Paneer Paratha

My husband loves stuffed parathas, and paneer stuffed ones are a treat. Even on a regular working day, making stuffed parathas is quick and easy. I would surely call this an under 30 minute meal.

Ingredients: (makes 7-8 parathas)

3 cups grated paneer

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. salt

2-3 chopped green chilies

1 tsp. grated ginger

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Juice of fresh lime

2+1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. oil

Around 1+1/2 cup water to make a soft dough.

Some chopped cilantro to garnish

Oil or ghee for pan frying paratha

• Mix flour, salt, and oil together and make a slft dough with water. Knead the dough well. Cover and keep it aside foe 20 minutes.
• Grate or crumble soft paneer. Add salt, cumin seeds, grated ginger, chopped green chilies, chopped cilantro, and fresh lime.
• Finely chop onions and keep aside. Mix onions with paneer just before making paratha. Leaving paneer mixture with onions for a long time will make the mixture soft as onions will tend to leave water.
• Divide the dough into 7-8 parts. Roughly divide the paneer mixture in 7-8 parts.
• Using one part of the dough, using dry flour, roll into a 5 inch disc, Place one part of panerr mixture in the center. Bring the sides of the dough together and fuse the dough well.
• Press it gently. Use dry flour and gently roll parathas to form 6-7 inch diameter. 
• Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and roll to press it in the dough.
• Place paratha on a hot griddle.
• Flip and apply ghee or oil and fry on both sides till golden brown.
• Serve with sliced onions and pickle.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Grate or crumble soft paneer. Add salt, cumin seeds, grated ginger, chopped green chilies, chopped cilantro, and fresh lime.

Finely chop onions and keep aside.

Mix flour, salt, and oil together and make a slft dough with water. Knead the dough well. Cover and keep it aside foe 20 minutes.

Keep everything ready to roll parathas.

Mix onions with paneer just before making paratha. Leaving paneer mixture with onions for a long time will make the mixture soft as onions will tend to leave water.

Using one part of the dough, using dry flour, roll into a 5 inch disc, Place one part of panerr mixture in the center. Bring the sides of the dough together and fuse the dough well.

 Press it gently. Use dry flour and gently roll parathas to form 6-7 inch diameter.

Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and roll to press it in the dough.

Place paratha on a hot griddle.

Flip and apply ghee or oil and fry on both sides till golden brown.

Serve with onions and pickle.

Enjoy!!!

Phulka Roti

Last Saturday I had an opportunity to conduct Indian cooking class at our district for the community. I have offered classes before, and Indian cuisine is quite popular. With diverse population here in California, people love to be knowledgeable about different cultures and cuisines. I show them the traditional spice box and talk about using these spices to suit ones palate. We make various Indian breads like roti, paratha, naan, and puri and then make Indian curries too. Indeed a fun class...i just enjoy being a part of the community and spreading the knowledge of my culture :)

Roti: which is a flat bread from India is also called chapati, phulka, or rotli, in various cultures. Depending on the state, this simple roti is made differently. From thick and big rotis made either in tandoor or on griddle in North India to small thin rotis in Gujarat. In Gujarat and some regions also make double or Pad rotis.

Irrespective of which state the roti is made in, the ingredients are very basic: whole wheat flour and water. Salt in roti and oil as a fat to keep roti soft are optional. There is no leavening agent needed in this flat bread or roti. Also, depending on the type of crop growing in the state, roti can be made using jowar flour, bajra flour, or even rice flour, These rotis maybe slight tricky to make and needs practice as they are void of gluten.

Phulka means puffed. They rotis are rolled well and then cooked on griddle. High temperature  will result in the traped air to expand causing the roti to puff like a ball. This puffing is called phulka roti. Sometimes the roti would puff on the griddle itself or putting it on open flame to few seconds will ease the puffing process. We make this roti everyday in my family and each person would have around 2-3 rotis which would be around 80-100 calories each.

To make whole wheat phulka roti:
2 cups whole wheat flour (I use organic whole wheat flour from Veer or 24 Mantra)
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1 tbsp. oil (optional)
1 to 1+1/4 cup water

1/4 cup of dry flour to roll rotis.
Ghee to spread on the roti.

Take flour in a large bowl. Mix salt and oil.
Add around 1/2 cup water and mix well to make the dough, add little more water while mixing to make a soft dough. The amount of water needed depends on the type of flour you use. Organic whole wheat requires slightly more water that regular whole wheat flour. I would use around 1+1/4 cup to make a soft dough. Knead the dough well for 3-4 minutes. Use 2-3 drops of oil while kneading.
Cover the dough and leave it aside to rest for at least 15-20 minutes.

To make roti:
Keep the rolling board and rolling pin ready. Heat the griddle on low to medium heat.
Keep a bowl of dry flour and a bowl of ghee to apply on the roti once it is ready.

Divide the dough into 6-8 parts.
Make a ball from each part and flatten it. Dip lightly into dry flour and start rolling it gently. Use dry flour on the rolling board or the pin whenever needed to avoid roti from sticking.
Put the roti on hot griddle. Cook on medium heat for 30-45 seconds on first side. Flip it and cook for 30-45 seconds. Put the roti directly on open flame on high heat. It should puff up immediately. Flip once more if needed and remove in a plate.
Apply ghee on the roti and serve.

Check out the videos below.

Here is time lapse video of me making roti dough.

Add water little at a time while making the dough.

Here is time lapse of making roti on the griddle and then puffing it on open flame.

As soon as roti is done, apply ghee on it.

Making roti dough in kitchenaid mixer.

Making Phulka roti

 Here is roti puffing.

  

Puffed roti or as we call it phulka or a ball.

Apply ghee.

Soft rotis ready to be served.

Soft rotis can be eaten with just one hand.

This is the tradition.... using just one hand to break roti and dip it in dal/curry and then eat it.

Enjoy soft and fresh Phulka Roti!!

Coconut Chikki

As the winter sets in, we use lot of jaggery at home. So many delicious goodies made of jaggery. With iron and vitamin C, jaggery has qualities to keep the body warm. Mom would encourage us to have lot of ghee and gud during winters. Don't forget the gud, ghee and bajra rotla... It is the ultimate winter food for Gujaratis.

With Makar Sankranti time when we make lots of chikkis and brittles at home, Gud/jaggery is the important ingredient. Filled with nutritional values and benefits, jaggery is a must to use in every home. Every culture has their way of using jaggery... in tea, in chikki, in gujarati dal, puran poli, in masala gud from north and many more.

I was just watching one of Rujuta Diwekar's live video of Facebook where she explains how ghee and gud and important for our body specially during winter, and this recipe is a good example to incorporate these main ingredients in day-to-day life. I love her logical explanations just like what our parents told us and our ancestors did. This chikki can be a wonderful snack or dessert after a meal.

While it is chikki time, and remembering all the chikki flavors from Lanavala, I tried to make coconut chikki. Here is the recipe...simple, easy, and quick.

Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped jaggery
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 tsp. ghee

• In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast coconut for 1-2 minutes. Remove in a plate.
• Heat ghee and finely chopped or powdered jaggery in a pan. Let it melt completely. Check for hard ball consistency. Since I use organic powdered jaggery. Melting gud/jaggery is enough. I do not have to heat it a lot. If you are using very soft jaggery, you will have to stir it slightly longer after melting it to form a hard and crisp chikki.
• Add roasted coconut and stir well to mix.
• Remove in a greased pan and pat chikki tightly with a flat side of a greased bowl.
• Cut into pieces while still warm.
• Cool and remove the pieces from the tray. 
• Store in a container and enjoy!

  Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast coconut for 1-2 minutes. Remove in a plate.

Heat ghee and finely chopped or powdered jaggery in a pan. Let it melt completely. Check for hard ball consistency. Since I use organic powdered jaggery. Melting gud is enough. I do not have to heat it a lot. If you are using very soft jaggery, you will have to stir it slightly longer after melting it to form a hard and crisp chikki.

Add roasted coconut and stir well to mix.

Remove in a greased pan and pat chikki tightly with a flat side of a greased bowl.

Cut into pieces while still warm.

Cool and remove the pieces from the tray.

Enjoy!!

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!!