Gobi Paratha

Garma Garam Parathas are best in winters. Stuffed with veggies, these whole wheat parathas are my family's favorite. In fact, I just realized that I make stuffed parathas very often. They are easy to make to take hot lunches to work, easy to heat, and easy to eat too. Shu loves them, and I love making these for him!!

Cauliflower has a peculiar taste...some people love it where as some do not. We love it!! Rustic Aloo Gobi with tandoori roti is also our favorite. Type 'Gobi' under 'Look up a recipe' search box on the right of this screen, and check out various recipes I have made using cauliflower: tikka, manchurian, tandoori, sabzi, and now paratha.

These parathas are very easy to make. Although I used a manual food processor to mince veggies, you can use a mixer grinder on pulse setting to mince it or finally chop or grate them.

Ingredients: (makes around 8-10 parathas)

1 medium to large cauliflower

1 large onion

1 inch ginger

1-2 green chilies

Handful of cilantro

Juice of fresh lemon

1+1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. red chili powder

1 tbsp. garam masala

3 cup whole wheat flour

1+1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. oil

Water to make soft dough (around 1+3/4 cup, depending of type of flour you use)

Ghee or oil for frying paratha

Accompaniments:

Plain yogurt, sliced onions, lemon pickle

To make the dough:

Mix whole wheat flour with salt and oil. Add water to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. Cover and leave it aside for least 15-20 minutes.

To make the stuffing:

• Remove cauliflower florets. and wash them well under water. Soak in salt water if needed to get rid of hidden guests :)
• In a food processor add cauliflower florets, roughly chopped onion, ginger, green chilies and cilantro, and finely mince and mix all together. This should yield around 3-4 cups of minced veggies.
• Remove in a bowl, add salt, chili powder, garam masala and juice of fresh lemon. Mix well and let it rest for some time ( around 10 minutes). This process lets out moisture, which can be squeezed out later while rolling paratha.

To make parathas: 

• Divide the dough into 8-10 parts and roughly divide the stuffing too.
• Keep dry flour, oil or ghee by the side while making and frying parathas.
• Heat the griddle.
• Take 1 part of the dough. Dip into dry flour and roll into 4 inch disc.
• Take 1 part of stuffing in your palms and squeeze out the moisture. 
• Place the stuffing in the center of the rolled dough. Bring the dough sides together and press them to fuse the dough.  
• Gently press it. Use little dry flour and gently roll to form 6 inch diameter paratha.
• Place on hot griddle at medium heat. Wait for 2 minutes and flip the paratha. Add ghee or oil on top of the paratha, Flip and add ghee or oil on the other side. Flip and fry paratha till it is golden brown and done.
• Serve with chilled yogurt, sliced onions, and pickle of your choice.
• Enjoy!!

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Remove cauliflower florets. and wash them well under water. Soak in salt water if needed to get rid of hidden guests :)

In a food processor add cauliflower florets, roughly chopped onion, ginger, green chilies and cilantro, and finely mince and mix all together. This should yield around 3-4 cups of minced veggies.

This is a Wonder Chef manual food processor. I also have my 13 years old Cuisinart food processor that i love it. It just make mincing veggies easy on a busy weekday. It is easy to clean too... i just rinse it and put it in the dishwasher.

Remove in a bowl, add salt, chili powder, garam masala and juice of fresh lemon. Mix well and let it rest for some time ( around 10 minutes). This process lets out moisture, which can be squeezed out later while rolling paratha.

Mix whole wheat flour with salt and oil. Add water to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. Cover and leave it aside for least 15-20 minutes.

Take 1 part of the dough. Dip into dry flour and roll into 4 inch disc.

Take 1 part of stuffing in your palms and squeeze out the moisture. 

Yes, I wash and wipe my hands dry every time after this step. I have OCD for clean utensils which means I cannot touch the rooling pin or spatula with wet or with stuffing bits on my hand. :)

Place the stuffing in the center of the rolled dough. Bring the dough sides together and press them to fuse the dough.

Gently press it. Use little dry flour and gently roll to form 6 inch diameter paratha.

Place on hot griddle at medium heat. Wait for 2 minutes and flip the paratha. Add ghee or oil on top of the paratha, Flip and add ghee or oil on the other side. Flip and fry paratha till it is golden brown and done.

Serve with chilled yogurt, sliced onions, and pickle of your choice.

Enjoy!!

Rawa Idli

The beginning of the long weekend with a light but a lavish breakfast/brunch!! No just kidding, this breakfast looks lavish but it is the simplest and the quickest breakfast I could make today. We are out of regular bread, no milk for tea or coffee or cereal, no poha either. So most of the breakfast ingredients are missing today. I did have semolina. fine rawa, but my husband is not a big fan of upma. So making upma on a weekend would not have been a very good idea. The best I could do is quickly whip up some instant idli batter. With my instant idli chutney powder that I store in the refrigerator, serving idli this morning was super easy. 

Rawa and Kanchipuram idli would be my favorite at restaurants but not many restaurants served it, and that made me really sad. I used to make rawa idli at home all the time and thought that it was kanchipuram idli. :) Little that I knew that they were different, and just realized that they are not the same. How ignorant could I be. But anyways my family loves these idlis. They are so easy and quick to make, and looks great too. Love the soft and puffy idlis with slight crush of veggies and fried cashews in it. I make this for lunch too...tastes delicious when dipped in hot sambar. 

Also the star of this plate and what made my husband go WOW today is serving my simple and quick idlis on our fresh banana leaf. Some of you would know that we have few banana plants growing in our front yard. I had planted these specially because banana tree and leaves are auspicious to us and it would also provide privacy from the street. We do not separate pups from the mother plant so we almost have a banana tree jungle now and we love it. Here are the pictures.

Ingredients: (makes around 20 idlis)

1+1/2 cup rawa or fine soji or semolina

1/4 cup yogurt

1+1/4 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup veggies (green peas, chopped green beans, chopped carrots)

2 tbsp. oil

1 tbsp. urad dal

1 tsp. mustard seeds

2-3 tbsp. cashew nuts

1+1/2 tsp. ENO fruit salt

• Mix rawa with yogurt and water to make a batter. Keep it aside for 5 minutes.
• Add chopped veggies and salt and milk well.
• In a temper bowl, heat oil. Fry urad dal, mustard seeds, and cashews till they turn brown.
• Pour temper into the rawa batter. Mix well.
• Keep the Idli cooker ready with water to start steaming. Grease idli molds.
• Add ENO to rawa idli batter. Mix well. The batter with bubble and froth.
• Pour spoon full of batter in each idli mold.
• Steam for 8-10 minutes.
• Turn the steam off and remove the molds.
• Let it rest for 2 minutes before removing idli out of the molds.
• Serve with chutney and sambar.
• Enjoy!

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Semolina/rawa/fine sooji

Mix rawa with yogurt and water to make a batter. Keep it aside for 5 minutes.

Add chopped veggies and salt and milk well.

In a temper bowl, heat oil. Fry urad dal, mustard seeds, and cashews till they turn brown.

Pour temper into the rawa batter. Mix well.

Keep the Idli cooker ready with water to start steaming. Grease idli molds.

Add ENO to rawa idli batter. Mix well. The batter with bubble and froth.

Pour spoon full of batter in each idli mold.

Steam for 8-10 minutes.

Turn the steam off and remove the molds.

Have a Great Weekend!

Mixed Grain Dhokla

We all know the importance of a good breakfast.  Each day, getting a healthy breakfast on the table can be a task. But with little preparation and planning ahead of time, this is totally possible.

Being a Lacto Vegetarian, I put lot of effort to add protein to my breakfast and daily meal. Earlier I had posted information on proteins in my Khichdi recipe. Check out more information on Complete Proteins below. I have also cited the sources.
"Grains, such as rice, oats, wheat, rye and corn, can act as complementary proteins for legumes such as lentils. They contain the cysteine and methionine that lentils lack, and lentils provide the lysine that grains do not contain enough of. Whole grains are a more nutritious option than refined grains. Legumes and grains are one of the most common pairings for complementary protein. Indian daal with rice is an example of a lentil and grain dish".  http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/foods-mixed-lentils-provide-complete-source-amino-acids-1195.html

This dhokla recipe is a protein rich healthy recipe. I grind grain for fresh flour in my KitchenAid grain mill. The Ingredients I use are good quality and mostly organic. That way I know what I am feeding my family. Check my recipe of homemade Handvo flour. It is fresh and better than the store bought one.You can either dry grind the grains and store the flour till use or soak the grains overnight and then grind and use the batter. We also know the benefits of fermenting food. This recipe is khatta or sour from fermentation and benefits of all the grains: A mixed Grain Khatta Dhokla! Check out all my dhokla recipes.

Ingredients to make Dhokla (serve 2-4 people)
1 cup handvo flour
1 cup sour yogurt
Water (if needed to make batter)
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1tsp. chana dal
1 tsp. salt
!/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/4 tsp. grated ginger
1 chopped green chili
2 tbsp. oil
Pinch of baking soda (optional)

• Mix handvo flour, yogurt, fenugreek seeds, chana dal. Add water if needed to form a thick batter. Cover and leave the batter in a warm place for 8-12 hours up to 24 hours. The batter needs to ferment well and will also get delicious sour taste.
• Mix salt, turmeric, red chili powder, grate ginger, chopped green chilies, and oil. Mix well.
• Add baking soda only if the batter is not fermented well. A well fermented batter will be porous and will make soft dhoklas. 
• Get the steam bath ready.
• Grease a dhokla plate well with oil. Add batter to the plate till it covers 1/4 inch in the plate. Steamed for 5-8 minutes.
• Remove the steamed dhokla plate.
• Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.
• Enjoy mixed grain, healthy dhokla.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:
To make mixed grain flour

Coarsely Ground grains

Mix handvo flour, yogurt, fenugreek seeds, chana dal. fenugreek and chana dal will provide crunch to soft dhokla. 

Add water if needed to form a thick batter.

Cover and leave the batter in a warm place for 8-12 hours up to 24 hours. The batter needs to ferment well and will also get delicious sour taste.

Mix salt, turmeric, red chili powder, grate ginger, chopped green chilies, and oil. Mix well.

Add baking soda only if the batter is not fermented well. A well fermented batter will be porous and will make soft dhoklas.

Grease a dhokla plate well with oil. Add batter to the plate till it covers 1/4 inch in the plate. Steamed for 5-8 minutes.

Remove the steamed dhokla plate.

Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.

A Healthy Snack!!