is common breakfast item in Punjabi household. It might sound little odd and too heavy thing to have for early breakfast but Punjabi’s by nature are extremely industrious and helps them to sustain throughout the day. Cooked with different fillings depending on preference and availability of ingredients, these Parathas are one whole meal by itself. Serve them with plain Yogurt with Pickle or with any side dish, they are sure to win everyone’s heart.

This time I made these delicious Mooli/Radish Parathas flavoured with Chillies, Garlic, Garam Masala and Anardaana/ Dried Pomegranate Powder. This simple Mooli/Radish Paratha served with Chass or Spiced Buttermilk is my entry for Mansi of Fun 'n Food’s WBB-Blanced Breakfast.

Print This Recipe

---

Mooli Paratha (Indian Flat Bread stuffed with Flavoured Radish)
Prep Time: 20 mins (Excluding Resting time)
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 10 medium sized Parathas

---

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour/Atta (I use Pillsbury’s Chakki Atta)
¼ cup Yogurt
Warm Water for kneading
Salt to taste

For the Filling:
1 large White Radish/Mooli (Approx. 2 packed cups), washed, peeled and grated
2 tbsp Red Onion, finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust acc to taste)
2-3 Garlic Flakes, finely chopped
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds, roasted and powdered
½-1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Anardaana/Dried Pomegranate Seeds Powder
1 tsp Lemon Juice (Optional, I like it little sour)
1-2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Needed:
Oil/Ghee to brush while cooking the Paratha
Little Atta/flour for dusting

Mooli/Radish Stuffing

Method:
For the Filling:
Mix salt with grated radish and keep it covered for about 30 mins to 1 hour. (Don’t forget to cover the radish properly if you don’t want your kitchen and house to smell of dead rat!)
Take handful of radish at a time and squeeze out the water (which can be used while kneading the dough) as much as possible. They should be as dry as possible or else the moisture content will make it difficult when rolling the stuffed paratha.
Mix in chopped onion, chillies, pomegranate seeds powder, garam masala, chopped garlic, lemon juice if using and roasted jeera powder and keep it aside.

For the Dough:
Sieve atta and mix in salt, yogurt.
Slowly add the sqeezed water from radish and warm water as and when required and make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Paratha:
Knead the dough again for a minute and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place about 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Mooli Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Stack of Mooli Paratha

---

Note:
Remember to cover the grated radish tightly as it has got very unpleasant smell when its raw.
Squeeze out as much of water as possible from radish to avoid from getting soggy parathas. If the water is not squeezed well then there is high chances of it getting difficult to roll them with out the stuffing oozing from the dough and breaking them.
If you are a beginner, start with small amount of stuffing/filling and roll into parathas. Once you learn the technic and are comfortable with the process, you can gradually increase the amount of filling.
Other Parathas posted in Monsoon Spice

• Aloo Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha

---

The best drink to go with Parathas is Lassi or Butter Milk. I like Majjige as it is called in Kannada which is nothing but Spiced Butter Milk which is the quintessential summer drink in India. My Ajji (Grandma) had this big earthen pot of churned buttermilk which was offered to the visitors who would come to meet my Ajja (Grandpa) who was the village head. It would be an understatement if I were to say that I grew up drinking Majjige more than water. It still remains to be one of my most favourite drinks for summer and even winters. Although I have different recipes and variations for this Spiced Butter Milk, Sig darling wants us to try something from other blogs and post it. I tried Priya’s Healthy Yogurt Drink which turned out to be absolutely refreshing and delicious. Thank you Priya for the recipe which we enjoyed a lot. This goes to Sig of Live to Eat who is guest hosting this month’s MBP-Mixed Drink.

Print This Recipe

---

Lassi (Spiced Butter Milk)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: -
Makes: 2 Glasses

---

Ingredients:

½ cup Yogurt (preferably sour)
½-1 tsp Green Chillies, chopped finely (Adjust acc to taste)
¼-½ tsp Ginger, crushed
1 tsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2 cups Water
½ tsp Roasted Jeera/Cumin Seeds, Powdered
1 tbsp Lemon Juice (Optional)
Salt to taste

Lassi/Spiced Buttermilk

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for about a minute.
Strain and place it in a fridge till required. Serve chilled garnished with coriander leaves or mint leaves and enjoy this refreshing drink.

---

An Award:

Surprise surprise!!! Little birdy just came and told me my recipe of Badane Ennegai has won an award of Most Authentic Recipe-Brinjal hosted by my dear friend Pooja.

Thank you Pooja for this wonderful event and thanks to all you people who voted for my recipe. And congrats to Gattina & Pooja for winning other two awards.

Click here for the Badane Ennegai Recipe.

Continue Reading...

One is Not Enough: Double Decker Paratha

Double Decker Paratha

Have u ever been obsessed with anything? Something you can’t stop thinking about it. You see it everywhere even with your eyes closed. You dream of it when you fall asleep and still day dream about it when you are wide awake. Yes, that type of obsession and my current obsession is rolling Parathas. Not just plain parathas but some mean stuffed parathas. It feels good when you master (no place for modesty here ;) something which you thought to be impossible to make let alone master. No, actually it doesn’t feel good… It feels great!

I can already visualise many of you shaking your head and some even banging it against the wall. I am very well aware of the fact that many of you skilfully roll hundreds of these stuffed parathas everyday with ease. I salute all you Aunties. ~ducks her head ;) ~ But it’s a different paratha story for me. I feel like a small baby who just learned to walk without any support and happened to be enjoying this new found freedom!

After my successful attempt with Tofu, Aloo, Gobi, Mooli etc stuffing I wanted to make little different parathas. With little bit of googling (Long Live Google!!!) I came across very unusual recipe from none other than Indian cooking diva Mrs. Tarla Dalal’s blog. Although I don’t own even single book of hers (I really can’t call my single digit cook books as my cook book collection) and never cooked any of her recipes, I have had seen many of her creations being recreated and appreciated in blog world. More than everything what attracted me to this particular recipe of hers is the challenge involved! It was not some usual stuffed paratha. It was unique paratha which she calls Double Decker Paratha where two different fillings are used to create two layered paratha. One look at the recipe I knew I am not gonna rest until I make them. And that’s what exactly what I did on last weekend after postponing my spring shopping!!! For a shop-o-holic, I didn’t regret even for a moment to stay at home and create these babies. Although taste wise it might taste similar if you had to combine these two fillings and make just a usual stuffed parathas, it was gorgeous to look at. Two thin layers of parathas stuffed with crunchy carrots and sweet green peas were lovely to look at. For a foodie they were nothing less than a stunning piece of jewellery studded with corals and emeralds!!!

Click here to view the original recipe. I used the same main ingredients used by Mrs. Dalal but made few changes to suit our palette. I am planning to follow same technique and use different ingredients for my friends during Easter break. Yeah, what can I say? I am a big show off ;) I am sending this to dear Suganya who is guest hosting WBB-Healthy Eats. With colourful raw vegetables and just few drops of oil, I think it does qualify for healthy breakfast eats. Sug, I hope you like it:)

Print This Recipe

---

Double Decker Paratha
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes: 4-5 Large Paratha
Recipe Inspiration: Mrs. Tarla Dalal

---

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
3 cups Atta/Wheat Flour
¼ tsp Salt
Warm Water for kneading

For the Carrot Stuffing:
1½ cups Carrot, grated
1-2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
½ tsp roasted Jeera/Cumin Powder
¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder
½ tsp Anardaana/Pomegranate Seeds Powder
1-2 tsp Lime Juice
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For the Green Peas Stuffing:
1 cup fresh/frozen Green Peas, boiled and mashed
2 tbsp Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
½ tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala
1 tbsp Mint Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
Little Atta/Wheat Flour for rolling
Ghee/Oil for Cooking (Optional)

Carrot and Green Peas Stuffing for Paratha

Method:
For the Dough:
Place atta, salt and warm water in a bowl and mix well to form smooth dough. Keep aside for at least 30 mins covered with a wet cheese cloth.

For the Carrot Stuffing:
Mix grated carrot with all the ingredients listed and keep it aside.
Original recipe instructs to cook carrot for 2-3 minutes but I just mixed the raw ingredients to retain its colour and nutrition and also its crunch. And also it gets lightly cooked when you pan fry the Paratha over medium heat. So the choice is yours.

For the Green Peas Stuffing:
Mix cooked and mashed green peas with all the ingredients listed and keep it aside.
Again the original recipe instructs to cook the ingredients for few minutes.

Step-by-Step Instruction for Assembling the Paratha - Clock-wise from Top Left

Assembling, Stuffing and Rolling the Paratha:
Heat the tawa/griddle at high flame and reduce to low to medium flame.
Knead the dough for another minute or a two and divide it into 12 or 15 equal sized balls (for 4 or 5 Parathas respectively).
Roll them into equal sized discs and cook 4 or 5 chapattis lightly (for 4 or 5 Parathas respectively) and keep aside. Let them cool completely before you proceed.
Now place one uncooked chapatti on a surface and spread about 1 tbsp of carrot stuffing evenly leaving 1-1½ cms in the end.
Cover this carrot stuffing with a cooked chapatti and spread 1 tbsp green peas stuffing evenly on top of this.
Now place the second uncooked chapatti on top of this and seal the edges by pressing it lightly with your fingers. Make sure that you seal the edges well.
Place this Double Decker Paratha on tawa and cook on a very low heat by applying little ghee/oil if desired. Cook till the both the sides are cooked well and brown spots starts to appear.
Cut them into quarters and serve hot with a curry or just plain yogurt and enjoy.

Double Decker Paratha

---

Notes:
Make sure that the chapattis are completely cooled down before you proceed with assembling the paratha as if assembled when it is still warm may tear the uncooked paratha due to moisture produced.
If you are a beginner, you can start off by making small parathas and not stuffing too much of filling.
You can also cook these parathas in Quesadilla maker.
Try using different ingredients for stuffing and follow the same technique to create different flavoured parathas.

---

Reminder!

An Ode to Potato ends on 15th of March. Send in your entry before the deadline and join us in the singing. Bake, boil, mash, fry, sauté, grill, stuff, cook... The choice is endless.

Deadline: 15th March, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of Potato dish.

Click Here to find out more information on this event.

Continue Reading...

Finally... I did it: Aloo Paratha

Stack of Aloo Paratha

I have had seen his larger than life pictures in many blogs, glossy cookbooks and magazines, cooking shows. He had tempted and seduced me enough to touch his well toned body, caress his face, and smell his heavenly fragrance! Oh!!! How badly I wanted him. He was always out of my reach and it was my friends whom he favoured. I envied them and the way they seemed to compliment each other. He never seemed to mind the way my friends treated him and never complained about it when most of them seemed to take him for granted. I never knew I was capable of loving someone so much but all I could do was admire him from distance. I was scared of rejection and couldn’t bear the thought of him or my friends laughing at my poor attempt to attract him. I had attempted few times to lure him and failed miserably until two months back… Yes, at last I conquered my fear of rejection and I can’t stop beaming stupidly. It was just few weeks back that I got hold of necessary ingredients to get his attention and since then there is no looking back. Like every fairly tale or M&B's it is happily ever after for me and my round, dark, handsome Paratha!!!

Mastering the art of making perfectly round, well shaped Paratha is not an easy task. And it’s more so when you make stuffed parathas. My Roties and Chapattis are (in)famous among my friends as they use them as examples for Geography classes. It seemed I somehow didn’t manage to inherit ‘perfect round chapatti rolling’ genes from my Amma. To make things worst, it seemed I skipped making ‘soft chapatti’ genes too. There was no trick and tips that I didn’t follow to get soft, round chapattis and the more I tried, the more it resembled some country map. Just when I was thinking of shooting the person who said ‘practice makes perfect’ everything changed drastically. Nope, I didn’t stop making chapattis. I just happened to find the purr-rrr—fect Atta (whole wheat flour). Well, I am not kidding when I say that 90% of credit goes to Atta for delicious Roti/Chapatti/Paratha I make. Using good quality Atta has always been the secret for soft, fluffy roties which you can tear using your thumb and fore finger. Three brands which Amma likes in India are Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta, Annapurna and ITC’s Ashirwad. I use Pillsbury Chakki Fresh because that’s the only brand I get in my Indian grocery store and I am happy with the soft, fluffy chapattis it makes. And since then it’s been stuffed Parathas at our place every weekend. Don’t be surprised if you see Stuffed Paratha Parade coming in Monsoon Spice because I am kind of enjoying (read obssesed with) making stuffed parathas these days. And please do share about the brand of Atta, little tricks and tips you follow at your home to make soft, fluffy roties. :)

Today I am posting Aloo Paratha. I used Fresh Green Peas in Atta to give it colour, taste and also little boast of nutrition. The green chillies give bit of heat and mint leaves gives little kick of freshness to the dough. The filling I used is usual mashed potatoes flavoured with kalonji and jeera powder. You can also add Garam Masala if needed but I like the subtle flavours of pungent garlic and hing which compliments sweet taste of potato. This Aloo dish is my humble entry for my an Ode to Potato event and lovely Dhivya's The Potato Fe(a)st.

Print This Recipe

---

Aloo Paratha
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-30 mins
Makes: 10 Medium Parathas

---

Ingredients:
For Dough:
3 cups Chapatti Atta/Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Fresh Green Peas
2 Green Chillies
Few Fresh Mint Leaves
Salt to taste
Warm water to knead

For the Stuffing:
2 large Potatoes
2 tbsp Onion, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp Garlic, finely chopped
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
¼ tsp Nigella Seeds/Kalonji
A big pinch Hing/Asafetida
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds(Optional)
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Aloo Stuffing

Method:
For Dough:
Grind fresh/frozen green peas with green chillies and mint leaves to smooth paste adding very little water.
Sift chapatti atta, salt to taste and make stiff dough by adding green peas puree and warm water as needed. Cover the dough with wet cheese cloth and keep it aside in a warm place for at least half an hour.

For the Stuffing:
Cook potato chunks with little salt and turmeric powder. Drain water, cool completely and mash it with a wooden masher without leaving any lumps.
Mean while heat oil and add jeera and kalonji. When they sizzle add finely chopped garlic, green chillies and onion and sauté for few seconds. Switch off the flame and mix jeera powder and amchur.
Transfer these contents to mashed potatoes and mix well. Make small lemon sized potato balls and keep aside.


Aloo Paratha- Work-in-Progress

To Make Stuffed Paratha:
Take dough and knead again for about minute and make big lime sized balls.
Dust it with wheat flour and roll it into thick poories of about 4 inch in diameter.
Place the Potato balls in center. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Aloo Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Aloo Paratha

---

Note:
Before mashing the potatoes let them cool completely. This way the filling will remain dry and filling will not ooze out from covering.
Make sure that the potatoes are mashed without leaving any lumps. This helps in rolling the parathas with even surface.

Continue Reading...