Parathas and rotis

I have seen making parathas is one of the most difficult tasks for beginners. In fact not only beginners even the experienced cooks have hard time in making perfect stuffed parathas. The outer covering of parathas should be in perfect texture or else it just breaks while rolling them. So it takes a lot of experience to get it right.

Few months back my cousin Usha sent me link from Bawarchi.com which had an easy Alu paratha recipe. She said she made the parathas with that recipe for a party and everyone was surprised (considering she was in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy, making parathas for a party is some miracle, in my opinion).

I tried the recipe and it was awesome (unfortunately I lost the link in between switching from old to new laptop). To make it a bit healthier, I tried it with mixed vegetables. First I tried with all raw vegetables, since it had a bit of raw smell, next time I tried with cooked vegetables.

Ingredients:
Wheat flour
Yogurt (curd) 1 tbl spn
Mixed vegetables (like carrot, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, potato etc) 1 cup
Ginger 1” pieces
Cumin seeds ½ tea spns
Chili powder 1/2 tea spn
Garam masala (optional) ½ tea spn
Coriander leaves(optional) 2-3 strands
Oil 1 tea spn
Salt

Instead of mixed vegetables, the stuffing used for Alu paratha can also be used. Basically any kind of stuffing used for stuffed parathas can be used for this recipe.

Method:
Cook vegetables along with ginger pieces in cooker.
Add masalas, cumin seeds and salt.

Grind it in a blender/mixer to a paste (do not add water). The paste need not be very smooth, it tastes great when there are a few pieces of vegetables. (If using Alu paratha stuffing instead of mixed vegetables, grind it to a paste at this step).
Add the ground mixture and yogurt(curd) to wheat flour. Mix it into a dough(like chapathi dough). Apply oil to the dough. Leave the dough for around 30 to 45mins(this is mandatory to get soft parathas).

Take a big amount(bigger than chapathi) of the dough and roll it into parathas (parathas should be slightly thicker than chapathis to get the actual taste of it).
Heat tava and fry the paratha from both sides. Apply ghee.
Serve with pickle or masala dahi.

Serves : 3
Preparation time : 20mins

Jolad rotti or Jowar rotti is a must in any North Karnataka(Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum, Gokak, Bijapur) ‘Lingayat‘ house. Lingayat women are experts in making these. A lot of experience is required in making these in the traditional way.

The dough is prepared by mixing the jowar flour with hot water and then the roti/rotti is spread using the palm. You can see the details here.

I tried making these rotis in the traditional way for 2-3 times with little success. Though I could spread it to get the perfect shape, I couldn’t make it very thin(I like these rotis very thin and soft). Then aayi gave me this idea and I am able to successfully make the rotis the way I like in no time.

If you are a Bangalorean, don’t miss the “Jolad rotti oota” in Kamat Minerva (at Minerva circle). The taste is superb there. They serve jowar roti with 2-3 sides, one of them is always ‘Ennegayi (stuffed brinjal)‘, and butter.

Ingredients:
Jowar flour(Jolad hittu) 1 cup
Water 1 and 1/2 cups
Salt

Method:
Heat water and add salt. When it starts boiling, add the flour and mix continuously till all the water is absorbed. Take off the heat.

When it is still hot, knead the dough on a flat board. Spread using the rolling pin (For rolling, apply dry flour as much as needed. If the roti breaks, make it into a ball again, apply some more flour and roll).

Fry on the heated tava like chapathis. These taste great when served hot.

Serves : 2
Preparation time : 10min

I always liked the green colored rotis/parathas. I had seen them in one of my friend’s lunch box. Recently I tried to make them(though the procedure and taste was completely different), they were delicious. I served it with Masala Dahi.

Ingredients:
Wheat Flour 2 cup
Palak(Spinach) leaves 1 Cup
Ginger 1″ piece
Green Chillies chopped 5 Nos
Corriander leaves 1/2 cup
Jeera 2 tsp
Salt

Method:
Mix all the ingredients(except flour) and blend it in a mixer to a fine paste. Mix this mixture with the wheat flour and oil, knead till the dough is smooth and soft.
Make medium size balls of the dough, roll it. Fry paratha on tava, apply ghee on both sides.
Serve hot.

Serves : 5
Preparation time : 20min

I saw this recipe in one of the TV shows some 2 months back. This is a very healthy dish with lot of vegetables and the rice flour. While I was watching the show, I was wondering, why the guest for that day on the show is using such a big procedure to make it. I mean I was surprised about the use of maida in this, but when I prepared this myself, I came to know that without maida, it would have been very difficult to make roti with the stuffing. Just give it a try and I am sure you will like it.

Ingredients:
Maida 1 cup
Rice flour 2 cups
Grated vegetables (Radish, carrot,onion) 2 cups
Red chilli powder 1 tea spn
Jeera(Cumin seeds) 1 tea spn
Coriander leaves 6-7 strands
Salt

Method:
Make dough with maida and water. Keep aside.
Take 1 tbl spn of rice flour, add 3 tbls spns of water and salt. Cook on low flame stirring continuously for about 5 minutes(till the rice flour is cooked and becomes a smooth paste). Remove from flame. Add grated vegetables, chilli powder, cumin seeds, chopped coriander leaves and remaining rice flour to make it to chapathi flour consistency.
Take a small ball of maida, spread it like a poori with hand, take a ball(ping pong ball sized) of vegetable-rice dough and stuff it into the maida poori. Cover completely and roll it into rotis(the rotis should be thick like paratha).
Fry on tava applying oil on both sides. Serve hot with coconut chutney or pickles.

Serves : 3
Preparation time : 20-30 min