Cauliflower or Gobhi Paranthas

Wheat formed the basis of our diet when we were younger. We had rice once or twice a month. Rotis and paranthas were an everyday meal. Stuffed paranthas of various kinds formed the basis of breakfast along with lassi. I love all kinds of stuffed parathas and have it for breakfast everyday whenever i visit India.

 

Now we have parathas for lunch or dinner or as brunch on weekends. Here is the recipe for gobhi parantha.


Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp salt
warm water as needed
1 tsp oil.

Knead the dough as you would for rotis, but not too stiff. The dough should be soft and pliable. After making the dough, put 1 tsp oil on the dough and keep aside for 1/2 hr to 1 hr, covered with a moist cloth or paper napkin.

For the filling:

1/2 cauliflower broken into florets
1 tblps finely chopped onion
1 tsp ginger grated
4 green chilies finely chopped
1 tblsp green coriander finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp dhania or coriander powder
1/2 tsp ajwain/carom seeds optional
salt to taste

Wash the florets and let them dry. Grate the cauliflower. Mix all the other ingredients. Ensure that everything is very finely chopped or the parathas will tear while rolling.
If the filling looks too watery or if you are having difficulty rolling it and the parathas are breaking, add 1 tblsp of roasted besan or chick pea flour.

While making paranthas, take a small ball of dough, roll it out to about 2 inch diameter, then pinch the sides to make them thinner than the center. Now put about 2 tblsp filling in the center. The more the filling, the tastier the paranthas will be. Bring together all the edges of the dough over the filling and close it properly.

Keep the ball on the surface and press it gently with the back of your palm or your fingers. This helps in spreadng the filling evenly and prevents the parantha from breaking. now roll it slowly into a thin round.

Heat the griddle or tava and cook the paratha on one side for about a min, turn over and cook another min, now put 1 tsp oil on each side and cook for 2 mins more or till the parantha is nicely roasted and turns golden brown.

Serve the parathas with pickles, curds, a dollop of butter and lassi.

Bottle gourd/Doodhi/Sorakaya paranthas

Bottle gourd/doodhi/Sorakaya is a very nutritious vegetable. It was a regular dish in my mom's place. But my husband did not like it and so for a number of years, i did not make it. My 2 year old eats it in any form, and since its good for him, I have started incorporating bottlegourd in our food in a number of ways.

Making bottle gourd paranthas or theplas is one of them. These paranthas taste very good with some achar, yogurt and any sabji. We also had some srikhand with it.

 

 

1 cup grated doodhi/ bottle gourd
1 tblsp besan (chickpea four)
1 ½ cup aata / whole wheat flour
2 green chilies finely chopped
1 tblsp green dhania finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp sugar (optional)
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Oil to make paranthas.

Grate the doodhi/ bottle gourd. Add all the above ingredients and mix well. Doodhi has a lot of water content and so first make a dough with the above and then add water as needed. Knead the dough for 5 mins, add 1 tsp oil and knead again.
Then cover and keep aside for 30 mins.

Heat tava over medium heat. Take a small ball of the dough and roll it out into a thin disc, like u make a roti. For parantha roll a little thick, for thepla roll it a little thin. Put the parantha on the tava, cook for 20 sec, turn and cook 20 sec more. Then put ½ tsp oil on each side and cook till golden spots appear. Serve hot with pickles and yogurt. These taste good with any side dish of vegetables too. .

The same old Aloo parantha, but extra soft

Paranthas were a staple for breakfast while growing up. Aloo, gobhi, mooli, palak, dal, methi were some of the common parathas we had. Now we have them for dinner once in a while.

Bhardwaj aunty, our neighbour after marriage, showed me the trick to making the softest of paranthas.

 

Recipe for aloo parantha

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp salt
warm water as needed
1 tsp oil.

Knead the dough as u would for rotis, but not too stiff. Keep aside for 1/2 hr to 1 hr, covered with a moist cloth or paper napkin.

For the potato filling:

2 boiled potatoes
1 tblps finely chopped onion
4 green chilies finely chopped
1 tblsp green coriander finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp dhania or coriander powder
1 tsp amchoor/mango powder or lemon juice - optional
salt to taste

mash the potatoes very well so that there are no lumps. then add all the above and mix well. chop every thing very finely.

While making paranthas, take a small ball of dough, roll it out to about 2 inch diameter, then pinch the sides to make them thinner than the center. Now put filling in the center, the size of the ball of dough or even more. The more the filling, the tastier the paranthas will be. Bring together all the edges of the dough over the filling and close it properly.

Keep the ball on the surface and press it gently with the back of ur palm or ur fingers. this helps in spreadng the filling evenly and prevents the parantha from breaking. now roll it slowly into a thin round.

Heat the griddle or tava and cook the paratha on one side for about a min, turn over and cook another min, now put 1 tsp oil on each side and cook for 2 mins more or till the parantha is nicely roasted and turns golden brown.

These paranthas melt in the mouth bcos the filling is more that the dough itself. U can serve it with curds and pickles.